Cosplayer IG: Gibcencosplay

A Run-In with Starlord in Wake Forest.


This is my first time writing about one of my shoots, so bear with me. I took these back in October 2025, so some details might be a little fuzzy—but I’ll share what I remember and hopefully give you something entertaining (and maybe even useful) along the way. The cosplayer for this shoot is a good friend of mine—Mack (IG: @gibcencos). He’s full of great ideas, but somehow always busy, so the fact that we even made this shoot happen feels like a win on its own.


The Gear


For this session, I was shooting on a Canon 6D Mark II with a 35mm f/2 and a 70–200mm f/2.8. Lighting-wise, I kept it simple with a Godox AD200 Pro, a Godox TT600 speedlite, and a 36-inch softbox—nothing too crazy, just enough to shape the light and keep things clean.

I started using softboxes for my cosplay portraits recently, and they’ve pretty much become a staple for me. They give me a softer, more controlled look that fits this style really well.


For any behind-the-scenes footage, I used my Ray-Ban Meta glasses. They’ve honestly been a lifesaver—super easy to use, and everything saves straight to my phone without slowing the shoot down.


Quick Gear breakdown

  • Canon 6D Mark II
  • Godox 200 AD Pro II
  • Godox TT600 Speedlite
  • Rayban Meta glasses
  • 36in softbox


The Idea


The concept for this shoot was pretty straightforward. Mack wanted to do his own take on “Zombie Starlord.” Since Starlord is already one of his main cosplays, transitioning from his Vol. 3 version into a zombie version was quick and made a lot of sense.


He handled all the makeup, the mask, and the outfit himself, which made a huge difference in bringing the idea to life. If you’re curious about how he put any of it together, definitely reach out to him—he’s super friendly and always down to talk about his process.


Using the tunnel was a no-brainer. It had the dark, eerie look we needed and ended up being way easier to work with than I expected. The long stretch, the repeating lights, and the confined space all added to that slightly unsettling, cinematic feel we were going for.

The Shoot


I actually got pretty lucky with this location. It was a tunnel along a walking trail in Wake Forest, NC that a client showed me while I was planning a separate rock band shoot around the same time. As soon as I saw it, I knew it would be perfect for something like this.


The row of lights running through the tunnel helped a ton—not just with visibility, but with the overall mood. It gave the shoot a natural depth and atmosphere that would’ve been hard to recreate anywhere else.


Lighting-wise, this was one of the first times I really leaned into bouncing light off the walls and back onto the subject. I don’t usually shoot in tighter spaces, so it’s not something I get to practice often—but the tunnel made it work. The space was narrow enough to control the light without overcomplicating things.

Looking back, there are definitely things I could’ve pushed further—especially with posing—but overall I’m really happy with how these turned out. We kept the direction simple: more traditional zombie movement, slumped posture, arms reaching forward. It was easy to communicate and fit the concept well.

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