[Reimu Hakurei, Patchouli, and Komeiji Koishi Cosplay] A National Day Behind-the-Scenes Record of Touhou Project

During this National Day holiday, instead of choosing crowded tourist attractions, I poured all my time and energy into shoots at anime conventions and the photo studio. The post mentioned that the "Touhou concentration is over-limit," which is absolutely true. Seizing the holiday opportunity, I fully prepared and shot four character looks related to the Touhou Project. These few photos are just the tip of the iceberg. The back-and-forth shooting periods combined with the travel rush made my holiday both fulfilling and exhausting, but the moment I saw the final cuts, everything became worth it.

The first photo is a single-person behind-the-scenes shot taken in the studio, which primarily featured a "Magical Girl" atmosphere for this instance of Patchouli cosplay. I was holding that glowing LED book prop in my hand, with warm yellow light casting on my face, complementing the pink and purple gradient wig and this extremely intricate white and light pink western dress—everything was incredibly dreamy. To pursue a more slender visual proportion, I specially chose white tights and thick-soled pink plush slippers. Actually, when shooting this picture, the studio was freezing cold, but to exhibit a lightweight feel, I could only brace through it. The octagonal softbox in the studio created highly dimensional lighting. Although this is just a raw behind-the-scenes photo without any post-editing, I particularly love this documentary feel without excessive modification.

The second photo is a picture taken with my equally hard-working photographer friend. We were in the exhibition hall right after finishing a set of Reimu Hakurei Cosplay. He stood with me, a DSLR camera equipped with a vertical battery grip hanging around his neck, along with a headset. The styles the two of us wore formed an ultimate contrast: he wore a very casual white T-shirt and black shorts, while I was clad in an exquisite red-and-white Lolita suit topped with a massive red bow hood. This photo records our actual working state. The Anime convention behind-the-scenes reality is just like this; photographers not only have to find angles for us but also need to constantly watch out for passing tourists to prevent props from hitting people. Behind every shutter click lies a full day of them holding heavy equipment.

The subsequent pictures are double selfies taken with my lovely friends at the anime convention venue. I must say, when I put on the purple wig and tried that unique face makeup with a fine metal chain spanning across the bridge of my nose, the completion level of the entire makeup instantly skyrocketed. Combined with the purple colored contacts and that pearl-lace top with criss-cross lacings, the visual impact was powerful. My friend chose a mint green hair color, paired with that black wide-brimmed hat featuring yellow-green ruffles on the edge, plus the iconic green colored contacts, making this Komeiji Koishi cosplay look extremely playful. Another shot features golden hair braided into tails paired with star-element hair accessories, alongside another partner with long reddish-brown hair and red eyes. Actually, when taking selfies, because the exhibition hall was so crowded and the background was full of cluttered passersby, we could only cooperate with each other to find a relatively clean background. The light green mini handheld fan in the photo was also our lifesaver; the air conditioning inside the venue was simply inadequate, and walking a few steps in heavy skirts would make us sweat, so this small fan relieved a lot of pressure.

Among the four outfits for this National Day, every single one possessed quite intricate details. For instance, those lace trims, multi-layered pleats, and the delicate accessories on the clothes took a significant amount of time just to put on and take off once. However, this feeling of being immersed in the characters I love is amazing. By comparison, the quiet atmosphere of the photo studio and the hustle and bustle of the anime convention are two completely different experiences; studio shoots focus more on texture, while conventions value the overall sense of participation. Having shot all four sets, though my body is exhausted, my heart is fulfilled. In the coming days, I probably need to take a good rest, and photo editing has also been put on my schedule. I hope there will be another high-quality shooting opportunity like this next time.