Valentine’s Cosplay Photoshoot
Every once in a while, a photoshoot comes along that reminds me why I love doing this so much. This Valentine’s cosplay shoot was exactly that. It was bold, vibrant, and a ton of fun to bring to life.
When I first chatted with Stephaine about her vision, I knew it was going to be something special. She wanted to channel a strong, anime-inspired vibe with dramatic colors and over-the-top energy—basically, everything I love about cosplay photography.
We decided on a studio shoot to really control the lighting and make the colours pop. For the first set, I leaned into black and red tones for that sweet-but-sassy Valentine’s aesthetic. I used a mix of gels and modifiers to give the images a glowing, candy-coated vibe.
Then we cranked things up a notch. For the second set, I switched to deeper reds to give it a more intense, romantic feel. I played around with some creative lighting setups, including backlighting and colored rim lights, to make the outfit and hair absolutely glow.
The model absolutely nailed every pose—she brought so much character and personality that my job was basically just to keep up and capture it all.
I love shoots like this because they’re such a great mix of technical challenge and pure creativity. It’s about finding the balance between the cosplayer’s vision and my own style as a photographer—and when those two worlds meet, that’s when the magic happens.
Would I do another themed cosplay shoot like this? In a heartbeat.
If you’ve got a cosplay concept in your head (Valentine’s or otherwise), let’s make it happen. I’ll bring the lights, the creativity, and a few bad puns along the way.
- Mark Ruddick Photography - My images are an exploration of the human body under muscle stress — understanding the body’s strength, flexibility, and power. Creating these images has given me a better understanding of the human form which has transitioned into my commercial fitness work.
I am a London, Ontario photographer who specializes in fitness, bodybuilding and fight photography.
I love to tell stories as anyone who's worked with me can attest. That includes visual stories through photographs. Let me tell your story and provide high impact images of you to sponsors, agencies, family or just for yourself.