BW is in full swing, and my WeChat Moments is completely filled with everyone's various colorful convention photos and queuing complaints. But I didn't rush to this summer grand event, choosing a certain rooftop in the city to complete this shoot. To be honest, looking at everyone's bustling itineraries, I was indeed sleepy—truly not envious or sad at all (laughs). After all, for a daydreaming person like me, a crowded venue sometimes makes people choke. This set of photos taken outdoors perfectly matches the subtle state of 'daydreaming humans' and 'forgetting time.' That sleepy and lazy feeling became the most authentic emotion in the frame instead.
The weather on the shooting day was very nice, the sunshine was just right, and above the head was a very wide sky. Although it was windy, the physical perception was very comfortable. Previously, my heart was drumming, fearing that the outdoor wind would be too strong and blow the styling into a mess, but after the output came out, I found that the feeling of the wind blowing through the hair strands added a lot of agility and breathing feel to the frame instead. Putting on the pink wig and that highly recognizable halo-shaped headpiece, combined with the light blue colored contact lenses, the whole person was immersed in the established atmosphere. Can you imagine crouching by the rooftop railing, with soft light shining on the profile face, and those green-and-white circular disc backgrounds behind forming a highly dreamy mottled look in the bokeh? It truly makes one unable to resist wanting to close their eyes and quietly freeze time.
Speaking of clothing, this time I selected an off-the-shoulder design primarily in white, topped with sky-blue ruffle decorations. This tailoring is highly friendly for summer shoots, without a heavy feel, and the off-the-shoulder design along with the blue binding renders a very refreshing visual look. Those gathers and blue ribbons at the cuffs and collar are full of details, bringing out a great sense of layering from flat and slight bird's-eye angles. The entire styling doesn't have excessively gorgeous accessories, with the focus placed on the wig, headpiece, and the lines of the clothes themselves. I compared it between studio shoots and outdoors, finding that if this styling is under soft natural light, the effect is softer and more natural than strong flashes instead. That turn of the head in image 2, with the wind carrying the long hair to flutter backward, coordinates with my posture of resting my hands on the railing to display a highly relaxed and casual state, free from the stiffness of intentional posing, but truly feeling the early summer wind.
Actually, thinking about it carefully, the convention's free-pass independent travel is indeed very lively, but it often demands an extremely long waiting time and a massive amount of energy. Whereas for this set of shoots for me, finding suitable outdoor lighting and bringing along a camera and lightweight equipment allows taking photos that both match the character's worldview and carry a unique slice-of-life aura. Many times, cosplay doesn't necessarily have to reflect its value in a bustling venue; like this in a high, empty place, even with just a circular decorative wall and the blurring of the city background, it can shape a highly visual story. The one closing eyes and raising a hand is actually precisely the moment during shooting intervals when I wanted to extend my body against the wind, yet it was captured by the photographer's shutter. That is not just a freeze-frame in the photo, but the most authentic body language after continuously doing makeup and hair for several hours.
To say the biggest challenge of this shoot, it wasn't really the fill light angle of the reflector board, but how to maintain the natural look of facial expressions under a lazy and drowsy state. Because once a person is truly sleepy, the facial muscles become a bit relaxed. I was originally worried that it would be shot without energy, but looking at the final photos, that relaxation carrying a sense of breathing became a unique attraction with a contrasting cuteness instead. This reminds me of the shooting expression problem that many fellow fans are often confused by; sometimes, instead of forcing a smile, it's better to release emotions and truly achieve relaxation of body and mind. At that time, I was just thinking about not rushing for the venue, not rushing for time, and treating this outdoor shoot as a weekend excursion.
In this fast-paced era, being able to quiet down is a luxury. There is no regret for not rushing to BW either; after all, finding a rhythm suitable for oneself and taking photos that satisfy oneself is the most pure primary motivation for doing cosplay. This set of photos doesn't have overly complex post-processing, retaining natural luster and transparency, hoping everyone can feel that coziness of me blowing the wind and looking at the sky on the rooftop through the screen. After all, to me, photography itself is a way to record the current state; whether on-location at a convention or not, feeling the wind, feeling the light, and feeling every shoot that slows down with your heart is the memory most worth being remembered.