Supanova 2019: social media demand lures photographers to the Gold Coast

Looking good at Supernova is more than just a hobby to some super fans, with professionals called in to perfect that social media snap.

ALL of the colour and eccentricity of the Supanova pop culture festival has hit the Gold Coast this weekend, with around 30,000 film, television and video game fans turning out to share their passion.

While it may be big fun, for some it is also big business with demand for professional level social media photos on the rise.

Costumed fans, known as cosplayers, are paying up to $80 for an hour-long photoshoot on the Gold Coast, to document their Supanova experience and promote their brand.

Cosplay photoshoot with @arrmcarr_creates. Pics: @awholesomecat

Brisbane photographer Alexander Watson, 25, is among many who come to photograph the event each year — this year offering session times to cosplayers looking for an edge with professional pictures.

Mr Watson, who owns A Wholesome Cat Photography started shooting cosplay in 2013.

“Some do it as a pure hobby while for others cosplay is a viable career — in the U.S. cosplay as a career is huge,” he said.

Photoshoot with @luvkii_cosplay Pics: @awholesomecat

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“People need regular content for social media so people often have two or three photographers they work with quite often to create that content.

“Sometimes it’s to advertise themselves, often to time with the release of a film or video game update or upcoming event.”

Brisbane photographer Alexander Watson. Photo: @awholesomecat

It can take hours to get into character, with elaborate costumes, wigs and makeup and cosplayers can spend months sewing costumes and crafting armour, meaning even small details must be perfect.

“I do extensive location scouting to make sure it’s appropriate for the character- you wouldn’t shoot a futuristic character in parklands and you wouldn’t do garden fairies in an industrial setting, you need to make sure it reflects the world they are in,” Mr Watson said.

“Doing shoots often they want it to look as close to (the source material) as possible, like we did an Australian-themed Overwatch shoot awhile ago at a cricket ground and that was all about getting it as similar as possible to get that level of authenticity.

An Australian-themed Overwatch photoshoot with @luvkii_cosplay Pics: @awholesomecat

“But shooting at cons (conventions) people are often time-stretched so you get the good portrait and the good face — they want a memento of how they looked for that event.”

With a broad spectrum of fandoms, lots of time goes into researching new trends and popular shows to make sure photos are accurate for each character.

“There’s always new content coming out so you have to be constantly on the pulse of pop culture and what’s coming out,” Mr Watson said.