Anime Milwaukee helps screen photographers for the event to help provide onsite and safe experiences for cosplayers.

Looking for a photographer for 2025? Applications and approved photographers coming soon!

Photographers may charge for sessions and those charges are negotiated directly between photographers and attendees. Any photographer charging for sessions at the event without a photographer badge is not verified by our staff. Feel free to report any such instances to our staff and direct the photographer to our Press Department for processing.

Photographer Pass Policies

If you intend to charge attendees for photoshoots and/or accept monetary tips, we require you to purchase a photographer badge. Anyone who is financially profiting from our event and/or attendees must be accounted for through similar regulations as our exhibitors and vendors.

We use proceeds from this to benefit the Anime Milwaukee cosplay community as a whole. This year, thanks to the support of cosplay photographers last year, we will be improving our cosplay photoshoots with revamped scheduled meetups (with staff supervision on Saturday) and new backdrops.

Photographers with professional or prosumer gear who are taking photos and their present talent may be approached by staff at the convention and asked if they are doing a paid photoshoot. In the event that you do not have an Anime Milwaukee issued Photographer or Press Badge, you will be escorted to the Press Office to obtain an appropriate badge. Refusal to do so will result in the loss of your attendee badge and you will be escorted off the premises.

The photographer badge is $95. If you have already registered for an adult Weekend (3-day) badge, you will be refunded the cost of that badge and charged the $95 for the Photography badge. Please contact our Press team to arrange that refund after purchase.

The purpose of the application process is to verify your service as legitimate, not to judge quality of work. These passes will be available with our pre-registration system as well as on-location.

What this provides you

• Reserved seating and early entrance for select convention events (see the Press Department for more details)

• Complimentary coat check access to store your equipment in a supervised area between shoots

• Approval to use our social media(s) to advertise (after the application is approved)

• We will issue you an Anime Milwaukee authorized logo to promote your presence

• Use of one (1) light stand (battery powered only) on the premises

• Use of clamp lights

• Listing in the official Anime Milwaukee guidebook

• Equipment is permitted in foot traffic areas but should immediately be moved when the shoot is complete or if any handicap/special needs vehicle needs to pass through

What this does not provide you

• Does not grant “all-access” access to our event

• Does not grant you the power to restrict attendees from certain areas of the convention. You may politely ask attendees to clear an area, but they do not have to comply.

Additional Information

Reports of a photographer being rude to attendees will result in the removal of the photographer badge. The complainant will be issued an attendee badge and be told to discontinue photoshoots for the remainder of the event. Inability to comply will result in removal of attendee badge at the event.

Anime Milwaukee reserves the right to deny a photographer badge to anyone at any time. If you are denied a photographer badge, you will be refunded.

There is no badge mailing option for photographer badges. These are Weekend badges only, there is not a single-day photographer badge. These badges will be made available for pick up at the convention only.

Photographers retain all rights to their photos, however, AMKE may ask to use high quality, non-watermarked photos in promotional materials. If so, photos will only be used with attribution. As this is a private event, certain photo restrictions may apply, such as guests not permitting photos or allowing photos to be sold.

Submission of the Photographer Registration form indicates an understanding and acceptance of the Photographer Rules and Regulations for Anime Milwaukee 2025 as described above.

Photography Room Location and Hours

Questions? Contact us at Press@AnimeMilwaukee.org