[Cold-Toned Dark Style & Ethereal Blue-White Outfit] Chongqing Convention Photography Experience

Here are the Day 1 convention photos from the Chongqing anime convention on July 12th. I actually went with high expectations because I bought a VIP photographer ticket, but upon arrival, I found that while the venue wasn't horrifyingly crowded, the management of facilities left much to be desired. When we asked staff about the photography area's location, they wouldn't say at first, and we even had to repeatedly press them just to know when we could pick up credentials and enter. We arrived an hour early to secure a spot, only to find no staff members in sight. Fortunately, crowd density was low that day so there were still spots in the photography area; otherwise, waking up early just to get screwed over would have broken my spirit. The most ridiculous part was the VIP photography area placement—it was shoved into the deepest corner of the hall with poor air circulation and practically zero air conditioning. I nearly suffered heatstroke inside, and a friend even ran over to ask if I had wandered into the standard area by mistake.

Rants aside, since I was already there, the photography experience turned out pretty good. I didn't take on too many client orders this time, mainly wanting to use the convention space to test a dark tone atmosphere style I'd been wanting to try. The first photo shows the result—using a fog machine produced an awesome effect, which paired with a black bodysuit and weaponry gave an exceptional atmosphere. This was also my first time using this lighting setup for convention photography, and the overall result far exceeded expectations. I'll definitely continue experimenting with this tactical dark style in the future.

Let's talk about the gear and lighting setup this time. For camera body, I used a Nikon D850, equipped with two lenses: Sigma 50mm f/1.4 ART and Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART, paired with two Godox V850III flashes and a Godox AD200Pro II. This combo is super reliable in complex convention lighting environments, especially the AD200Pro as the key or rim light, which maximizes texture. In the first photo, I focused on utilizing fog machine dynamics and Godox flashes for light dragging/flagging, achieving a crisp, hard-edged dark tone atmosphere. The second photo presents a completely different style—a candid glance back paired with flowing light-colored long hair, a blue and white outfit, and a long weapon prop. Shot from a slightly higher camera angle, it showcased that signature anime-style portrait tension.

When setting up lighting on-site, without ideal studio conditions, I relied entirely on finding angles and reflector placement to build contrast layers. You can really feel how convention venues limit photographers—for example, this hall had high ceilings, so without off-camera flashes, it's easy to get dull overhead lighting. But by utilizing a fog machine and dual lights, we were able to turn this wide space into a narrative storyteller instead. The smoke in photo one wasn't just to show off technique; it helped light carve out volumetric depth, making the tactical style feel far more authentic—which was my favorite aspect of this shoot. In photo two, the blue and white thigh-high socks and high-heeled boots looked exceptionally leg-lengthening from a lower angle, with a centered subject composition keeping the frame clean, uncluttered by the background, and visually striking.

Finally, huge thanks to the two cosplay models who cooperated with me for this shoot. Maintaining great state in such a sweltering environment allowed me to produce anime-style portrait works I'm truly proud of. Although convention management and logistics support desperately need improvement, for a photographer, creating great shots remains the core joy. I hope future Chongqing anime conventions will listen more to recommendations from photography enthusiasts, improve venue temperatures and spatial layouts, and prevent hardware shortcomings from ruining a great experience.