‘I’m Steve, eventhorizon.cosplay

I’ve been interested in photography for 30 years but started shooting cosplay in 2022. I started out going to a comic con out of curiosity, as I had a few hours to spare while waiting to meet my sister in London. I quite enjoyed it and came away with a few photos. Shortly after that I saw an ad for an event called Secret Con. They are a company that organises dedicated events, exclusively for photographers and cosplayers. It sounded like an excellent opportunity so I applied and got accepted for my first event, at Keele Hall.

That was the day everything changed. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect but what I found was this incredible community of people with a shared interest, who just got together and created. It was a combination of a stunning location, a huge variety of cosplayers and organisers who knew their stuff. From there I became a regular at various public cons and Secret Con events, and also got invited to attend private events by those who saw something in my photography and wanted me to be involved. I was delighted after Keele Hall to submit one of my photos and have it used in the promotional material for the next event.

Something else I discovered in the cosplay community was mutual support: there is often rivalry and friction among photographers but here I found many experienced and accomplished photographers who were very willing to share their knowledge with others and help them to develop. I learned a lot about the best lighting equipment to use, and then when they organised their first lighting workshop for photographers I signed up.

That was another huge step forward for me. At the end of that day I set up lighting for a scene and when I saw what I took I just looked at it an thought I can’t believe I did that. I can do so much more than I realised.

I attend cons regularly now, particularly MCM Comiccon in London. I also do individual photoshoots with cosplayers, and have done some all-day shoots in the capital. I am always interested to find new cosplayers to work with so if you are interested then do get in touch.