Cosplay & Photography Shoot-Out at New York Comic Con 2021

After a two-year hiatus (thanks, covid!), the Cosplay & Photography Shoot-Out returned to New York Comic Con! The collaborative, interactive panel I created four years ago is always a fun event at big cons. We pick teams of photographers and cosplayers, who work together to create one amazing photo that tells a compelling story based on an assigned theme.

With everyone wearing masks, we decided the theme for NYCC 2021 would be…. STEALTH. The teams all came up with outrageously creative, original images that captured their interpretation of ‘stealth’ — from ninja attacks to a nearly invisible Nurse Joker.

All the teams turned in great work, making it extremely tough for the the Nerd Caliber panel — Alex Valderana Fotos, Spectra, Chocobobutt, and Wonderllama Photography (that’s me!) — to pick a winning team. It was down to the finest details — how the mood, emotion, and focal point of the photo captured the theme. The audience had an equally hard time picking their Fan Favorite team. Here are all the teams’ photos. Enjoy!

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Team 2
Best Interpretation of the Theme (judges’ award)
Derek Davis II / DigitalDyad (photographer)
Alannaxo11, um_itsbrogan (cosplayers)

Team 9
Fan Favorite (audience choice award)
Victor Bustos / VicVisionns (photographer)
Staples and glue, elliekate526, animated_phoenix (cosplayers)