1. According to Mountfort et al. (2018), what are the three main genres of cosphotography, and how did they historically develop?
Cosplay fan conventions are known to have developed genres of cosphotography, where people in cosplay do more than wearing costumes, make-up and prosthetics (Mountfort et al, 2018). Cosplay photography is inclusive of poses and gestures made by cosplayers, which is a part of the fan capital; not only does it provide a private value in fan capital, it also gives cosplayers a chance to network and form or join communities that express similar cosplaying interests (Mountfort et al, 2018). The concept of cosplay photography can be traced to its emergence circa 1908 in the United States; William Fell of Cincinnati dressed up as ‘Mr Skygack’ in a masquerade ball (Mountfort et al, 2018). The three main genres of cosplay photography are known as firstly the ‘runway’ snapshots that originated from cosplay costume conventions, the second as ‘hallway’ photography where cosplayers were photographed in informal convention spaces, and the third that developed from hallway snapshots to ‘studio portraits’ (Mountfort et al, 2018).
As the most formal genre of photography, costume convention photography or also known as ‘runway’ snapshots encompassed cosplayers that participated in convention competitions held on stages or runways (Mountfort et al, 2018). Mike Resnick’s account of the annual masquerade that inaugurated in 1940 narrates the first formal photography, while informal photographs were taken in 1939 (Mountfort et al, 2018). Formal cosphotography implied consent from cosplayers to be photographed. With such a distinction in formal and informal convention spaces, it led to the creation of two more genres as known today, those being the ‘hallway’ and ‘studio portraits’. This was enabled through technological advancements and the emergence of mass media, along with cameras that had become affordable to the public (Mountfort et al, 2018). Polaroids and instamatics from the 1950s and 1960s respectively largely contributed to black-and-white photography (Mountfort et al, 2018). Cosplay competitions resembled practices and aesthetics of fashion shows, as photographers would constantly capture different cosplayers and cosplayers would pose or catwalk on stage to display costume capital (Mountfort et al, 2018).
Hallway photography is the least formal genre of cosphotography; cosplayers are often caught out of act while being photographed which explains informality (Mountfort et al, 2018). The Mike Resnick account of the informal snapshots of 1939 convention is the first account of ‘hallway’ or informal cosphotography (Mountfort et al, 2018). Hallway photographs are taken by an assembly of varied photographers, snapshots that range from DSLRs to contemporary media such as smartphones; these lack the specific setting in terms of backdrop and lighting (Mountfort et al, 2018). It is argued that this genre of photography is quite invasive as it occurs sans the consent of cosplayers, but Bordieu (1965) put forth his view of the ‘natural pose’, wherein humans instinctively pose toward cameras as ‘out of respect’ (Mountfort et al, 2018). Nonetheless hallway snapshots are more spontaneous than a preparation of capturing the essence of the cosplayers’ characters.
Studio portraits as the third main genre of cosplay photography emerged in the 1970s, also known as an amalgamation of the first two genres (Mountfort et al, 2018). The term for the genre ‘studio portraits’ derived not from shooting in private locations but in designated convention spaces that comprised of settings such as lighting and backdrop (Mountfort et al, 2018). Much of this cosphotography would take place during or after the convention. One of the first accounts of such genre’s photography was Angelique Trouvere posing as Vampirella in 1969, which displays aspects of studio features along with character poses (Mountfort et al, 2018). Initial studio cosphotography were staged with plain, more commonly solid colour and fabric backdrops and minimal props; contemporary studio cosphotography consists of far more props and use of advanced technology such as blue-screens (Mountfort et al, 2018). Studio snapshots often resemble fashion shoots because of its professional aspects in photography, but is mainly regarded as a fusion of hallway and runway style cosphotography (Mountfort et al, 2018).
References
Mountfort, P., Peirson-Smith, A., & Geczy, A. (2018). Planet cosplay: Costume play, identity and global fandom. Intellect.
Pop Genres 2020 