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I'm Kits UI Courtourtney or Kits Ou. I
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am a model and cosplayer. All right. Who
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are you cosplaying as today and how did
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you put together the costume? I am
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cosplaying as Free from Free Beyond
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Journeys End and I put together the
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costume. Honestly, it was mostly
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storebought and then I kind of tailored
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it to fit my body a little bit better.
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These boots I already had at home and I
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thought they really fit the character.
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Um, I don't know if you can see but on
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my table over here is my amazing staff
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and that I handmade. I'm not the best at
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sewing, but I really enjoy crafting and
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wig making. So, I worked on this wig as
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well as a model. Has How has cosplay
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given you an edge? Do you feel that it's
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opened doors for you? I kind of do. I
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worked as a model for a little while
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before I started doing cosplay modeling.
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And I think it's really fun because a
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lot of co a lot of like photographers
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when they're starting out or when they
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are been doing something for so long,
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they kind of want to do something a
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little more experimental or more fun or
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more creative. So, a lot of
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photographers will come to me for their
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portfolios or for to bring their like
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inspirations or characters or ideas to
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life. And so, I think that's definitely
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opened some doors that I didn't
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otherwise have open. How important is
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content creation in what you do? And
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what have you found that works the best?
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Okay, this is a bad question for me cuz
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I'm not the best at content creation. My
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favorite thing to do is to do photo
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shoots just because that is my
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background. Um, I like having full
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control, whereas like dancing or doing
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reals or anything like that, it takes so
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long and I'm such a perfectionist, so
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it's kind of hard for me to really get
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in the groove of that. I do have fun
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doing it, but for me, I found that just
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photography and modeling and something
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that really showcases my skill as a
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model uh crafter and my photographer
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skill as an amazing photographer uh
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really just makes me the happiest. And,
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you know, I like to do I like to have
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fun when I do this. I don't want to do
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this for anyone other than myself. How
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do you choose which character to cosplay
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next? And are you working on anything
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new right now? That's a great question.
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So, for me, I only do characters that I
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truly love and resonate with. Um, I find
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it very hard to cosplay characters that
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I don't really like resonate with or I
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don't really like. Mainly because like
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the inspiration isn't there. The passion
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isn't there. And because I'm such a
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perfectionist in a lot of the things I
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do, I want to be able to put like 110%
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of myself into that character and really
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bring them to life. So, as for what I'm
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working on next, I'm working on Alto
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from Overlord. So, I'm really having fun
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with that. I'm on my second try of that.
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I tried making the wings. It didn't work
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very well the first time. I have like a
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massive scar in my knee from where the
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hot glue just dripped off and burned my
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leg. But hopefully take two will be the
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next one cuz I'm making these big old
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wings. So look forward to that. Last
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one. How do you find good photographers
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to work with and what makes you feel
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comfortable during an intimate shoot? So
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I was really fortunate to be reached out
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to a lot of the photographers that I
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started with and my background in
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modeling gave me kind of like an inside
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look at what to look for in a
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photographer. Um so I look for
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photographers that do more than just
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sexy cosplay, more than just intimate
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cosplay. I look for co uh photographers
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that match the kind of editing style and
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aesthetic and uh angle of photos and the
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way they shoot that matches my aesthetic
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the best. Um and then I ask around about
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these photographers. So I try to see
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their reputation. I look at who they
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have already worked with. Um just to
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kind of feel them out if they're new,
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but how I can feel more comfortable
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during a shoot. If it's a new
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photographer, then I always always
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always bring a friend. Especially if you
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don't know this person, meet somewhere
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beforehand in a non-cost,
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non-photography setting like a Starbucks
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or something. Hash out details, hash out
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plans. Always bring a friend for
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protection and even to help during their
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shoot. Just protection is so important.
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And there's a lot of people who will
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just say they're photographers to get
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photos of you that may not be the most
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flattering or may not end up anywhere or
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they might not be, you know, genuine
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photographers that are doing it for the
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art. So always be cognizant, always be
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careful and always be aware. And always
