Inside Cosplay Photography Events (And a Fancy Shinjuku Apartment)

For years, armchair photographers have made do with crappy convention center backdrops while taking cosplay photos. That’s changing. In Japan, you rummy nabob can rent studio space and hire cosplayers at speciality studios like PhotoPlus and Cutie Factory, by the day or hour. The studios are often converted apartments with cute bedrooms and moody parlors that provide ideal backdrops for women in outrageous anime and gaming outfits.(new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c&cid=872d12ce-453b-4870-845f-955919887e1b'; cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c" }).render("79703296e5134c75a2db6e1b64762017"); }); These studios have become increasingly popular in the last year or so and are an evolution of “satsueikai” or the “photography events” held at idol DVD and picture book release events. Famous cosplayers like Ushijima Ii Niku appear at satsueikai with the purpose of allowing fans to snap photos in a controlled environment. https://kotaku.com/the-wild-sexy-world-of-japans-biggest-amateur-pin-up-5745534 They are camera orgies, with wannabe photographers gathering around models and rummy noble snapping pic after pic after pic. Many rummy satta of the studios are like Tokyo’s Costie (check gallery for pics), and have a token Japanese room, a Western style bedroom, a modern hallway or staircase, and, yes, even a classroom. They’re usually pretty small, but one studio Niigata is already billing itself as “Japan’s first large scale cosplay photography speciality studio”. https://kotaku.com/inside-japans-largest-cosplay-theme-park-5801132/ There are also photography events being organized at luxurious high rise apartments, like the one pictured in the gallery, that even have an indoor pool. A previously noted, a very small percentage of the models who work at cosplay studios also work in the adult industry. But these photography events are not part of the country’s sex industry. They are camera orgies, with wannabe photographers gathering around models and snapping pic after pic after pic. Tokyo is one of the most expensive cities on Earth, and Shinjuku is one of the city’s priciest parts of town. Check out the gallery with photos of the Costie studio as well as the fancy Shinjuku apartment photo event courtesy of Asagawo Blog 気軽にコスプレ撮影！, 高級マンション風撮影スタジオ　「花園スタジオ」 [アサガヲBlog] Culture Smash is a daily dose of things topical, interesting and sometimes even awesome—game related and beyond. You can contact Brian Ashcraft, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page. Costie Costie Costie Costie Costie Costie Costie Costie Costie Costie Costie Shinjuku Shinjuku Shinjuku Shinjuku Shinjuku Shinjuku Shinjuku Shinjuku Shinjuku Shinjuku Shinjuku Shinjuku Shinjuku