Icon Cosplay Photo Festival, or 'IconFest' for short, is an event held in Hobart, Tasmania that encourages collaboration between cosplayers and photographers across Australia, many of whom would otherwise never meet. It is inspired by events such as the Wellington Cosplay Photo Fest, and started only last year, 2023 being its second annual event. Participants apply well in advance, and those selected are invited and assigned to each other. Commercial photography is strictly not allowed during the event, as it is designed to encourage open collaboration. 

The founder behind IconFest is Emerald King, an award-winning cosplayer (Incl. 2023 World Cosplay Summit Australia) and scholar with a PhD in Japanese literature.

My own knowledge of Iconfest began in the community Discord I run for Australian cosplay photographers (Find more information on my Instagram!) - A discussion of who would be applying this year came up, and I was encouraged to throw my hat into the ring. Overcoming high imposter syndrome, I submitted myself and am still shocked and delighted that I was accepted!
The submittal process was intuitive and easy, if daunting due only to how professional the entire setup felt- compared to other cosplay photography interactions, this felt above where I personally placed my own skill level - again, a product of the never-ending imposter syndrome and doubt. I should really find some way to handle that better. 

In the process of application, would-be photographers are given space to state if there are cosplayers they would prefer to absolutely not work with, and this made me much more comfortable as like everyone, I have my own issues with some in our national community that I would really prefer avoid. Photographers are assigned 2 cosplayers that they are to first organize work with, and then encouraged to freely collaborate with others from there. Due to circumstances I am not privy to, nor are my business to ask, my second assigned cosplayer had to drop out of the event and I was left with just one. I offered to take on any other shoot assigns that needed to be handed out, but luckily our amazing little photographer community had already worked together by then to ensure everything had been accounted for and taken on board. 

Booking itself had some roadbumps I would like to iron out next year, especially with allocating 'slots' of time fairly and openly while still accounting for the fact that many of the cosplayers were strangers to me before the event. I unfortunately did encounter a small issue with miscommunication with one cosplayer during the rather casual-form shoot organization this year, and as such have decided to try and implement a much more hard-and-fast system to encourage clear and written communication between models, photographers, and other community members hoping to better organize. 

I may next year suggest a group google sheet for photographers to have visible slots available for models and each other to see, for better collaboration than the occasional group chat message of, "Who else is going to the botanic gardens?" or, "Who's where today and when?". 

To the fault of nobody, I found myself at some points waiting for other photographers to finish shooting in locations I had planned to work in solely due to the pair of us not being aware the other would be inhabiting the same small area at the same time for seperate shoots. Of course, for an event in such early days, these kinds of problems can only be found and addressed by being experienced! I hope that some kind of more open system can be implemented in the future, and am happy to work with the organizers myself in the pursuit of such. 

As for the actual process of how I booked my shoots, this was split between facebook, email and Instagram messaging. The information provided to us on each cosplayer by Icon was a touch less than I'd have preferred, both online and in person - One document matched names to email addresses, the facebook group matched names to instagram handles, and occasionally some matched neither. Personally, a concise profile for each member- including names, pronouns, emails and online handles- in some kind of accessible gallery would make this process tenfold easier. Another helpful solution to matching names to people in what is a notably neurodivergent community would be name tags or lanyards of some kind - a simple 'Hello, my name is Leo / Karrtia Photography' on my shirt breast would have aided me greatly and I intend to have such ready next event regardless. Having these branded with the Icon logo and event year would certainly make these collectable and fun! 

But back to this year's experiences (Can you tell I'm between switching ADHD medications?), the shoots were predominantly booked by cosplayers contacting me through Instagram, or through email and rapidly moving to instagram. Much like online dating apps, I am shy and do not like messaging first, so having cosplayers approach me to work together worked extremely well for me! The early contact was rather freeform and non-committal on all sides as very few of us had blocked out our schedules properly yet, and this made setting out proper shoot times much harder for all involved. As schedules solidified, I transferred all of my solid bookings into a spreadsheet timetable with notes and possible locations attached. Due to the somewhat disorganised nature of instagram messaging (Namely, lack of being able to sort chats with more precision than 'primary' and 'general' - I loathe this, I hate this, please let me tag and group my chats on my business account please please), some less committal or non-responsive chats were lost in this process unfortunately. Again, a learning experience for next year! 

Something that I know I have an issue with personally with these kinds of events is balancing my excitement and eagerness to throw myself into the event with the concept of pacing myself. I know other members certainly also struggled with overbooking themselves to a notable degree this event - Photographers and cosplayers alike. I myself had to repeatedly stop myself from saying yes to shoots I knew I logically could not take on in the time I had (I am very bad at saying no! I genuinely want to work with people! I love working with people! I will work myself to the bone if given free reign it's a real problem I love this community and job so so much), and in some cases ended up with shoots back to back knocking me around. A nasty Saturday hayfever episode encouraged by the dry cold winds of Hobart did not help. 

Still, forcing myself to keep slots free and open through the weekend (A whole week for me, actually) allowed me to adapt to situations that popped up as needed, and take on impulsive and impromptu shoots where I could- Funnily enough, both of which were Danganronpa characters (I'm currently playing through v3, expect a Kaito cosplay from me eventually). I ended up falling asleep in accidental naps multiple times during the week due to sheer exhaustion despite allowing myself 8+ hours of sleep each night, and having free time between shoots to simply let my body and mind rest proved essential. It sounds easy on paper, but anybody with convention experience I'm sure understands how quickly the bright colours and pretty costumes and fun exciting people can overwhelm common sense in time management. 

