The embodying of characters is something I’m very familiar with.

In 2017, the Lumination series transitioned into a bright and colourful pop art project. It also saw me hone the project onto a specific subject: Cosplayers.

Rich colours and deep contrasts highlight the ludicrous level of detail and subtleties of all types of costumes from all types of fandoms. A huge thanks to my friend Hannah (@comic_cawsey) for introducing me and creating most of those connections in the Calgary cosplay community.

Most of these cosplayers are not usually experienced models which was great! I wanted their enthusiasm and energy for their craft as much as I wanted to see the costumes. Using my experience in theatre, I was able to direct even the shyest of cosplayers to powerful poses as they embodied and portrayed their characters as to true the source material as possible.

This was also an early foray into compositing for me. More than half of the images here are composited from between 5 - 10 separate photos.