Posting these Touhou Project Patchouli cosplay Convention photos from CICF Expo as a record. Preparing this costume was extremely intricate—handling the multi-tiered ruffles, sheer tulle, and lace on the collar and sleeves required immense care. The mob cap was adorned with numerous star and crescent moon ornaments, requiring hairspray to maintain its shape. For the wig, I selected a muted grey-purple tone with flat curls at the ends, trimming the bangs so they blended seamlessly with the glasses chain. The teardrop facial gem at the corner of my eye and the metallic texture of the glasses chain were prone to glare under indoor lighting, so we specifically adjusted the lighting angle to capture that look. Choosing the prop book was also deliberate: it needed substantial thickness and weight in hand to naturally convey a focused reading posture.
The convention venue was packed with people; to keep the background clean, I specifically scouted a spot with green foliage, using a wide aperture to blur out the buildings behind. During the shoot, we experimented with several angles—such as looking down at the book, gazing straight into the lens, and resting my cheek on my hand sideways—mainly to balance the physical weight of this dress and avoid looking stiff. Post-processing focused primarily on color grading, unifying the entire set into a soft pink-purple tone and slightly lowering the highlights to accentuate the fabric layers of the dress and the delicate makeup. Walking around the exhibition hall with such a voluminous skirt was physically tiring, constantly watching not to step on the hem, but it allowed me to better channel the character's quiet, introverted disposition. The entire photoshoot went very smoothly; this styling is very forgiving on camera, and as long as the emotional nuance in the eyes is dialed in, the costume details and overall atmosphere easily carry the entire photo. Looking at the finished retouched photos, I'm quite satisfied with the faithful recreation of these details, making this a great personal milestone for cosplaying this character.