I’m Ryan; some friends call me Dee, and some in the cosplay community call me GimmieCookie bas

I’m Ryan; some friends call me Dee, and some in the cosplay community call me GimmieCookie based off my username I have on my personal page and love for cookies. I first started dabbling in photography over a decade ago just to have images to work with in my graphic design, which was my original main hobby and where the name Urban-Innovation came from.  My designs tended to have the so called ‘urban’ influence; album covers, vector artwork, flyers, etc.

Ironically, I never pursued being a photographer; especially not a cosplay photographer.  I had been going to cons and have friends that cosplay.  Over time, I noticed they weren’t getting stopped and pulled to the side like many others so they only had photos such as bathroom mirror selfies to show of all their hard work.  I also noticed not many black cosplayers were not being posted in the groups; and online,  when photographers would post their photos from cons.  It was if black cosplayers were not even in attendance if you went by the photos you saw afterward.

That lead to me dusting off an old camera to take pictures of friends and anyone else I saw that looked cool so they could have photos to share of their hard work.  They weren’t the best photos; and nowhere near the quality I tend to put out today, but they were nice and  clean, and they showed off the cosplay well enough for everyone to be really happy and others asking me for shots.  It is funny; and I always joke that I don’t choose the cosplay photographer life; it chose me. Although, I still shoot a bit of everything.

As people began to inquire about booking me for my services, I began to take everything more serious. It was no longer just pulling people to the side to snap a quick photo, so I began learning and practicing using off camera flash around 2019 to at least have that skillset when needed. I then started doing bookings outside of cons, created this page for my photography, and get requests to set up and shoot at various events from time to time.

I’m still not where I’d like to be skill-wise so I’m still taking learning and trying to put out quality; and consistent, work very serious. Most recently, I began playing with colored gels. I first tried them back in 2020. It lead to one of my most loved shoots; Roquois as Darkwing Duck at KatsuCon.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do much more with it until this past year due to COVID.  What trick or technique I learn next… we shall see.  I feel my photography journey is still  just beginning. Stay tuned!