Denver Takeover: On Location at NDK!

Tatiana here to share with you more of my adventures in Colorado!

Christine and I both have a deep love for anime and pop culture, along with our passion for photography. That’s why when given the chance to work at an event or convention, we use all of our magical girl powers to make it happen.

Nan Desu Kan is a premiere anime convention in Denver, Colorado, much like our beloved Naka Kon, which originated in downtown Kansas City. We have a booth at Naka Kon every year to showcase the hard work of so many cosplayers.

As a photographer with Kansas City Photography, and the face of Momo Bunny Cosplay, I wanted to bring something new to the table — on location photoshoots for cosplayers at cons!

“On location” shoots are where you pick a special location to showcase the character you are cosplaying.

This is my absolute favorite thing to do ever because it brings my cosplays to life — and sometimes I get to sit next to waterfalls like a wolf princess. HOW COOL IS THAT!?

This also led me to meet Christine in the first place (she was working an anime convention and I visited her booth!), resulting in a glorious friendship that has changed my life forever!

But enough about me! I want to introduce you all to some fantastic cosplayers who booked Kansas City Photography for NDK! ^_^

Bad Emu Cosplay cosplayed as a Studio Ghibli character — Nausicaä. She’s from “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind!” Now, since we were in downtown Denver, we didn’t really have a vast valley of nothingness (which would fit where her character lives), so we made do with what we had to still get that powerful shot of her whole cosplay —which, by the way, she made completely herself!

Moving her in the middle of a prickly pine helped, too. I love how the sun catches her hair here!

Next, we have the Magnificent, Marvelous Mad Madam Mim, or Hopefully Cosplay! This was actually done right outside the Sheraton where the con was held. I thought the fence gave a “Sword and the Stone” vibe.

We were both digging this squiggly bush! It’s fun to discover the territory around you to get that perfect shot! And I am pretty sure I saw Madam Mim give this exact face in the movie!

Any “Fire Emblem” fans out there? Kell Cosplay did an amazing job with her armor as Caeda! The Capitol building a few blocks down from the con worked great for some castle-vibes.

Kell and I found enough grass away from onlookers to get some shots in the “battlefield” as well.

We used the same grassy area for this shot of Eternal Sailor Moon, from the amazing J’adore Cosplay!

Christine is going to be super jealous when she see all the Moon Prism Power I got to be a part of this weekend. 😉 [Update from Christine: I AM super jelly!!!]

One of my favorite things as a photographer is to play with lighting. Although we shot this in the middle of the day, I couldn’t resist a moonlight glow for our moon princess. Jade actually won an award in the intermediate category of the cosplay contest! I was so honored to see those beastly wings up close. Congrats, Jade!

Another great thing about being a professional photographer is that even if I only have a bustling urban location to work with, I can still find those hidden gems for a great backdrop. This was at a bank, believe it or not!

I was so happy when Michelle, or Belle Mich Cosplay, was willing to go through the food festival happening the same weekend to get some palace pics in the Civics Center Park. Oh yeah, here’s a game changer for you — ALL of these shots were done around hundreds of people!

But I wasn’t about to let A Taste of Colorado rob me, or Michelle, of these pillar shots! Again, it’s all about the angles. 😉

This event also came equipped with a Ferris Wheel. Great for a meeting location but equally great for my Carnival Prompto cosplay from “Final Fantasy XV!” This photo was taken by the lovely Ashbear Cosplay and edited by me.

As a big thank you for Ashley being my personal photographer for the weekend, I got some pretty pictures of her Victorian-style Ariel cosplay.

I cannot resist a floral backdrop! And the bees can’t really resist brightly colored wigs so we quickly mosey’d back to the car after a fun filled weekend at NDK!

It was seriously so much fun to be able to meet so many amazingly talented ladies. I hope to keep in touch, both as a photographer and friend. <3

My next on-location con will be Anime Weekend Atlanta at the end of the month!

Message us today asking about our con specials and reserve a time dedicated just for you. 🙂