[First Snow cosplay] Arknights Shoot Log Inside the Shanghai Anime Convention cpsp Venue

Today at the Shanghai Anime Convention cpsp, my main photoshoot mission was the character First Snow from Arknights. To get suitable photos in the crowded venue, I headed straight to the restroom with my gear upon arriving in the morning to fix my wig. The wig used this time was silvery-white, and I intentionally braided the twintails tightly and secured them on both sides. After putting on the white plush beast ears, I checked my eye and lip makeup. The blue contact lenses had great translucency, matching First Snow's aura well under indoor lighting. After getting ready, I walked over to a pre-scouted spot with an even-lit gray wall background. Once my friend—who was also my cosplay partner—took her position, we struck our poses immediately. For this duo shoot, we mainly attempted closer shot close-ups, tilting our heads slightly and observing the camera angles. After finishing this set, we moved to the other side of the hall, and finding fewer people there, quickly took full-body shots.

The shots featuring the Polaroid photos were taken during a break. My friend took out the freshly developed photo, and as I held it in my hands, another camera candidly captured the moment. The photo in hand happened to be a full-body portrait, showcasing the character's figure traits perfectly. In terms of makeup and styling, this character's defining features are white hair, beast ears, and red eyes. To match this outfit, I chose a wig length reaching just to the waist, paired with wide flowing sleeves. Although the venue was packed on the convention day, the overall shooting atmosphere was fantastic.

Compared to studio shoots, the advantage of shooting live at conventions is that despite the chaotic lighting, it feels closer to the character's authentic reality. To prevent the background from looking too cluttered, I used a smaller aperture while utilizing the telephoto end to compress space for Anime-style photography. In post-processing, I mainly adjusted the color temperature to restore the silvery-white texture of the fur and hair. When shooting at convention venues, you often need to find good lighting positions quickly. Since the venue lighting is mixed with overhead and ambient lights, I used contour powder on First Snow's makeup to sculpt facial contours, reducing the flatness caused by complex lighting. Standing in front of the gray wall, a gentle breeze happened to blow in through the window, sweeping strands of hair lightly across my cheek, allowing us to capture two great candid frames.

As for costume details, the white top and black vest worked well on-site to convey three-dimensional depth, and I specifically added shell buttons on the chest. The lower half, with its longer skirt, conveyed a sense of composure. This grounded poise helped attract the attention of other photographers at the event. Shooting with a partner requires great unspoken chemistry. We planned movements in advance, such as a turn or exchanging a glance. Positioning was generally determined by the day's lighting to decide who stood in the better light. This time in the corner, utilizing the soft side light bounced off the wall made our faces look much smoother.

Many passing attendees looked our way. To avoid letting the shutter noise disturb nearby booths too much, we kept our shooting time within an hour. Afterwards, we examined the Polaroid prints together, and the results were surprisingly good. The built-in physical vintage feel of Polaroids offers a completely distinct charm from digital cameras. Regarding how to edit such photos later, my advice is to moderately boost contrast and saturation to make First Snow's red pupils deeper. Especially when the venue is crowded and distractions easily creep into the frame, simple color grading can help visual focus settle onto the character's face and styling. I hope sharing these experiences helps newcomers recreating characters at conventions.

Although squeezing through the crowded venue in this costume made it easy to sweat, it was still a special experience. Big thanks to my partner for the teamwork that allowed us to finish this offline shoot smoothly. Back at it tomorrow—more updates to come!