Who is Keane?

Hi, I’m Keane.
I picked up a camera at a convention in 2016 and never really put it down.
I started asking myself: would cosplayers want good images of themselves? Turns out — yes. A lot. Next thing I knew, Capturing Cosplay had grown into something I’m genuinely proud of. A body of work spanning hundreds of cosplayers, dozens of conventions, and one very specific kind of nerdy magic you only find in this community.

I was verified by Cosplay New Zealand, spent years as Capturing Heartbeats, and in 2019 levelled up and launched Capturing Cosplay — committing fully to cosplay and convention photography. I’ve been attending conventions since 2016. I’ve been obsessed with getting the shot right for all of it.

My commercial brand, Keane Chan Photos, covers portraits, events, and performance work. I’m based in Wellington, but I travel for the right conventions. I shoot with care, I edit with intention, and I always aim to send you a sneak peek within 48 hours.

Every cosplay tells a story. I love telling stories with my camera, freezing moments in time with the Fae, the Vamp, the Armour, and the Dress:

• The Fae: Sparkling wings, enchanted forests, a touch of whimsy. Soft light, ethereal detail, characters that exist somewhere between myth and imagination. If your cosplay has pointed ears, trailing wings, or the kind of craftsmanship that makes people stop mid-hallway — this is your realm..
• The Vamp: The antiheroes. The gothic beauties. The characters who own every room they walk into and make everyone slightly nervous. Dark fantasy, vampire lore, shadowy edge — if your cosplay has fangs or a brooding backstory, you’re in the right place.
• The Armour: Months of work. Hundreds of hours. Every rivet, every paint layer, every carefully weathered edge. Armour cosplay deserves more than a quick floor shot — it deserves a photograph that shows what you actually made. This is where the heavy builds live.
• The Dress: The gowns. The royalty. The couture builds that make jaws drop. Whether it’s a Disney princess, a fantasy queen, or a historical recreation that took six months to hand-stitch — this is a love letter to the cosplayers who make elegance their craft.

Finding Yummylight. I work with both natural and portable off-camera lighting — wherever I am, I’m hunting for Yummylight. That’s my word for character-appropriate light: the kind that makes your build look exactly the way it deserves to look. Whether it’s golden hour on the waterfront, a moody parking building stairwell, or off-camera flash on a busy convention floor — I’m always chasing it.

My post-processing stack runs Photo Mechanic → Lightroom → Photoshop. Every image is directed, lit, and made with intention.

When I’m not wielding my camera like a bard. I’m geeking out over comics, RPGs, anime, cartoons, movies, and TV shows. Want to talk about your favourite fandoms? I’m game – pun intended. Still looking for a Jewelled Lotus.

My other work. My commercial brand, Keane Chan Photos, covers portraits, events, and performance photography — including Wellington’s Latin dance and performing arts scene.

So, grab your gear, and let’s create something magical together!

[Book a shoot →]  [See the work →]