AnimeNYC 2026 By GamesNGirls, Part 2
In this, my second, and final article on Anime NYC 2026, I’d like to write a bit about a new — and controversial — policy put in place by the convention this year.
Approximately a month and a half prior to the convention dates, Anime NYC made a post across social media indicating that there would be a new “commercial photographer” policy in place this year. Rather than paraphrase things, I’d like to post part of the policy word for word, as it is shown on their official website:
“Anime NYC welcomes cosplay and fan photography, but commercial photography activity onsite must be reviewed and approved in advance. This application is for professional photographers who plan to conduct paid shoots, solicit photography services, or otherwise use Anime NYC as a setting for commercial or portfolio-based photography.
Approved photographers will be allowed to purchase a photography credential and may be allowed to work onsite, setup, and conduct rules designed to help prevent unwanted solicitation and protect fan experience, traffic flow, and safety. Approval is granted at Anime NYC’s sole discretion, and submission of an application does not guarantee the opportunity to purchase a credential.
This commercial photography credential is $100 and is valid for all 4 days of the event.
It is an add-on only and does not include admission to Anime NYC.”
The reaction to the initial post on social media was overwhelmingly negative to say the least. The term “cash grab” was used quite a few times by people commenting on the post. Many people criticized management’s decision to announce such a policy so close to the convention dates, especially considering that many attendees (including photographers that would be affected by this policy) already bought tickets and made travel plans to attend the show. Several photographers chimed in, asking what benefits the convention would provide for this fee, aside from letting them do what they have been doing for no additional fee at pretty much every other convention in the country.
When the convention began, there apparently was some confusion regarding what type of badge to give these “commercial photographers.” From what I read on social media, some were initially given a press pass, then later on, others were given a content creator badge, possibly along with a wristband. This is something that should have been sorted out well ahead of the convention, and easily could have if this policy wasn’t put in place at the eleventh hour.
So, did cosplayers or photographers benefit in any way from this policy? The only sort of “perk” given to the photographers purchasing a commercial photography credential was being put on a list on Anime NYC’s official website. If a photographer was able to make any additional bookings as a result of cosplayers finding out about them through this list, they could potentially make their money back, and then some. I hadn’t spoken to any of these photographers after the convention, or seen any posts about it, so I cannot say if this was beneficial to many, or any, photographers that purchased the credential. For what its worth, I took a look at the list about a week prior to the convention, and there were around 25-30 names on it.
Although I don’t think this new policy had any significant negative impact on the convention overall, I’m still concerned about the potential precedents it could set. I don’t particularly like the thought of other conventions seeing what Anime NYC has done, and deciding to put similar policies in place. And perhaps more importantly, I don’t agree with the notion that it’s perfectly fine to initiate a policy like this with such short notice. The only situation where I would find it to be acceptable to create a new policy so close to convention dates would be if there’s some sort of recent trend that could potentially affect the safety of attendees, such as the recent surge in the use of Meta glasses.
Among the cosplayers in this final gallery from Anime NYC 2026 are christinedoesntcare, yuzu.who, camilaasgt, jennyfromdabx84, c.visionary, maris_does_art, bigmanconkz, winter_embers, divinelykylie, sakuraharunogirl, raindbell, he4rtsara, mako_.roni, arelivale, dani_raine_, misspetitecosplay, nanaakaonasis, _mycabbages, and many more.
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