Celebrating 3 Years in Faerûn

So, some of you know a lot of this, some of you don’t. Three years ago, Larian Studio’s released Baldur’s Gate 3, a Dungeons & Dragons based video game.

I’m always a bit behind when it comes to games (I usually wait for a sale, for the updates to shake some of the bugs out, and to get a sense of how “worth it” the game is), so my journey has been maybe a year and a half….

I’ve played a lot of games in my life - I was the perfect age to play some Atari, then Nintendo, then Sega Genesis…. on and on. I got in on the ground floor of the video game renaissance. I’m also a seasoned theater professional, and a lifelong cinephile. So I’m deeply invested in story, character, pacing, flow, production design….

Baldur’s Gate 3 managed to hit a very specific combination that I absolutely love. Incredible storytelling, character design, voice acting, beautiful environments, and incredibly clever, detailed gameplay.

This game is absurdly good at making you care about the crew you’re traveling with. The investment I have in these people…. remarkable.

Karlach, Wyll, Gale, Lae’zel, Astarion, Shadowheart make up the core set, with probably a dozen characters of various involvement in your journey.

Original Character portraits by Edward Vanderghote at Larion Studios

You can run the game as one of the six, or….

You get to make your own. Your “Tav” or your “Durge”. This incredibly specific character (down to some… NSFW detail) from the main game, and then there’s a sea of mods you can add in for even more detail!

That’s the part I keep coming back to. Because as an actor and as a photographer, characters are really my thing.

Bring your Character to Life

One of the things I love about working with cosplayers is that the goal isn’t just “photo of cool person in costume”. The costume is important, absolutely. The make up, yes. The props and the details, for sure.

But it’s also about capturing the character underneath all of that, and the cosplayer bringing them to life.

What is is about Shadowheart that you love? What part of her journey speaks to you?

Are we going to show off the silly and playful side of Karlach, or are we touching on her melencholy and fear?
What’s your Tav like? Hero? Villian? Bad ass? Sneaky? Charming?

This is where cosplay gets really interesting for me. It’s not just “dressing up as a character”, it’s about interpreting one.

That’s the magic we strive for in our photoshoots.

So… we’re starting a project.

To celebrate three years of Baldur’s Gate 3, we’re going to run a BG3 project.

From now until Halloween, I’m offering 30% off all cosplay sessions starring BG3 characters. Any character. Astarion? Absolutely. Minthara? Yes, for sure. Jaheria? You bet. Tav, Durge…. that specific NPC that caught your eye and you wanted to know more about?

Yes.

The point isn’t to recreate the character from the game, it’s about taking your connection to the character and making something great.

Why?

Honestly… because I’d like to..? That’s really most of it.

As photographers, we’re constantly pushed to work at “what sells”. What gets engagement. And there’s certainly a place for that. But there’s also great value in occasionally saying “I like this and I want to do this”.

Baldurs Gate 3 is one of the best games I’ve ever played. It’s given me a dozen characters that I’m deeply invested in, hundreds of beautiful visuals, and a whole lot of ideas for great photographs.

So let’s make something out of that. Let’s have fun.

Interested in joining the party?

If you’ve made a Baldur’s Gate 3 cosplay and you’ve been looking for an excuse to make something great with it, this is that excuse.

BG3 Cosplay sessions are 30% off through October 31.

Bring us your characters and let’s make some amazing images.