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 Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2024 9:34 pm
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Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2024 1:20 am
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Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2024 8:32 pm
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smithers456 I have so many wonderful memories of going to conventions. Some not so good too. Good: 1. My first convention Youmacon 2009 (Dearborn, MI). I felt like I walked into another world. Seeing all of the people dressed up in Cosplay Outfits and many characters that I recognized. One of my goals was to come across and meet some Sailor Moon series Cosplayers. Not only did I find some I took photos as well. I was wearing an original Star Trek series outfit (Blue Shirt) and to my surprise many people wanted to take photos of me. Being shy I was surprised by the attention. Then I turned it into a game. Take my picture and I get to take yours. By the end of the day a Cosplay Photographer was born!! The whole event had a magical quality to it. 2. Shutocon 2013 (Lansing, MI) By this time I had taken hundreds of Cosplayer photos and after I took a photo I would show the person what they looked like. Many of the Cosplayers liked that a lot. What made this convention special was coming across a Sailor Mars and a Sailor Venus Cosplay. Both looked tike models and took my breath away. I took some photos of them myself and shadowed another photographer and took more. One of the photos that I took of both cosplayers together I commissioned to have a painted made of it. The lady who did the painting lives in Poland and the painting is still on my wall. One thing I don't do is charge for taking photos. I just do it for fun and you can see the smiles in the photos. 3. Jafax 18 (Grand Valley State University, near Grand Rapids, MI) Out of all the conventions that I have been to this was easily one of my favorites. The college campus was beautiful. It had rolling hills and valleys. Also a lot of interesting scuptures, stairs, and a big fountain. I did my first official cosplay photoshoot their of a really nice Leefa Cosplayer from the Sword Art Online series. Bad: Won't mention the cons for these 1. Horrible convention schedule. Their was an online schedule which I made my plans with. I get to the convention and the printed out schedule didn't match. Then every place I went to at the con was either moved ahead or eliminated. 2. Mixed up Line. I was waiting in line to get into the conventions Dealer room. After an hour I got through most of the line. Then it was announced that we all had to wait another hour. The end result was that I missed out on some other things that I wanted to go to. 3. Wrong location. I had it planned out to go to a convention sponsored Sailor Moon series photoshoot. I got their and found out that it already happened at the other building of the convention.
Wow, your convention experiences sound amazing!! Thanks for sharing those stories.
I love how you turned your shyness into a fun photo game at Youmacon 2009 – it sounds like such a magical experience! Shutocon 2013 must have been incredible too, especially meeting those stunning Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus cosplayers. That painting from Poland must be a wonderful keepsake. Your Jafax 18 experience also sounds like a dream, with the beautiful college campus and your first official cosplay photoshoot.
Sorry to hear about the not-so-good moments, though. Convention schedules that don't match up are definitely frustrating, and I can imagine how annoying it must have been to miss out on events due to mixed-up lines and wrong locations.
I’m really excited for Anime Midwest this year, especially since it’s my first convention! Do you have any tips on how to handle those schedule mix-ups or lines? Also, how do you usually approach cosplayers for photos? Any advice on making the most out of the convention experience would be super helpful.Thanks!! gaia_angelleft gaia_kittenstar gaia_angelright |
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Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2024 2:18 am
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Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2024 12:50 am
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AnimeAdept, being your first convention make the most of it. Do simple things like walking around and checking out the convention area and the cosplayers. Sometimes doing that is where I can find cosplayers to take photos of. By the way you don't have to cosplay to be there. I've gone to conventions just wearing a T-Shirt that has one of my favorite anime series characters on it.
When it comes to the Dealers / Artist Alley Area make sure you have plenty of money. Also do a quick look at the different vendor areas first. Sometimes if you buy something early on you might see something later on you want more but don't have enough money. Just ask my brother I asked to borrow money from him a couple times. Also keep in mind that if you see something early on that you really really want to get. Buy it before someone else does. Hard decision at timers. One of the general rules about buying items is to make sure to take a quick trip to your hotel room or car to safely store the items. After a while it gets hard to move around.
Getting a good look around can also give you an idea how long lines are for certain things. If you like a certain Artist, Cosplayer, or Voice Actor / Actress and they are at the convention you are going to. You will have to do some preparation. Figure out where and when they are going to be. Also keep in mind that the popular guests will have the longest lines. Being at a line early will help. Sometimes there is limited capacity.
Most of the guests do autographs and most are willing to sign items related to the characters they do. Also, some may have pictures in line to sell that can be autographed. Some though will let you take photos with them. Be carefull it might be an either photo or sign of an item.
Here is one example: I waited in line to see the Voice Actress Cherami Leigh (Look her up on Google) for one and a half hours. It was very hot that day even indoors. Water helped out. She happens to do the Voices for the Dub Versions of Sailor Venus and Lucy (From Fairy Tail). I had on hand a few Sailor Moon series props on me (Sometimes I have the Cosplayers pose with them). When I finally got to meet Cherami Leigh I was practically shaking in my boots (If you haven't figured it out I'm a guy in real life). I did something that surprised the whole crowd. I gave Cherami my Sailor Venus transformation rod. She was in shock and surprised and said she will take it everywhere. I wanted to give something back for all of her hard work for doing Sailor Venus voice. In return she signed the Sailor Venus info page in my Sailor Moon Season One Dub Booklet.
Most important plan out your activities as much as you can ahead of time. Try not to get overwhelmed. Trust me it can happen. Eat, drink, and take breaks. Sometimes waiting in line can count as a break. Make notes on all of the things that you got to do, how things went, and what you missed that you want to do next time. If it's a large convention, chances are you won't be able to do everything. I still haven't done everything over the last 14 years, so it gives me something to look forward to. Make sure to fully check out the convention's website and Facebook page if they have one.
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Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2024 12:13 pm
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