For this Fuzhou Chaoyou National Day Comic-Con, the schedule was set for Honkai: Star Rail's Hyacinthia on D2 and Wuthering Waves' Denia on D3. Running convention halls for two consecutive days with two costumes that both featured relatively bulky props meant they took up over half my suitcase, forcing me to pare down my personal belongings. To smoothly achieve the desired visual results, I started styling the wigs a week in advance. Hyacinthia's pink high ponytail is quite intricate, decorated with metallic goggle-like accessories and bows; I bought fresh hair wax and setting spray to groom the bangs and side locks, ensuring they wouldn't collapse during a full day of walking the hall. D2's outfit was predominantly black and white patchwork with sheer chiffon sleeves, requiring extreme care when walking to avoid having the hem stepped on. The footwear consisted of crisscross-strap black high heels; knowing I would be pacing the convention floor, I applied anti-blister pads to my soles. D3's Denia was a red-and-white dress with back and waist strappings that were tricky to put on and remove alone, so I asked a friend for help. The wig was pink twin tails with vibrant cyan-blue gradient tips, which I dyed by hand bit by bit using hair color cream. The lower half was paired with white stockings; considering convention halls can get rather warm, this material felt somewhat stuffy and was prone to snags, so I packed a spare pair. While the props were not excessively heavy, their sheer volume took up significant space, requiring engaged core strength to stabilize my center of gravity when posing.
Regarding TFP collaborations, my personal rule is that upfront communication is paramount. I always send my costume reference photos and intended mood to the photographer beforehand, including specific angles that best highlight the props and costume craftsmanship. The photographer only needs to provide baseline adjustments without heavy skin smoothing or reshaping; I prefer retouching my face myself, as I know my preferred skin textures and facial contours best. Upon arriving on site, we first scouted spots with favorable lighting and relatively fewer people for test shots to lock in composition and exposure. In such a bustling convention environment, finding shooting spots truly tests a photographer's keen eye, often requiring queuing up for popular backgrounds. The shoot went smoothly, yielding plenty of raw frames across the two days. The next phase is the massive selection process, sorting through thousands of photos for optimal framing and expression before kicking off my retouching pipeline. Although the cycle from prep to final output is long, the sense of fulfillment from presenting the styling and props flawlessly is irreplaceable. Both days of shooting were pushed to the limit; despite physical exhaustion, my heart is full, and I hope the final photos do justice to these two days of running around.