Black Fae Day 2021
Earlier in the summer, I had the lovely opportunity to collaborate with local Kansas City cosplayer, May, to capture her look for Black Fae Day (celebrated this year on May 8).
What is Black Fae Day? A social media event, Black Fae Day is an opportunity for Black cosplayers to showcase cosplays (whether original characters or otherwise) relating to fantasy and fae. Continued efforts such as this and #28DaysOfBlackCosplay, uplift and highlight the ingenuity and talent of Black/POC creators in a space that has not previously been particularly diverse.
May’s original design was incredible—a fresh take on the fae that captured the dark and dangerous parts of their lore. If she asks you for your name? Don’t give it to her. When she approached me about shooting her look, her vision was primarily grounded in it being shot in nature, but otherwise, it was really her cosplay that drove the aesthetic.
We managed the capture the feeling of wild overgrowth all in the middle of the city (!!) and the lush surroundings provided the perfect opportunity for May to practically crawl out of the brush.
Check out some of my favorite shots below and if you’re interested in seeing more amazing cosplay work, be sure to follow May at @maybeans.cosplay.
Bonus content:
First off, I’d just like to throw out there that I’m eternally grateful to May for trusting me with her Black Fae Day look. I’m rarely the one running the photoshoots, it’s definitely a hobby over anything, and I felt some nerves doing into this that I wouldn’t live up to the opportunity. (Classic Imposter Syndrome™ shining through) Her patience and work paid off in some absolutely incredible final pieces that I was happy to share with her.
Another thank you to my photo assistant for the day, Kel, for carrying all my stuff + capturing some BTS footage of our work. They’re pretty entertaining so I’ll drop a couple below:
