TIPS FROM
COSPLAY
THE TOMB www.FACEBOOK.COM/MikeRollersonPhotography
Horror master, Mike Rollerson shares his ideas and tips on doing horror cosplay photography. It’s that ghoulish month of months, October. And that means Halloween is coming. Kids and adults will be out there in costumes having fun and scaring the daylights out of people all in good fun. Cosplay and Halloween are a great mix with some amazing costumes such as Fredddy, Zombie Nurses, Elvira and many others. But if you’re wanting to see amazing horror cosplay look no further then the master, Mike Rollerson from San Diego. We caught up with Mike just in time for Halloween... Hey Mike we’d like to share some tips and ideas on horror photography, can we start with working on the concept. Working on a concept between a model/cosplayer and photographer is the perfect opportunity to share ideas - figuring out the theme, outfit/ makeup, poses, lighting and visualizing what the final shot will look like in advance gives both sides some creative input that can really put the shot over the top; something like color choices of an outfit, the way the shot is lit or the angle it’s taken at can make some incredible differences.
Brainstorming ideas in advance of shots you’re wanting to achieve will make the shooting process go much smoother, even if it doesn’t end up being the final result it will often give you some great starting points to adjust during the shoot in order to create a great finished photo. Having some input from both sides will also ensure a great shooting experience where both the model and photographer are excited for the shoot - if either side is not fully committed to the idea, it can really show in the end results. And while gear isn’t important, we’d like to know what you use and why? Camera-wise, I use a mix of Canon mirrorless and DSLR bodies. I prefer shooting with multiple bodies/lenses at the same time in order to dramatically change the look (going from a fish-eye, to an ultra-wide, a portrait and a telephoto lens) without pausing a shoot to change lenses. Using multiple camera bodies makes the change in lenses seamless and also encourages using them all during the shoot. Some of my favorite lenses for the horror-look are an 8mm Fisheye lens, an ultra-wide (10-22mm), standard & portrait (30mm/50mm/85mm) or a telephoto (70-200mm). I tend to have one lens from each group on-the-ready at all
times to get the proper angle and depth of field needed for the shot. In nearly all of my photoshoots I prefer to use speedlights - they’re extremely portable and have a large range of modifiers available. Using a griddedsoftbox will help create a dark look with a strong falloff of light, perfect for a horror-themed cosplay. Ok, onto the shoot itself. Obviously make up is really important for horror, tell us about what happens.
With so much variety in effects makeup and techniques available, I’m very open to finding the best fit to make the look as close to our concept as possible. In the past I would bring in a makeup artist, some models are also familiar with different application techniques, but recently I’ve become much more involved in the process in order to create the look that I feel photographs best (some makeup applications will look fantastic in person but not necessarily translate in photos under different types of lighting). Over the last few years I’ve picked up techniques for airbrushing (which types hold up best for a shoot? which will display best under flash lighting?), fake bloods (using nearly a dozen different types ranging from a very thin “Squirt Blood” to a thick pastelike “Thick Blood”, coming in colors