[Kochiya Sanae Cosplay] In the Sunny Courtyard

The moment the shutter clicked in the studio, the tassels of the blue and white skirt hem and the patterns on the fan were perfectly illuminated by the cold light, and I instantly entered the zone of the character Kochiya Sanae. The theme of this cosplay photography was quite clear: we wanted to express that cool temperament imbued with divine power. Therefore, during the early communication with the photographer Zhufeng, we adjusted the lighting scheme to a harder, high-contrast overhead light, paired with a black background and reflective plastic film on the floor to maximize the texture layers of the costume.

In terms of clothing, this blue and white shrine maiden outfit really took a lot of effort. The white wide sleeves of the upper body are very lightweight, but the ruffles and layered pleats at the cuffs needed repeated shaping to maintain a three-dimensional curve; otherwise, they would easily collapse whenever I raised my hands. The small blue rope knot decoration on the chest and the patchwork at the collar were actually meant to balance the large area of white, preventing it from looking too visually monotonous. What I am most satisfied with is the skirt hem part—the deep peacock blue fabric has a subtle pattern resembling interwoven water ripples and feathers, which casts a satin-like luster under the direct overhead light. The circle of tassels and woven fringes at the bottom edge of the skirt were all hand-sewn one by one, moving naturally with my steps when walking, and the dynamic effect is much better than static posing.

As for the props, this rectangular handle prop fan was also custom-made. The fan surface uses a fabric with a silver-white lace texture, and its deep blue border trim and the blue ribbon on the fan handle color-coordinate with the skirt. I practiced the gesture of holding the fan for quite a while, because it needed to look unforced while naturally matching the character's habits—leaning obliquely when squatting, and lifting upward when standing. After rotating the angles back and forth, I found that the pose holding it high over the shoulder shown in the picture actually did the best job stretching the body lines, creating a stark contrast between the flowing feel of the sleeves and the square rigidity of the fan.

The venue on the day of the shoot was a standard indoor black studio, surrounded by many reflectors and light stands. In the background of the third photo, you can faintly see a staff member in yellow clothes adjusting the lights, which is also a part of our daily workflow. During the shoot, we tried three different sets of positioning. The first was a low-angle squatting pose; lowering the center of gravity made the entire person look softer, but I personally feel that the standing shot (which is Figure 2) best reflects the full picture of this attire—the skirt ends below the mid-thigh, perfectly revealing the calves and shoes without looking sloppy, and the waistline is pulled very clean and sharp.

Regarding the makeup, I didn't use very heavy eyeshadow this time; the focus was on the combination of colored contacts and eyeliner. The blue-green colored contacts made the gaze more focused, and combined with the natural straight bangs and straight sideburns on both sides, the overall facial expression leans closer to the original work's vibe of being 'composed yet a bit earnest.' The headpiece is a simple small hair clip with a white base and blue flowers, which didn't take up too much visual weight, as the hair's color and length itself were already enough to carry the styling.

As for the post-production editing, Teacher Zhufeng exercised a lot of restraint. He basically just darkened the background and enhanced the highlights without over-smoothing the skin or changing the logic of light and shadow, so the reflections of the skirt hem and the shadows of the tassels are all authentic textures captured live. I especially love the clean aura brought by those cool color tones. This look is actually highly suitable for shooting in environments with complex lighting, but a pure black studio instead makes the character's sense of color and details stand out even more.

The entire cosplay photography session took about two to three hours, during which I touched up my makeup twice and adjusted the ribbons on the fan three times. The greatest difficulty during the shooting process was maintaining the shape of the wide sleeves, because as soon as I lowered my arms, the cuffs would easily fold over. Therefore, many times I had to rely on a slight bend of the arm or a subtle rotation of the wrist to prop up the sleeve cuffs. Additionally, in that squatting photo, I sat directly on the reflective film. Although it was a bit hard, I endured it for the sake of the compositional effect.

Looking back now, every time I do a cosplay, I encounter various minor accidents, such as the wig being blown messy by the fan or the tassels getting tangled around my fingers, but these are all just intermezzos that form the final photos. Being able to capture two sets of relatively satisfying standing and squatting poses this time has achieved my expected goal. I hope to have opportunities in the future to try other characters from the same series, or re-interpret this look with a different lighting style.