Izumi Konata Schoolgirl from Lucky Star Cosplay (All Photos By Gail)

We’ve been over this before. When I’m covering a fan convention like New York Comic Con, Flame Con or Anime NYC, I  just don’t really have the bandwidth — mentally, physically or creatively —t o do the kind of serious cosplay photography that most  of my fellow photographers do. You know the drill: stop someone, ask them to pose, find out exactly who they’re dressed as, photograph all the intricate details and then move on to the next character. Admirable, certainly, but it’s not my strength. My coverage takes much more of a hit-and-run approach.

This is directly related to the reasons I abandoned Halloween costume parties about 20 years ago: my costume ideas are lame and my competitive streak tells me that if I can’t be the best at something, I’d usually rather not play at all. While I have an enormous amount of admiration (read: jealousy) for the cosplayers who pour so much time and creativity into their costumes, I’m perfectly happy to remain an observer and leave the documentation to the experts.

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