BlizzCon 2009: The costume contest
by Elizabeth Harper 
Aug 22nd 2009 at 9:30AM
If there's one thing we can't get enough of, it's World of Warcraft fans in elaborate, just-stepped-out-of-your-computer-screen costumes. (And even though this year's winner took her inspiration from Diablo 3, we can't hold it against her.) And BlizzCon certainly has its fair share of cosplay. But we're not going to waste your time with a bunch of words when there are so many pictures to show off -- enjoy our costume contest gallery, the next best thing to being there yourself. And, on the plus side, you didn't have to fight the crowds for a good seat!
BlizzCon 2009 is here! WoW.com has continuing coverage, bringing you the latest in Cataclysm news, live blogs, galleries, and reports right from the convention floor. Check out WoW.com's Guide to BlizzCon for the latest!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
oddballism Aug 22nd 2009 9:37AM
awesome!
Thorie Aug 22nd 2009 9:39AM
There parents would be proud
Serian Aug 22nd 2009 9:44AM
That is SO geeky, in the best possible way.
:D
Darkenmal Aug 27th 2009 4:18PM
These people give gamers a bad name. :(
Darkenmal Aug 22nd 2009 9:52AM
these people give gamers a bad name.
Toiyre Aug 22nd 2009 9:55AM
I felt bad for some of the contestants, it seemed that applause was inversley proportional to weight.
Tzivya Aug 22nd 2009 10:13AM
"I felt bad for some of the contestants, it seemed that applause was inversley proportional to weight."
Welcome, sadly, to RL. I think they were all brave for getting up there, though I think some could have learned a bit more about clothing making and made their costumes flattering even on a full figure.
Also, the true winner got gypped: No costume beat the summoning stone!
What was with the internet stream cutting out in the middle of the contests, though? I mean, they were awkward and a bit weird, but I was still watching. :(
Rainhoove Aug 22nd 2009 10:38AM
True. Of course, applause just seemed to drop off as the thing went on since there were a lot of contestants.
lolwut Aug 22nd 2009 10:08AM
is there any way to filter the photos to show the girls only?
theres too many to sift through..
Briggs Aug 22nd 2009 10:13AM
I'm still surprised that the chick with the nice rack didn't win.
mibluvr13 Aug 22nd 2009 12:52PM
90% of that was her costume.
Khremloc Aug 22nd 2009 10:14AM
This costume contest was merely a setback!
Blacknimbus Aug 22nd 2009 10:15AM
Thanks for the shots...but I have to ask...were these taken with a cell phone camera?
Stomy Aug 22nd 2009 11:06AM
I'd half to agree, i just want to put my name in as a professional photographer if you can get me a ticket to blizzcon 2010 I'll take free pictures for WoW Insider. As members of the media I couldn't imagine blizz restricting you from bringing in professional cameras with lenses.
on a bias note, it's probably the Macs fault for the poor pics i saw all most all of the WoW insiders bringing to blizzcon lol
Lux Aug 22nd 2009 2:41PM
While I am sure we all appreciate these pics since we can not get to bliz con, I also agree that just a little more knowledge of photography would increase viewablity of these photos 10 fold. If the poster of this is also the shooter then you said you had a Canon PowerShot SD100. The nicest thing I can say about this camera is... ummm... it can fit in your pocket. This camera is great for taking quick snapshots in med to bright light but is near useless in lower light settings. To tell the truth I am suprised how well these photos came out, she must have been sitting relatively close since the optial zoom is a measly 2x and minimal haze.
Zach Aug 23rd 2009 11:03AM
@Blacknimbus, Stomy, Lux:
Hi, the camera used was a Nikon D40, which is a fairly decent entry level DSLR using 18-55mm stock lens with 3x zoom. Photographers were only allowed a certain distance from the stage, even with a press pass, so that's about as close as I could get the pictures.
I was also using the P or Program Auto Exposure Mode with the ISO setting on 800 with the flash disabled on VI or Vivid preset to bring out the color. ISO 400 would yield blurrier pics, and 1600 would yield grainier ones. The contestants also tended to move very fast and did not pause for photographers, resulting in a lot of motion blur. In hindsight, more grain might've been preferable but I normally shun from it. It was like shooting sports photography, so I opted to set things at P rather than play catch-up on A, S, or God forbid, M.
Did we have a budget for a professional photographer? No, all the pictures were taken by the bloggers using their own equipment. Or in this case, I borrowed Joystiq's Kevin Kelly's D40. I personally have a D80 which has nine focus zones as opposed to the D40's three, but I didn't have it with me at the time.
The photographs aren't the best, I know, but we had to make do with what we had at the time. In fact, Kevin apparently uploaded almost all the photos, none of them color corrected or adjusted. As Stomy probably knows, Professional photographers ditch A LOT of shots to find ONE good one. Also, I'm not sure what Stomy is knocking Macs for when most pro photogs I know use Macs, particularly for Elements, Aperture, or CS4.
Thanks for the feedback, though. We'll try to do better next year.
Zach Aug 23rd 2009 11:05AM
@Stomy -
Also, you'd be surprised at exactly how restrictive Blizzard can be with many things, even with the media. Haha.
Lux Aug 23rd 2009 12:42PM
Well when you put it that way I feel like a bit of a jerk with my comment. Sounds like you where under some pretty harsh conditions. With what you have said I have to say you did a hell of a fine job on the photos. Motion shots in the dark with no flash from a distance with an unfamiliar body and lack of choice lenses? When put that way I am surprised so many of the shots turned out so well! I think your choice of iso was the right thing at the time and no one can fault you for uncooperative subjects. Good job on the photos!
Khremloc Aug 22nd 2009 10:17AM
Eh, there's a bloke dressed up as Ironman.
Jason Aug 22nd 2009 1:41PM
And he got 3rd place XD