After putting it off for a whole month, I finally finished retouching the official selects from my first-ever cosplay shoot. My procrastinating P-personality went into full overdrive, but I also gained a profound appreciation for the sheer labor of photo post-processing! Posting a Your Lie in April set in May—I was buzzing with excitement right after shooting, but I struggled for a full month trying to figure out how to color grade that specific spring atmosphere: radiant sunshine tinged with a delicate touch of melancholy. Portraying Miyazono Kaori for the first time meant tackling wardrobe, hair, makeup, and props entirely on my own from scratch. For that iconic grey blazer, red-and-grey striped necktie, and pleated plaid skirt, I tried multiple shops just to secure crisp, structured tailoring. The blonde wig went through repeated trimming and styling sessions to balance airy volume with a natural silhouette. On the day of the shoot, we woke up at dawn to scout the best spot under the blossoming cherry trees. The morning sunlight was pristine, the breeze gentle. To honor her musical lore, I even practiced violin stances for days beforehand; while I can't actually play a tune, I did everything possible to ensure my fingerings and posture looked authentic on camera.
Compositionally, bringing a telephoto lens was a total game-changer. The creamy bokeh effortlessly melted away passing tourists and cluttered twigs, isolating clean cherry blossoms and shimmering river ripples. I have to praise the pairing of over-the-knee black Stockings and black leather shoes—it wasn't just screen-accurate, it also visually elongated my legs wonderfully. What stood out most during shooting was holding that tender, enigmatic smile for hours on end, especially for the frames where I held a finger to my lips in a 'shh' gesture or cradled a fallen petal in my mouth; my facial muscles were practically numb, yet I had to keep the smile effortlessly pretty. Finding the dark navy school bag took considerable searching to match the anime texture, and I clipped two tiny pink blossom pins to the zipper pull as a personal creative accent.
In post-processing, I tuned the saturation of the cherry pinks and foliage greens toward that luminous, airy Japanese aesthetic, pulling back blown-out highlights to retain textural detail. Because the final layout used cinematic collages and subtitled frames, I spent extra time weaving the typography naturally into the images, striving to make the bilingual subtitles feel like authentic anime stills. Previewing these full-bleed frames across my monitor brought an overwhelming surge of accomplishment—I really pulled this off!
Taking on such an iconic character from Japanese anime and manga was frankly daunting because everyone holds their own version of Miyazono Kaori close to their heart. But I poured my soul into recreating the girl I see: courageous, deeply passionate about music, and laced with playful spirit. Sitting on the riverbank watching the sunlight dance across the ripples, there were moments I truly felt like I had stepped right into that story. Delivering this completed set today draws a satisfying, beautiful close to my very first cosplay journey. Looking back through this Sakura Photograph album, I can vividly recall the warmth of the morning sun against the wig and the carefree joy of running along the riverbank clutching my school bag. Retouching was an exhausting marathon, but the moment the finalized frames came together, every trace of fatigue simply vanished.