[Kazami Yuuka cosplay] Experiencing the vitality of the flower youkai in the sea of sunflowers

This time, I completed the feature photo shoot of Kazami Yuuka in the sunflower field at the Garden Expo Park. The height of this flower field reaches just about the waist, making it very suitable as a foreground to build up the layering of the frame. To fit the setting of the flower youkai, the costume chose a brown plaid vest dress with pastoral and lolita elements, paired with a white lace apron. The red cross straps at the waist are a small highlight, perfectly outlining the waistline. Green short hair is actually very demanding on lighting in such an all-yellow background; if in shadow, it will look dull, so we specially selected the lighting around 4:30 PM, adopting side-backlighting to let the sunlight penetrate the hair strands, rendering that fluffy texture exceptionally good.

During actual shooting, lighting was indeed a big challenge. The backlight hitting the white lace parasol is extremely dreamy, but it leads to underexposure on the face. We filled in light from the front using a small reflector to ensure the catchlight in the eyes could come out. That white umbrella is not only a prop, but actually also a natural softbox. When sunlight passes through the umbrella surface and hits the face, the skin texture appears especially translucent. However, holding the umbrella also requires skill; you shouldn't grip it too tightly, your fingers must be relaxed, and the position of the umbrella handle should be right around the waistline so that when opened, it won't block the shoulder lines.

To avoid trampling and ruining the sunflowers, we tried our best to find gaps among the flower clusters for shooting. A few shots feature me kneeling halfway on the ridge, where the spread-out skirt hem looks gorgeous, but the soil is relatively soft, and with a layer of lace apron inside, crouching and standing up actions were actually quite restricted. The sunflower prop held in hand was also quite heavy; to ensure the flower disk faces the camera, the arms needed to be supported with effort the whole time. As a flower youkai, Kazami Yuuka's personality has both elegance and assertiveness, so when looking at the lens, I tried to slightly tuck in my chin, with my gaze carrying a tiny bit of coolness, while keeping the corners of my mouth soft. Hand actions were also coordinated as much as possible with the direction of the sunflowers to avoid looking too rigid. The white stockings and black Mary Jane shoes on my feet stepped lightly when walking, which, combined with the fluttering of the skirt hem, could capture a decent sense of dynamism. I hope this set of photos can convey the vitality of summer.