1. What are the three main genres of cosphotography, and how did they historically develop?
According to Mountfort et al. (2018), cosphotography is a subgenre of photography which focuses on the capture and promotion of Cosers or Cosplay artists through visual mediums. Firstly, photographic practices are a major part of Cosplay culture. It allows for both public and private visual documentation of a cosers hard work by provided photos and videos of the finished product, the Cosplayer’s “final look”, but is also used to document the process of creating the costumes, often by hand, as well as the use of prosthetics, the application of make-up and the time of perfecting the Cosers “act” through poses and other motion captures and gestures (Mountfort et el., 2018). These photos and videos are also used promotionally and have become an avenue for financial gain, allowing for Cosers to receive capital for the work that they do as the images and clips are advertised across websites, social media platforms and other online and offline businesses (Mountfort et el., 2018). In this post I will be discussing the origins and the impacts of three genres of cosphotography, fashion shoot or runway cosphotography, studio portraiture, and hallway snapshots.
According to Mountfort (2018) in 1939, Forrest J. Ackerman, financer of Ray Bradbury’s Future Fantasia zine, and Myrtle R. Jones, also known as Morojo, appeared in matching costumes for Worldcon. Together they wore “futuristic costumes” based on the feature film H.G. Wells’ Things to Come (1936). From that point onwards Worldcon began showcasing costumes with staged competitions, “originat[ing] in an annual Masquerade” (Mountfort et el., 2018). These Masquerades fashioned the first of the cosphotography genres, Fashion shoots or Fashion runways where costumers “posed for photographs”. In relation to Mountfort et el, Lamerichs (2018) mentions that these fashion shoots and runways have become organized as not only mainstream fashion culture, but also as professionally organized catwalks. These fashion shows are often combined with a narrative which the Coser’s costume or character is based, and the Coser is given either a stage platform or a literal runway to showcase their character and their accompanying costume (Lamerichs, N., 2018).
Second are the studio portraits or portraitures, introduced with the commercialization of cameras from 1925 and the release of the Kodak Retina I in 1934 which allowed for cameras to reach the wider mass population as well as the production and introduction of the Argus A in 1936 and the Argus C3 in 1939 (Mountfort et el., 2018). By the 1970s, studio portraiture became prominent, staging shots of fans modelling their costumes for both professional and amateur photographers. The studio portraits paved the way for today’s photography sessions, sometimes held during or after a fashion show, in which the Coser’s costumes become the highlight of the session. Photography sessions have become not only central to Cosers, but also to the photographers themselves, as a means of honing their photography skills and building photography portfolios (Lamerichs, N., 2018).
Lastly is the hallway snapshots, that unlike the above genres which are often well organized, orchestrated and formal, are considered informal and casual. While often initiated in conjunction with fashion shows hallway snapshots which during the Worldcon Masquerades were taken in less staged shoots such as from the sidelines of the competitions (Mountfort et el., 2018). Now in the modern age where almost every person owns a smartphone with a camera, hallway snapshots are classified as those photographs taken of Cosers by fans of the Coser or the character that the Coser plays. These photographs are often taken as something to be expected, and even as compliments (Lamerichs, N., 2018).
References
Lamerichs, N. (2018). Productive fandom: Intermediality and affective reception in fan cultures. Amsterdam University Press.
Mountfort, P., Peirson-Smith, A., & Geczy, A. (2018). Planet cosplay: Costume play, identity and global fandom. Blackboard. https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/
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