The photoset from the New Year Firefly ACG Expo is finally fully retouched. This time, I brought multiple outfits spanning completely different aesthetics to the venue; from indoor studio setups to outdoor street scenes, the overall shooting intensity was immense, yielding valuable experience across varied lighting environments.
The first look was a blue-and-white dress crafted from lustrous, satiny fabric that tended to reflect harshly beneath the venue's overhead top-lighting. The photographer meticulously angled the shots, using reflector boards to fill in facial illumination so the garment's gradient hues and starry motifs popped with clarity. Coordinated with long blue gloves and lined tights, seated atop a tall black barstool, the overarching cool tones created a striking contrast against the blurred ambient venue lights. During the shoot, we also kept a watchful eye on smoothing out the skirt folds to prevent visual flaws.
Another ensemble embraced a cyberpunk aesthetic: a black leather top paired with mechanical cat ears while wielding a gold-and-blue weapon. To resonate with the purple-tinted neon atmosphere, we calibrated the color temperature of the key lights in post-production. For the frame captured under the stage follow-spot—set against a pitch-black backdrop—the ruffled white mini-skirt radiated tactile depth under intense spotlighting, with rim light sculpting the silhouette of the feathered wings, where stark contrast delivered immense dramatic tension.
For the studio sessions, I explored Flower Fairy and Japanese-style concepts. In the Flower Fairy set, I sat barefoot on a reflector board, surrounded by blue-and-white floral arrangements and vintage lanterns as the primary backdrop; the lighting ratios were delicately balanced to produce an airy, high-key visual effect. For the Japanese set, holding a skewer of tri-colored dango while perched upon a wooden table, the background cherry blossoms and paper lanterns were blurred into soft bokeh; warm amber light filtered through a crimson parasol, whose sheer translucency cast a soft, diffused glow across my face to wrap the atmosphere in gentle warmth.
In the gold-and-crimson fox-eared styling, the costume incorporated asymmetrical stockings paired with a plunging V-neckline. To enhance visual depth, I sat on a chair draped in white fur, with the water feature and maple foliage behind adding dimensional space. Although the faux fur was delightfully soft, it caught loose flower petals easily, requiring continuous cleanup between takes. For the blue magical girl set, I cradled a glowing orb before stained-glass windows and deep-blue drapery; the lighting here aimed to evoke sacred majesty, contrasting cool blue ambient tones with the warm glow of the illuminated prop.
Finally, we shot the purple-haired look on nighttime city streets, pairing a metallic-luster flared skirt with black combat boots and utilizing roadside neon signs as the primary light source. The poses carried intense physical dynamism, requiring several series of takes to capture the ideal posture. Wardrobe hardware like metallic pauldrons and leather waist cinchers demanded painstaking adjustments. Bringing these sets together—from costume crafting to chasing lighting angles on site—demanded immense dedication. Navigating the expo floor in heavy platform footwear was undeniably grueling, but witnessing the fabric details and layered chiaroscuro in the final retouched shots made it completely worthwhile. Sorting through these frames still brings back vivid memories of adjusting prop details and discussing lens focal lengths with the photographer.