In what ways can cosphotography be understood as a form of “fan capital”?
Photography is an important part of modern cosplay in that it reflects and shapes how cosplay is performed (Mountfort et al, 2018). Cosphotography can be looked at as a form of fan capital as it is a permanent media that promotes and documents cosplayers, it is a two-way exchange, and it legitimizes or validates the cosplayer’s labor.
According to Mountfort et al (2018), photography and video can provide cosplayers with both private value and fan capital to distribute within the wider cosplay community. Cosplays accumulate “subcultural capital or a quality of hipness” every time they are photographed by their peers (Hale, 2014, p. 9). These photographs are then circulated on social media or online platforms such as Deviantart, Instagram, Tumblr and dedicated cosplay websites (Mountfort et al, 2018). This allows cosphotography to be consumed and recirculated by others, generating interest in the cosplayer’s costumes and performances (Hale, 2014).
Cosplay performance is typically short-lived as the costume is only worn by the cosplayer for one day at a time, so cosphotography can help make the performance longer lasting as it is a permanent form (Mountfort et al, 2018). This serves as a personal token to the cosplayer of their labor, but also as a way to promote their work and document it (Mountfort et al, 2018). For example, Cosplay Music Videos (CMVs) uploaded onto YouTube can serve as promotional material to the cosplayers featured, a documentary of their work, and can even help them profit from it. The MCM London Comic Con has a CMV supercut on YouTube featuring cosplayers at the convention over the years. While their video is mostly a fundraiser for the Equal Justice Initiative, in their video description they include a list of all the cosplayers featured, as well as the social media channels and Patreon for the hosts of the video, The 86th Floor (The 86th Floor: Cosplay and Cons, 2020). This is one example of cosphotography being used as a form of capital to help promote the cosplayers, increase their influence and spread, and even profit from it.
Cosphotograhy can also be considered a form of fan capital in that it’s a two-way exchange between the cosplayer and photographer. The fashion photography and impromptu photo shoots provide the photographer with a subject, and the cosplayers with important acknowledgement and something tangible to take away, in what is a reciprocal relationship (Mountfort et al, 2018). According to Lamerichs (2011), the photographer can use the photo session as a way of developing their photography skills further while obtaining a shot of a character they love, while the cosplayer sees getting their picture taken as a compliment and acknowledgement of their hard work. They also often receive print outs or copies of their photo (Mountfort et al, 2018). This is particularly important as cosplayers are not just clotheshorses for a particular collection, but are showcasing what they themselves have made (Mountfort et al, 2018). This is also why selfies are not common at cosplay conventions, as cosplayers hope to have their picture taken by others to provide them with a form of tribute or payment, or to have their images circulated through online platforms (Mountfort et al, 2018).
Cosphotography also legitimizes and validates a cosplayer’s labor. Scott (2015) argues that compared to other forms of fan production, such as fanfic, cosplay is expensive to make. But the cost of fabrics, materials and makeup, as well as the tactile nature of the finished product, allows cosplay to be seen as a legitimate form of labor (Scott, 2015). In their study of cosplayers, Taylor (2009) found that cosplay is often devalued by society as it is not seen as productive work. It is viewed as an unproductive hobby in which fans devote time and money on products that are worthless (Taylor, 2009). This shows a divide in the time and labor cosplayers put into their work and the worth it is given by society. Cosphotography legitimizes the amount of work that is put into cosplay as it validates the cosplayer by acknowledging their labor. For example, a study by Ramirez (2017) found that their participants saw the recognition they received from a fan asking for their photo as a form of cultural capital. The less attention and recognition they received from fans, the less likely the cosplayers were to build identity, social and cultural capital, and social cohesion (Rameriz, 2017).
While there are questions around the sometimes-exploitative nature surrounding cosphotography, as well as who owns the product, cosphotography enables fans to go from passive consumers into active producers of culture (Mountfort et al, 2018).
References
Hale, M. (2014). Cosplay: Intertextuality, public texts, and the body fantastic. Western Folklore, 73(1), 5-37.
Lamerichs, N. (2011). Stranger than fiction: Fan identity in cosplay. Transformative Works and Cultures, 7(3), 56-72. https://doi:10.3983/twc.2011.0246
Mountfort, P., Peirson-Smith, A., & Geczy, A. (2018). Planet cosplay: Costume play, identity and global fandom. Intellect.
Ramirez, M. A. (2017). From the panels to the margins: Identity, marginalization, and subversion in cosplay [Master’s thesis, University of South Florida]. Scholar Commons. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7946&context=etd
Scott, S. (2015). “Cosplay is serious business”: Gendering material fan labor on Heroes of Cosplay. Cinema Journal 54(3), 146-154.
Taylor, J. R. (2009). Convention cosplay: Subversive potential in anime fandom [Master’s thesis, The University of British Columbia]. The University of British Columbia Library. https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0067114
The 86th Floor: Cosplay and Cons. (2020, June 12). MCM London Comic Con 2020 – COSPLAY MUSIC VIDEO SUPERCUT [Video]. You Tube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KJuZez817o&ab_channel=The86thFloor%3ACosplayandCons
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