When I started thinking about how to capture the phenomenon, I quickly realized that crowds wandering around staring at their phones is obviously not a spectacular thing to shoot. So I decided to take photos of cosplayers instead that also blends fiction and reality.

1. Capturing the phenomenon – Photo Project
Ingrid Ihász, September 7 2016

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Unless you’ve been living under a
rock, you’ve probably heard of the
game. Pokémon Go is the first real
success story of the use of
augmented reality technology, which
blends the digital and real world
together.
In just a few days since its July 6 2016
launch, it has become a worldwide
sensation,overtaking established
applications in daily active users.
The combined effect is part bird-
watching, part geocaching,part
trophy-hunting, with a heavy dose of
mid-1990s nostalgia.
Source:The Washington Post
NIKON D5500, Tamron 24-70 mm (70 mm), ISO 200, f/3.2, 1/125s

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More time spent daily
than on Facebook or
Snapchat
Millions of people
are talking
about the
game
Tops Twitter’s
active daily users
Source: ClickZ

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When I started thinking about how to
capture the phenomenon,I quickly
realized that crowds wandering
around staring at their phones is
obviously not a spectacular thing to
shoot. So I decided to take photos of
cosplayers instead that also blends
fiction and reality.
I asked my friend Andor, who’s been
an active member of this scene for
years, to help me find models.
I created an inspirational board on
Pinterest to collect mood pictures
and ideas for the photoshoot.
NIKON D5500,Tamron 24-70 mm (70 mm), ISO 200, f/3.2, 1/125 s

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Shooting date: 20 August 2016
Camera: Nikon D5500
Lens:Tamron 24-70 f/2.8, Nikon 14-24 f/2.8, Sigma 10-24 f/4-
5.6
Reflector: 100 cm gold/silver, 102x168 cm 5 in 1
Tripod:Vanguard Espod Plus 204AP
Light painting: Fiber Optic Light Painting Brush (White),
Translucent Light Painting Brush (Yellow)
Post processing:Adobe Lightroom & Photoshop
Plugins: Portrait Pro, Google NIK Collection,Topaz Collection
5

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I chose Aquincum Military
Amphitheatre as a location, which is
just the perfect ’Pokéstop’ for a
photo shoot with its ancient
structures and huge spaces. It is the
greater of two amphitheatres in
Budapest.It is located in the Obuda
district, just north near the Danube
river. It was built around 145, during
the reign of emperor Antoninus Pius.
In summer afternoons, it has decent
shades ideal for outdoor portrait
photography. As you can see in the
werk images it was a sunny day that
created high contrast between light
and dark areas, one of the worst
enemies of the photographer.
NIKON D5500, Sigma 10-20 mm (10 mm), ISO 200, f/11, 1/200s

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Cana Aries and Cornu Asleehr are a
cosplayer couple dressed up as
Pokémon trainers, namely Team
Magma Grunts for this photo shoot.
In general, cosplayers are not
professional models but they are
used to being photographed at
Anime Cons.
They create their outfits themselves
with matching makeup and wigs, and
they are proud to be captured in
their costumes.
Aries and Cornu, of course, also play
Pokémon Go.
NIKON D5500, Tamron 24-70 mm (70 mm), ISO 200, f/4.5, 1/80s NIKON D5500, Tamron 24-70 mm (50 mm), ISO 200, f/4.5, 1/200s

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FUN FACT: Team Magma is one of
the villainous Pokémon trainer
teams.
A Team Magma Grunt is a peon of
Team Magma.They all dress in the
recognizable red outfits associated
with Team Magma.
Generally,Team Magma Grunts have
weaker Pokémon.
Source:Bulbapedia
NIKON D5500, Tamron 24-70 mm (50 mm), ISO 200, f/4.5, 1/200s

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I always start the post processing of my
raw images in Lightroom. I have a look
at the histogram and correct exposure
as well as blacks and whites if
necessary. After that I use the crop tool
if needed and find a nice balance
between shadows and highlights while
adding contrast to my images. I use
clarity, vibrance and saturation with
caution to achieve the desired result. I
always use lens corrections at least by
removing chromatic aberration.
Sometimes I also play with the HSL
sliders to enhance particular colors.
The next step is sharpening and noise
reduction. I also use graduated filters
and the adjustment brush if necessary.
After that I turn to Photoshop where I
often choose the clone stamp and the
spot healing brush tool for retouching
and removing unwanted objects. I use
several plugins, e.g. Portrait Pro, NIK
Collection and Topaz Collection.
NIKON D5500, Tamron 24-70 mm (70 mm), ISO 200, f/4.5, 1/400s

