We were lucky to catch up with Shane Moravsik recently and have shared our conversation below.
Shane, appreciate you joining us today. Do you take vacations? Why or why not?
As I am a cosplay photographer as well as a cosplayer, I attend many conventions throughout the year. I get to spend time with friends, as well as cosplay with them. I consider these times to be a vacation with friends. This summer, I plan to go to Anime Expo with a group of friends and spend a few days after touring Los Angeles. I’ll book a few shoots at the convention, but I am mainly there for the atmosphere and new experiences.
Photography is a side hustle for me, as I work as a quality assurance engineer full time. It’s a great way to have fun as well as make a little money on the side.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I have always enjoyed photography growing up. My father had a DSLR camera which he would take to my high school track meets. As I got older, I would try his DSLR, and in college I purchased my first camera, a small Sony point-and-shoot. I went to anime conventions in New Jersey with a few friends, but once the convention moved away, I stopped going for a while. In 2019, a friend was selling his Nikon DSLR, and I decided to purchase it and go to a convention in Atlantic City. I met up with old friends and decided to get back into the convention scene. Now, not only do I go to comic and anime conventions across the Northeastern USA, I have branched out to conventions across the country. such as Holiday Matsuri in Orlando and Anime Expo in Los Angeles.
I photograph mainly cosplay and fashion, but I have also photographed swim, boudoir, and pet photography. I have yet to venture into other genres of photography, but I am always up for a challenge. Cosplay photography allows me to get creative and think outside of the box, to get the unique shot that portrays the character, but it different from the “standard” shots a lot of photographers get.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I started doing a lot of what is called “hall shots” in the convention community, which are small shoots right in the middle of the convention. I would get these photos to the cosplayers, and they would not have to pay for them. I also had a few friends that I would do shoots for and others got to see my work through their social media.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
Each convention usually has a large Facebook group. I look for cosplayers that are trying to find photographers and message them asking if they would like to book. Also, I can post a small collage of my work in the group to which cosplayers can message me regarding booking shoots.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/shanem201
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063872340527