Cosplay Gathering Advice Corner

Organize cosplay groups, gatherings, and photoshoots in this forum. Post those "Is anyone going as ___?" and "I'm going as ___." threads in here. Please use descriptive subject lines.
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Ficus
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Cosplay Gathering Advice Corner

Post by Ficus »

It's been a little while since the last Anime Boston, so there's going to be a good mix of old hats and first timers running Public Photoshoots/ Cosplay Gatherings/ Fandom Meet-ups. Thought it would be good to start a thread where people can post:
  • What to expect at a Gathering?
  • Advice for running a Gathering?
  • Favorite tips and tricks to get the most from a Gathering?
Helpful links:
Anime Boston Rules for Cosplay Gatherings
Some of the Gatherings People are Organizing
Official Schedule of Organized Gatherings (Available April 16)
Ashley Shaffer
Cosplay Gatherings and Photosets Staff- 2024
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Mirotic
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Re: Cosplay Gathering Advice Corner

Post by Mirotic »

First, I'd like to welcome all newcomers. It's always a pleasure to see new faces at gatherings!

What to expect at your first gathering:
Once you've chosen a cosplay (or decided to go as a photographer) for a certain fandom, you can find the scheduled meeting times posted on AB's forums. AB has a system where there are designated areas for group photoshoots that are reserved in advance. You can also find maps on the site (showing where these reserved locations are).

Once you're at your meeting spot the day of, the organizer will typically give a quick "Hi thanks for coming" and then you'll start off going up in groups. I'll use Pokemon as an example since it's widely known. They may call up "trainers", "Kanto region", "Elite Four", "Pokemon", etc. for photos.

Once the groups are done, there may be special requests (maybe there's an Ash who really wants a picture with the Lances in the group).

Feel free to chat and make some friends! Should it be a mobile game meet-up (Pokemon/Genshin/etc) keep an eye out on the threads/Facebook page/etc as applicable to see if there is interest in trading/battling/domain co-ops!
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Rinny
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Re: Cosplay Gathering Advice Corner

Post by Rinny »

AAah I super need this. I'm looking to host my first ever meet up and while I've done panels before, I feel really nervous! Thank you for this thread!
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redwillowhearts
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Re: Cosplay Gathering Advice Corner

Post by redwillowhearts »

Forgive me for the big wall of text coming. This is most of my advice for running a photoshoot!

If you're hosting, find a friend to be a cohost! They don't have to be cosplaying from the same series, but it's great for nerves and it's a lot more fun!

Be early and/or on time, but start 5-10 minutes late. This will give you time to see how many people are coming, what characters they are, and even start up some conversations!

Make a list of any characters from the series. You don't have to go super in depth and write out every little side character, but it's important to have the main characters and the popular characters on your list.

If this is applicable, ships! A lot of series have ships so do a little digging and see what's popular. And you can always remind people that they don't have to go up if they don't want to. Tell people to be respectful. They may not like a ship, but that doesn't mean you can boo it! Which leads me to...

Set some ground rules. This is more important for bigger groups, but it's nice for smaller groups. They don't have to be extensive, just the basics of treat people with respect, cosplay does not equal consent, if someone is not comfortable going up they do not have to go up. That's all I can think of at the moment. If I find my rules sheet, I'll add more.

Also let people know how the flow of the shoot is going to go! You have to give people time to go up, the rest to take pictures, and a small countdown (starting from 10 or 5) so cosplayers and people taking pictures have a general sense of how much longer

Scout out the location beforehand! You never know if AB is going to move the location due to heavy traffic flow or fire hazards. Also it's great to see what the area looks like so you can plan how to line people up. One shoot may choose against the windows while another may choose against the wall. It all depends on the group and what looks good!

Requests! Take requests! You never know when someone has an unusual ship or an inside joke with a friend, I've even seen proposals!

Finally, energy! Make people feel excited and welcome! No point in having a photoshoot if you and everyone else are not going to have fun!

I have more if people need it! I just don't want to take up all the thread.
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Ficus
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Re: Cosplay Gathering Advice Corner

Post by Ficus »

I know for ground rules or opening statements, I usually include a light spoiler warning to people:
If you're at this photoshoot then you may see a character or version of a character that takes place later in the series. This is your spoiler warning now for all cosplays that give away a character's future.
(I was once at a photoshoot 1 week after a manga chapter released and people wanted photos of a character that had just died with other characters greiving over them. It was a way for the fandom that was caught up to cope with the loss, but any fans that weren't current just got spoiled.)

I absolutely second Redwillowhearts on photoshoot hosts bringing a notebook, or have a note taking app on their phone. People should be able to approach them during the shoot and request characters that might have been missed, or situations they'd like to see at the end.
I like to call out:
1) Individual characters (protagonists, antagonists, supporting characters, rare side characters)
2) Groups (all the students, Organization XIII, Supernovas, Goku's family photo, Hokages, etc.)
3) Pairings and situations requested by people during the gathering (LuffyXNami, LuffyXHancock, Everyone greiving over Maes Hughes, everyone Ginyu Force pose, Li Syaoran as the Master of Clow, etc.)
Ashley Shaffer
Cosplay Gatherings and Photosets Staff- 2024
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