[Parallel Worlds in the Studio] Looking Back at My 2025 Cosplay Works of the Year

The photography schedule for 2025 was fully packed, experimenting with various completely different scene atmospheres. From the freezing retro lab benches to the passionately piercing pure red spaces, and further to the outdoor courtyards hung with lanterns, every scene set was like constructing a brand-new small world. This year, I paid great attention to the manipulation of light and shadow; the Tyndall effect streaming into the church in Photo 6 and the flickering candlelight in the mirror in Photo 4 were both bold explorations in upfront lighting and post-color grading.

In terms of coordinating costumes and props, I also consciously stepped out of my comfort zone this year. Whether it was the laboratory scene carrying a tech-vibe and a sense of oppression, or the emotion-oriented expression of curling up amidst red flowers covering the floor, it was never as simple as just changing an outfit, but rather an attempt to let the environment interact deeply with the character and its Roleplay. Having done cosplay photography for many years, this year felt like the most obvious technical advancement, especially in controlling the atmospheric portrait vibes, no longer purely relying on special effects in post-processing, but more on real-scene layouts and light positions to build up emotions.

The day we shot the red-background photos was actually very exhausting, but seeing the high-contrast feel of the camera-straight-out images made me feel that everything was completely worth it. Meanwhile, the shot with outdoor lanterns carries a touch of folklore and natural aura, serving as a lighthearted diversion for this year. The retro workbench with order in chaos in Photo 1 required a good control of clutter and the visual center; the red sea of flowers in Photo 5 relied entirely on manual layout, where that scattered and curled-up composition required constantly adjusting angles to snapshot the desired broken look. Behind each photo lies a clever lighting idea or a little story of scene construction; this process of constantly tearing things down to restart and nitpicking over details is precisely what fascinates me most about Anime-style photography.

The effects of specular reflection and local top lighting were also particularly helpful for elevating the texture of the finished photos. 2026 is already on the way, and I already have some new creative ideas popping up. I hope to blend different styles even better, raising the bar to another level in terms of the expressiveness of clothing materials and the application of lens language. Using photography to replicate character traits is a highly fulfilling thing; in the new year, I will continue to refine my skills, looking forward to recording more styling moments as Cosplay works through the lens. This concludes my photography summary for the year.