[Ellen Joe cosplay] Zenless Zone Zero's shark maid on convention duty today

Today, I completed this set of convention photos at the Zhuhai anime convention styled as Zenless Zone Zero's Ellen Joe.

Actually, bringing this costume to the convention, what gave me the biggest headache was that heavy-duty weapon prop. That giant mechanical composite blade certainly looks very impactful, but carrying it around was truly hard physical work, especially after several consecutive poses, which left red marks on the inside of my arms. But having chosen this character, prop accuracy had to be on point; even if it was heavy, achieving great results made it all worthwhile.

This outfit has a tremendous amount of design details—a black-and-white mecha-style maid costume. Looking at the upper body first, the short sleeves with white ruffled cuffs are designed very cleanly without being purely cute, while the choker features rivet elements that instantly boost overall sharpness. For hair and makeup, I deliberately chose short black hair with red highlights at the ends, paired with red colored contacts. Personally, I feel that red eyes combined with this cold, hard mecha style provide a strong visual impact, fitting the character setting perfectly and looking especially deep under actual lighting.

I am particularly pleased with the lower body design. The white apron featuring geometric cut lines paired with the black skirt incorporates maid elements while being packed with a cyberpunk vibe. The waist combines leather belts and silver chains, providing both fastening functionality and visual layering. The matching bracers are silver-white components with a mechanical assembly feel. Paired with the black stockings I carefully selected and a black diamond thigh ring on one side, the lines of the legs appear full of strength even in static poses. The other leg is paired with mechanical armor and black high-heeled tall boots; this asymmetrical styling is truly a masterstroke, elongating proportions without looking jarring.

The lighting on the day of the convention was actually quite cluttered with lots of blue spotlights, but this precisely gave us creative room. The photographer for this shoot was Lemon Tea; we had communicated beforehand about wanting to capture shots with cool tones and high-definition industrial lighting effects. When taking this half-body snapshot, it happened to capture the moment I turned back while holding the weapon, with my gaze slightly vacant and expressions restrained, striving to fit the character's composed aura. Although the background consists of somewhat blurred booths, combined with the metallic texture in the foreground and costume details, the visual focus clearly remains on me and the weapon.

I actually really like the composition of this high-kick pose. When striking this posture, keeping the heavy weapon from shaking while balancing the body's center of gravity and managing facial expressions was quite challenging. Fortunately, the entire shooting process was very smooth with great mutual coordination, preserving the details of the stockings and thigh ring as well as the dynamism of the skirt hem.

Cosplay photography is not just about putting on clothes and wearing a wig; more importantly, it's about capturing the character's "soul". The character Ellen Joe possesses an exterior quality of being lazy yet ready to dive into battle at any second. During the shoot, we tried not to make excessive expressions, maintaining a calm, composed confidence, and conveying that restrained combat prowess through gazes and gestures.

Huge thanks to the photographer for their hard work in capturing these shots. I also met many fellow fans at the convention who recognized the character; when exchanging thoughts on the character with everyone, I truly felt that being passionately dedicated to something and putting in the effort to present a materialized image is genuinely meaningful.

The post-processing this time also preserved my own understanding of the color palette—the color clash of black, white, and red is the soul of this styling. Among convention photos at the Zhuhai anime convention, I hope this set allows everyone to see a relatively accurate look. Regarding the weight and details of this costume, if you saw it in person on-site, you would definitely marvel at how much thought went into those patches and belt fastenings.

Although holding the prop all day indeed consumed a lot of energy, seeing the crisp and handsome style in the final shots made all the fatigue vanish. The convention experience this time was fantastic, and I hope to meet everyone with more elaborate works like this at future conventions. As long as you treat every outdoor and convention photo shoot seriously, I believe every time will be a new progress and breakthrough.