10 Creative Portraits Of Cosplayers Have Been Captured In An Editorial Style By A Fashion Photographer

In his series named "Kids of Cosplay," the photographer captures portraits of cosplayers in their day-to-day settings.

Maryjane

• Published in Interesting
• June 17, 2022

Thurstan Redding is a photographer and was primarily working as a fashion photographer before he had two memorable experiences with cosplayers in the wild. Interestingly, and for the very first time, people who were wearing costumes of different characters from pop culture appeared on his radar.

He was aware of the training ahead of time but hadn’t at any point completely engaged in it. He told My Modern Met that he "first became interested in cosplay after bumping into a cosplayer in Los Angeles while I was on assignment there, and then again on the DLR [train] in London—up until that point, I had been aware of cosplay but hadn’t ever fully engaged with it."

This changed as he kept working on his project for three years, named Kids of Cosplay, which is meant to be a book. Kids of Cosplay takes a different approach to the hobby we are used to.

Cosplay outfits are typically reserved for comic shows, which happen to be the spots where numerous cosplayers start out. However, Redding chose to change the setting of where we see these people.

Their creativity is respected beyond convention halls and in our everyday world. There is the Harley Quinn character from the Batman universe, who is seen staring out of the kitchen window, while a gathering of C-3POs from the Star Wars franchise is seen on the side of the road close to an empty field.

Harley Quinn from the Batman universe is seen staring out of a kitchen window

And here, we have Spiderman

The choice to photograph the cosplayers in unassuming areas adds an odd layer to the work. This is because we don’t expect to see individuals wearing full costumes in their regular day-to-day lives.

It also serves as a way to honor the extraordinary costumes.

A group of Wonder Women in an empty field

A group of C-3POs from the Star Wars franchise posing on the roadside next to an empty field

According to the photographer, he has always known that he wanted to work on a book ever since he started photography. "I also knew that I wasn’t particularly interested in working on a retrospective of my earlier work, as I really wanted to use the opportunity of working on a book to do something very focused and specific to a community," he added.

The portraits of different cosplayers in everyday settings

Here's another brilliant piece

Redding chose the cosplayers due to their wonderful outfits and needed the work they put into their costumes to match the scenarios he put them in. The outcome tells a story while putting the cosplay up front.

I'm staring right at you...

Oh, this is really creative

I look to the stars...

This is an amazing piece

These portraits are definitely creative and outstanding. And as non-cosplayers, the photographer tells us "that we are never too old to still be having fun."

So let’s do what we’re good at, appreciate those who bring forth their creative art for our entertainment, and just have fun in general. Do share with your loved ones and check out Thurstan Redding on his Website and on Instagram.

Maryjane