More than three years have passed since I first started getting involved in formal cosplay photoshoot sessions. Over these three years, I have poured almost all of my energy into character presentation and visual creation. During this journey, I have met quite a few photography masters with top-tier technical skills and aesthetics, from whom I learned many details about light, shadow, and composition. Of course, I have also encountered some highly out-of-sync, bizarre partners, which conversely made me realize firmly that finding the right person to collaborate with is more important than anything else.
My current permanent bases are mainly in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai area, specifically Ningbo and Shanghai. Because I personally love church elements very much, I built a church-style real-scene studio myself. This studio mainly features dark and sacred atmospheres, which is perfect for shooting characters with high-magic, high-combat prowess, or religious mystery. At the same time, I am also highly eager to go to various outdoor locations; I really love taking my partners to various authentic scenes for filming.
Every time I want to do an outdoor location shoot, I will visit the site long in advance for scouting, which has already become my habit. Since I have my own car and a logistics teammate accompanying us, even if we go to some relatively remote ruins, forests, or beaches, models do not need to worry about logistics and equipment transportation issues for the Ningbo photoshoot booking. Not only that, because I regularly receive sample-photo shoot commissions for various new cosplay costumes, I also possess relatively high judgment standards regarding the texture and final presentation of costumes, makeup, and props.
As for post-processing, I have always insisted on doing the layout and fine-tuning myself. On one hand, it's because I have high demands for my own works, and I might not fully trust the post-processing styles refined by others; on the other hand, the layout itself is an important component of the photo's overall look. When a set of photos is released, a beautiful layout makes a huge difference in visual perception. For each shoot, I can guarantee an output of at least 9 or more finely retouched large images, and if there are pieces I am exceptionally satisfied with, I will extra-retouch a few more.
My personal sleep schedule is quite unconventional, and I am basically online 24 hours a day. Whether it's daytime or late at night, as long as we talk about character setups and shooting ideas, I can reply and handle them timely. Therefore, whether you are free on weekends or want to request leave during the mid-week to shoot, there is almost no possibility of a conflict in my schedule.
Regarding my topic preferences, I heavily favor works with grand worldviews and uniquely featured characters like Arknights cosplay and EVA cosplay. Besides these, I have also watched a massive number of ACG mobile games and anime works. As long as you are willing to chat, I can basically catch all the related memes and background stories. But I know deeply that to restore an anime character well, having just a passion is not enough. I hope you, the long-term collaboration model I am searching for, can spend a little time before every shoot to truly understand the character's background story, personality positioning, and classic postures.
Makeup and styling must never be sloppily done just to save trouble; this is both a respect for the character you portray and a respect for our hard work in this mutual shooting collaboration. To restore a character, I am willing to invest more time to find suitable outdoor locations, and even accept some shooting scenes with relatively harsh environments. What I need is a partner who shares the same love and pursuit for characters as I do.
I will continue to refine my photography techniques and post-processing abilities, striving to shoot more surprising blockbusters in the future. I believe that as long as there is enough sincerity and patience, I will definitely encounter a long-term collaborator with matching philosophies. If you happen to be lacking a well-matching photographer or a fixed partner, welcome to knock on my window anytime; we can chat about specific shooting ideas for our next Anime-style photography project.