[Touhou Project and Guilty Crown] My Annual 9-Photo Photography summary

Sorting through these nine photos was an opportunity to review my entire year's shooting journey. Since I still have unfinished edits on hand, the nine chosen photos lean toward those that best captured my state of mind at the time. This year, I mainly shot works from Touhou Project and Guilty Crown, covering various distinct outdoor locations such as snowy mountains, flower fields, and caves.

During the snow mountain photoshoot, the temperature was freezing and the wind was fierce; to capture the dynamic flutter of the skirt and floating feathers, we repeatedly ran back and forth scouting and timing the shots. At times, having my face numbed by the wind actually made it easier to focus on executing the character's movements, serving as great practice for capturing dynamic freeze-frames. The outfit at the snow pavilion had a gorgeous structure; to maintain the voluminous shape of the skirt and keep visual focus around the character, the photographer constantly adjusted high and low angles, showing me the massive impact camera perspective has on character aura.

In the flower field setting, I focused on experimenting with different focal lengths to showcase the fine lace and ruffle details, complemented by white and purple ambient lighting. In post-processing, I kept the overall color palette as translucent as possible to enhance spatial depth. The most challenging shoot this year was the cave studio set with red lighting—the illumination was intense, and reflections from the fabric complicated the lighting structure, which taught me many techniques for managing highlight-to-shadow transitions and handling high-contrast environments. There was also the set swinging a long staff on the grass, which required balancing dynamic tension with layered garments; it took many takes to find the most natural landing point.

Looking back at this year from start to finish, every shoot required considerable thought and preparation for wigs and costumes. Although the process was tiring, the moment I saw the finished photos made all the hard work feel completely worthwhile. Huge thanks to all the photographers who took me out for shoots—everyone was so patient and shared so many creative ideas. Thanks also to the friends who supported me in daily life and helped ease the challenges encountered during shoots. Whether finding locations, fixing props, or adapting to sudden weather shifts, mutual support was indispensable.

Regarding post-processing skills, this year I experimented with more systematic tonal and color grading methods instead of relying solely on presets, learning to understand light flow and using layers and curves to enhance texture. Next year, I hope to keep creating with friends, unlock more skills, feel more effortless in front of the lens, and produce even better cosplay works that express my emotions. In the new year, keep the passion alive!