Socialize
A couple summers ago an absolute dream of mine came true when Aziza of Azimedes Cosplay reached out to me about a portrait session. We had met earlier that summer at a wedding I’d photographed, and she was wondering if I’d be interested in taking photos of her handmade builds.
Look, no offense to the wedding industry but if I could make a living out of photographing cosplayers, I’d jump on that career change. Interested isn’t even the tip of the iceberg!
We got together outside of Rose City Comic Con here in Portland, OR for a mini-portrait session. She was wearing her designs for Yennefer, a character from the Witcher video game series. Me? I was wearing my nerd-like excitement on my sleeve.
When I pulled out my prism to get some experimental lighting effects Aziza asked, “Can I hold that?” Because, duh. Yennefer totally needs to a witchy lil’ crystal in her hands for these shots. I loved how the session felt like a fluid collaboration between the two of us.
A brutal heat wave sullied our plans for a second round of geeking out, but I’m so excited to document more of these incredible designs in the future.
You can read more about Aziza’s cosplay on her website — like how this particular build has 38 yards of pearl trim and 200 (!!!) hand sewn rhinestones on it. You can also follow her on Instagram to keep up with her latest projects.
