[The Dahlia cosplay] Honkai: Star Rail Jing'an Joy City convention photo exchange

The convention photos from Jing'an Joy City on June 21st have finally been sorted out after dragging my feet until now. Going to Joy City this day was truly a marathon of walking, but it was also exceptionally happy because I traded photo exchanges with so many exceptionally authoritative cosplayers.
Let's talk about the makeup and styling for the day first. This time I portrayed The Dahlia and Constance. The details of the wig and costume are genuinely quite complex, especially the headpiece part which required many fixing clips, and I had to constantly make sure not to knock them off while walking around the convention site. I woke up at around five in the morning to do makeup, aiming for that flawless cool-toned fair skin texture for the base, and used purple colored contacts with layered eyeshadow for the eye makeup. To ensure accuracy, every single eyeliner stroke was drawn with great care. After arriving at the site, I was recognized by many photographers and fellow hobbyists, and even complimented on my clean makeup, which made me quite happy.
The convention was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with people, but everyone was very enthusiastic. I ran into many friends cosplaying from the same work, as well as cosplayers from other series; gathering together like this was simply a visual feast. I truly love this atmosphere of convention photo exchanges; although I was a bit nervous at first, everyone was very easygoing and communicating was exceptionally smooth. Many cosplayers had super strong expressiveness, and when I stood next to them for photos, I had to adjust my poses and angles along with them, twisting my waist almost into soreness just to look more natural in front of the lens. Especially the waistband of the outfit was extremely tight, and I barely ate anything all day, but seeing the effect in the photos made me feel it was all worth it. To maintain the character's demeanor, I held a specific posture in front of the lens the whole time, controlling even the rhythm of my breath. Many passing pedestrians also curiously asked what characters these were, and I tried to explain briefly.
The photo retouching process after taking pictures was also a major project. Since it was a photo collage, and outdoor sunlight was mixed with indoor lighting that day, I adjusted the exposure and white balance photo by photo to unify the color tone. I slightly retouched the photos for the cosplayers, softening facial shadows and correcting some lens distortion. If there are any imperfections in the editing, I kindly ask everyone to bear with me; editing without permission makes me feel quite apprehensive and humbled. Post-production is still a work in progress, and I hope to shoot better works for everyone next time. While editing, I tried to retain each person's most natural state without excessive skin smoothing, because I feel real skin texture and lighting have more texture, and can also reflect the genuine efforts of the cosplayers.
Next up is waiting for the photos edited by everyone. I wonder if my expressiveness met everyone's expectations through the lens? I'm especially looking forward to seeing photos taken from different perspectives by everyone. The fun of conventions lies not only in cosplaying characters, but even more so in this unreserved communication. Everyone gathers together because of shared hobbies, and even complete strangers can instantly strike up a conversation. The venue at Joy City was actually quite spacious, except that the air conditioning wasn't very strong, and wearing such thick clothes was indeed a bit stuffy and hot; many people's makeup melted a bit, but everyone continued shooting after touching up, and this dedication was truly touching. I am also reflecting that next time I need to make more thorough preparations in touch-ups and sweat-proofing, such as carrying blotting paper or setting spray. Regarding photo exchanges, I feel this is not just preserving memories, but also a process of mutual recognition. Behind every photo is a brief communication where everyone confirms each other's gazes, adjusts positions, and with a click, happiness is frozen in time. While organizing these photos, the noise and hustle of the scene back then still come flooding back into my memory. The convention this time was truly a fantastic experience. Many of the current clothing pairings and prop makings are extremely exquisite; seeing everyone striving for their passions is deeply moving. I'm going to take a good rest for the next period of time, review my performance this time, note down the shortcomings, and strive to make further progress in action and expression management next time. Later on, I still need to organize the on-site photos to see if I missed any group pictures. I must take good care of my skin these next two days, because wearing makeup for a whole day is genuinely quite hard on the skin.