Merging…

Within the next few weeks, I plan on merging this photoblog with my actual photography site, http://rensuchanphotography.com/ and then converting this blog into a strictly personal blog.  Don’t be surprised if in the next few weeks you start seeing some things look a bit weird and disappearing ^^;

Youmacon 2012 – Cosplay Shots

When I first started going to conventions (Youmacon 2005) I pretty much went to go to panels, game shows, and the game room and that was my convention experience.  Admittedly, I’ve fallen out of the loop of anime quite a bit and my convention experience has changed a lot since then.  My biggest reason for going to conventions now is photography, and that is the primary reason I decided to go for a press badge at Youmacon 2012.  As someone that enjoys portraiture, naturally my favorite things to photograph are the massive amounts of unique cosplayers that appear in these conventions.  Following is a gallery of some of my favorite cosplay images from the convention. Continue reading

Youmacon 2012 – Lolita Fashion Show

All of the lovely models!

Welcome to the Youmacon 2012 Lolita Fashion show!

I’ve personally been a follower of Lolita Fashion for a few years now.  A lot of my individual photo shoots have been with lolita models so I’m familiar with the styles and a lot of the popular prints / dresses.  This is the first year Youmacon had a show for the lolitas so I was eager to cover it!  Also, my girlfriend was a model in the show and was able to gather a few shots of the lolitas as they were preparing for the show.  The lighting was tough because of the multi-colored stage lights but you have to work with what you’re given I suppose. Continue reading

Youmacon 2012 – Maid Cafe

Maid Caitlin is ready to serve you!

Though I’ve been going to Youmacon since it’s early days, this is the first time I’ve stopped in the maid cafe.  It’s a great place to just take a seat and grab a dessert and some herbal tea to boost your immune system (important during conventions).  I can definitely say I want to do this again next year.  Here is a collection of shots from the cafe for you to enjoy~

Continue reading

My Current Take on Post-Processing…

When I first started taking photos, I used to hate the idea of post-processing.  I figured that there should be a way to get awesome images straight from the camera without any Photoshop, GIMP, or whatever.  The whole game changed for me last year when I decided I wanted to take photography more seriously…

Don’t get me wrong; I will never really be a fan of the perfectly smooth faces on models with absolutely no wrinkles, blemishes, or other marks that make people human… that’s just not real to me.  I still view post-processing as an enhancement tool, not a panacea.  In order to get an image that’s worthy of post, you still need to get the basics down and get a picture with sharp focus and good composition.  A totally bad photo can’t be fixed in post but a good photo can be enhanced. Continue reading

白い魔法

Well the first news….

I bit the bullet and bought my first professional grade 2.8 zoom… 80-200mm AF-S.  It was expensive… but it was worth it for sure, the lens is ridiculously sharp even wide open.  I’ve never used anything so amazing before!

Combine that with my D600 and we have an amazing picture making tool set!  Remember, cameras are just tools and it’s up to the photographer (and model in portrait situations) to make the picture.

In any case, I got my first chance to try out the camera and lens combo today taking photos of my friend in her White Mage cosplay. Continue reading

D600 and Figures!

My D600 is here!

Doing some testing with Figures of course!  Here’s Nagisa from Clannad~

Setup shot Below~

The flash is actually sitting on top of the computer cart… it’s bounced off of the ceiling and reflected towards Nagisa.  The glare off the monitor was very unattractive using other angles for the flash.

The Image Quality is great!  But it is far easier to do figure photography with the D7000 so I think I might try to head out to a park… or maybe a CITY to do some wide photography this weekend.  One of these days I want to go shoot Grand Rapids because I think the skyline there is awesome ^^

I will post more D600 images as I have more available!