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FUN FACT: Poké Balls are critical to
a trainer's quest, required for
catching and storing Pokémon.
Up to six Pokémon can be attached
to the user's belt for carrying them
around.
Source: Bulbapedia
NIKON D5500, Tamron 24-70 mm (70 mm), ISO 200, f/4.5, 1/80s

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Panning is a great technique to
demonstrate the dynamics of
running.
Shutter speed of 1/60 sec creates the
illusion of fast motion.
Thanks to the small aperture size
structures of the Amphitheatre
remained visible in the background
and serves as a gym for a Pokémon
battle.
NIKON D5500, Tamron 24-70 mm (35 mm), ISO 400, f/22, 1/60s

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Shot at a high shutter speed my
subject became ’frozen’.
NIKON D5500, Tamron 24-70 mm (42 mm), ISO 400, f/4.5, 1/500s

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Shot in bulb mode I used light
painting to create Pikachu’s electric
attack.
The angry face, motion blur and
thunder effect were added in
Photoshop.
FUN FACT: Pikachu is an Electric-
type Pokémon who is popularly
known as the mascot of the Pokémon
franchise.
Source: Bulbapedia
NIKON D5500, Nikon 14-24 (14 mm), ISO 200, f/8, 46s

14. 14NIKON D5500, Tamron 24-70 mm (70 mm), ISO 200, f/4.5, 1/250s

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Shot with backlight, I used a circular
reflector to light her face that also
created nice reflections in her eyes.
The lightning effect was added to
the Poké ball in Photoshop by using
lens flare and special brushes.
NIKON D5500, Tamron 24-70 mm (70 mm), ISO 400, f/4.5, 1/1600s

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I used bulb mode and a light
painting brush to create this image.
The „smoke”was slightly edited and
recolored in Photoshop.
NIKON D5500, Nikon 14-24 mm (14 mm), ISO 200, f/16, 13s

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I shot her with aperture wide open
for maximal background blur.
FUN FACT: Did you know that some
Pokémon do not like to be carried
around in Poké Balls, such as the
famous Pikachu?
NIKON D5500, Tamron 24-70 mm (50 mm), ISO 400, f/2.8, 1/1600sNIKON D5500, Tamron 24-70 mm (70 mm), ISO 400, f/4.5, 1/800s

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NIKON D5500, Tamron 24-70 mm (50 mm), ISO 400, f/14, 1/160sNIKON D5500, Tamron 24-70 mm (44 mm), ISO 400, f/4.5, 1/640s

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The previous pictures blend digital
and real life together.We were lucky
enough to have a „real” Magicarp as
well as a digital one in Pokemon Go.
I played with the depth of field to
create the effect I wanted.
NIKON D5500, Tamron 24-70 mm (50 mm), ISO 200, f/4.5, 1/400s

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The bars helped framing the picture
and also gave her hands something
to do.
NIKON D5500, Tamron 24-70 mm (70 mm), ISO 400, f/4.5, 1/400s

21. 21NIKON D5500, Tamron 24-70 mm (60 mm), ISO 400, f/2.8, 1/800s

22. 22NIKON D5500, Tamron 24-70 mm (70 mm), ISO 200, f/4.5, 1/640s

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I created this image to demonstrate
how much someone has to walk to
”catch them all” and also to create a
player crowd out of two people. I
used a tripod to shoot the images
from the same angle and merged
them in Photoshop. Small aperture
size was set for deep depth of field.
FUN FACT: Gotta catch 'em all! is
the English slogan of the Pokémon
franchise.The most noticeable
reference to the catchphrase in the
anime was introduced in the first
episode by the main character Ash
Ketchum.
Source: Bulbapedia
NIKON D5500, Tamron 24-70 mm (24 mm), ISO 400, f/11, 1/400s, multiple expositions

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26. ingrid.ihasz@gmail.com