Once my shoots were locked in, or at least penciled into my schedule with something more solid than a '???' in every field, I could start looking at actual locations. Being my first time in Tasmania, and it being a reasonably expensive trip, I didn't want the bulk of my shoots to be in locations I could reproduce from home with little effort - I wanted to go to Hobart to actually utilize Hobart. 

This led to a very long time spent in Google Maps and Hobart tourist websites hunting for breathtaking locations I could feasibly match to some of my shoots. The amount of locations I have bookmarked for next year is actually rather embarrassing, but at least I know I won't be as stressed finding shoot locations for that event.

That is a blatant lie. I'll be just as bad, if not worse. Google Maps is my best friend and worst enemy. 

The best method I personally have for finding shoot locations is looking at wedding photography from the area, and cross-referencing with tourist guides and google maps to try and locate where such shots were taken. Google street view occasionally helps, and images of locations in Google Maps itself is a lifesaver. Maps allows you to create grouped and labeled pins for locations, and I utilize this to a great degree. Another invaluable method of finding shoot locations in unfamiliar territory is actually quite simple- Ask other photographers, especially the ones who have attended before. A good photographer in the community shouldn't have any interest in gatekeeping or hiding good locations from fellow artists, and I'd be dismayed if any Icon attendees future or past were to act in such a way. Good people help good people, and the photographers working alongside us are supposed to be our friends, not competition. 

Once the shoots were booked and organized, it was time to prepare. I always always try to get as much information from a cosplayer as possible about their costumes- Do they have any props? Are there preferred details in the costume to accentuate? Do I know their body type so I can specifically work with such? Do I know the character, and if not, how can I best understand what I'm shooting?

Communication, communication, communication. It's everything at this stage, to help the both of you get on the same page. I personally enjoy storyboarding my shotlists with pen and paper, as I am a very visual and analogue person when I can be. I also try to make sure I am not relying entirely on my shotlists, and am ready and willing to adapt on the fly where needed- the cosplayer forgot a key prop, or the location has changed due to weather, or maybe you just really hate what you preplanned and have to throw away the script. 

If something could go mildly wrong for me at this year's Icon, it did. Cosplayers left parts of their costumes in hotels, or were up to an hour and fourty minutes late while I had limited and spotty cell reception. Locations were rained out, plans were changed at the very last minute, entire cosplays were switched out to characters I did not know. It snowed, rained, beat down with sun and wind. The sky was grey, or a brilliant blue, or too dark too early. 

Through all of this, and with the amazing help of my assistant for the week, every problem encountered was overcome and adapted to. Every situation had a solution, and cooperation led to amazing results. I could prepare and prepare for weeks and months, and never be ready enough for how real life plays out- but being confident and calm, allowing myself spare time and go-to plans got me out of every sticky situation I encountered. The bulk of this was due to open and genuine communication. 

Talk to your cosplayers, guys. Work together, find a solution. You have a community around you willing to lend a hand from the kindness of their hearts, be willing to ask for help when you need it. 

Who knows, the result might surprise you and be even better than any plan. 

As a tourist in Hobart, my free time - albeit rather limited - was phenomenal. My assistant and I both prefer walking to driving despite having a hire car available to us (Also, fuel prices are insane!), so took care to book a hotel within the CBD so we could easily reach destinations needed on foot. We explored the Salamanca markets on Saturday morning, found local shops for breakfasts, gorged ourselves on the best hotpot I've had in my life. The energy in the city was beautiful, the small and local businesses were welcoming and incredible, and the environment was breathtaking (Although my skin hates the lack of humidity, and it's far too cold for my lizard blood to adapt in a few days). The food in Tasmania has ruined my ability to enjoy certain meals in Queensland, having tasted ambrosia I can never return. Watching the view from the top of Mt Wellington with a paper bag full of locally grown apples from that morning's farmer's markets was an experience I want never to forget. I had vegan lavender iced coffee from Bury Me Standing and it was worth every cent, and then some. My parents warned me of the joys of Tasmanian food, but I laughed them off like a fool. 

Interstate fruit and vegetable quarantine is the only thing stopping me from buying a second suitcase to bring more food back with me.

As a whole, the second Iconfest event overall and my first was an incredible experience, and I'm already buzzing with excitement to get home (I'm writing this from the airport!) and edit. I've dreamt for years of being the 'cool cosplay photographer' who gets to travel to incredible locations and create something amazing, and it's honestly baffling that I'm here. I've spent my week in Tasmania reflecting on my journey so far in this community, where I've started and where I've come. At some points, almost giving up on my passion altogether. Not all parts of the journey have been fun, and I'm sure my journey going forward will continue to have stones under my wheels trying to throw me off my path- but the people I've got on my side and the support I have lifting me up helps more than I can put into words. 

I'm doing Iconfest next year, not man nor god can stop me. This event has been incredible and I'm already hyped for the next. 

A deep and special thanks to The Tinker's Lodge for acting as my assistant for the event, I could not have made it through this week in one piece without you. From filming footage to driving, bullying me into caring for my body and for my mind, carrying the multiple bags I ended up bringing to most shoots and handling my frankly awful timekeeping abilities - You took on more than I could ever ask, and made this great trip into an incredible one. You're a darn good assistant, and an even better friend. Enjoy your comically large bottle of popcorn, and get some rest.