(Winter Wonderland Lulu cosplay by Nimdra)
Cosplayers already look cool when they're strutting around in costume, except for those rare awkward moments when their costumes clash with their surroundings, but posing for cosplay photos in the snow is the coolest!
But cosplaying in the snow requires a different kind of commitment than Con cosplay, and those cosplayers who decide to pose for a themed shoot in the winter know they have to go big.
For example- you can't ride a horse into a convention (Ellie from The Last Of Us cosplay by EndureSurvivor)
And a horse can complete a cosplay like no prop ever could (Ellie from The Last Of Us cosplay by EndureSurvivor)
Con cosplay also limits your use of props, because nobody wants to carry around a giant, and often fragile, prop all day while they navigate through a sea of bodies (Winter Wonderland Orianna from League Of Legends by Lulu Cosplay)
And Cons don't properly capture the feeling of the winter holiday season like a trip to a mall all decked out for Christmas, where the decor makes cosplay photos that much more magical (Winter cosplay gathering by ourlivinglegacy)
Many pop culture characters have a winter version or wardrobe (Winter Baroness from G.I. Joe cosplay by Katy DeCobray of the Canadian cosplay team Cobra North)
And some winter cosplay outfits only make sense when the cosplayer is surrounded by snow (Winter Fairy by Lightning Cosplay)
The snow also makes romantic scenes feel more heartfelt (Inquisitor Lavellan and Empress Celene Valmont from Dragon Age by Eliot Rose and Anthony Cedillo, photography by John Newman)
And it makes battles between typically city bound superfolks look stone cold awesome (Captain America vs. Winter Soldier cosplay by A-Twins)
But the snow also makes horror scenes much more horrifying (Eren and Mikasa from Attack On Titan cosplay by pollypwnz and Tovarish-N)
Because the environment is so stark it adds to the dark feel of the scene (Winter Soldier/Bucky cosplay by Evgenia aka mercury)
Imbuing the shot with a bleak and hopeless feeling (Eren and Mikasa from Attack on Titan cosplay by pollypwnz and Tovarish-N)
Characters who belong in the snow look perfect when they're surrounded by a blanket of soft white powder (Winter Spirit cosplay by NikitaCosplay)
And that white powder can be used as a fun prop (Winter Nelliel from Bleach cosplay by Touzzy)
But even characters who aren't normally seen in the snow look cool as ice when surrounded by blue and white winter weather (random samurai from Naruto cosplay by IkasuTaiki)
Their heroic stance is enhanced by the environmental conditions (Bucky Barnes: Tales Of Suspense cosplay by Lux-Laterna, photography by Clint Hay)
And the character's mystery deepens when they're spotted in the snow (Winter TARDIS cosplay by Severn12)
Making us wonder why a character who loves basking in the sun so much would be walking around in the cold without a proper winter coat (Winter Poison Ivy cosplay by HJ Steele, photography by Erik Blume)
There, now isn't that better? Her cloak should keep her warm (Red Sonja cosplay by It's Raining Neon)
But some characters have no need of a coat when they're out romping around in the snow (Winter Horo cosplay by Fosya)
They were born in freezing cold conditions (Dragonborn from Elder Scrolls: Skyrim cosplay by emilyrosa)
Raised to feel right at home in the harsh and frigid conditions of the North (Dragonborn from Elder Scrolls: Skyrim cosplay by emilyrosa)
Other characters, like Orianna, are unaffected by the weather since they're synthetic lifeforms (Winter Wonderland Orianna from League of Legends cosplay by JenniferCosplay)
Or a time machine made human by inexplicable means (Winter TARDIS cosplay by Severn12)
And then there are characters like Lulu, the Fae Sorceress, who use magic to make the weather bend to their will (Winter Wonderland Lulu from League of Legends cosplay by Nimdra, photography by Kikunai)
While others are so cold hearted they feel right at home in the snow (Empress Celene Valmont from Dragon Age cosplay by Anthony Cedillo)
But overall pop culture characters don't like what the cold represents to their world during the winter months (Winter has killed everything Thumbelina cosplay by Ryoko-demon)
And therefore dread knowing winter is coming (John Snow from Game Of Thrones cosplay by Phillipp Mikulskiy, photograph by shproton)