The trip to the Zhongshan Comic Con just wrapped up, and taking advantage of this free moment, I'm sorting through the photos from this shoot. This time I cosplayed Shark girl (Shark girl cosplay) from Zenless Zone Zero. The overall costume composition is relatively minimalist, mainly featuring a classic white shirt paired with a black pleated skirt, along with Black stockings cosplay and platform Mary Jane shoes for this JK uniform photoshoot. The reason for choosing this ensemble is that under outdoor natural light, the white shirt fabric reflects light beautifully to emphasize silhouettes, while the black skirt and stockings ground the shadows against the pavement, giving the entire photo crisp and distinct layers.
When I first received this costume, what felt most challenging was that giant tail prop attached to the lower back. For a Convention outdoor photoshoot, prop dimensions often restrict movements; if not handled carefully, the whole presentation can look quite clumsy. So on the day of the shoot, the photographer "Dakuai Zhaji" and I communicated pose designs in advance, primarily using interactions between the lollipop and the tail to create a relaxed ease. For example, in several photos, I pinched the tip of the tail with my hand or rested the tail over my knees, using this staggered positioning to alleviate the heavy visual pressure of the bulky prop.
Regarding lighting, I really love the side-profile lighting in the photo. We were in an open area near the convention with no complex overhead or distracting lights; natural diffused light fell evenly across my face and clothes. During shooting, I carefully controlled my gaze direction, focusing either on the lollipop or directly at the lens to make the frame feel more engaging. I also really like the crouching composition, as this angle is very flattering for showing off footwear and leg proportions, beautifully preserving the texture of the platform shoes.
During actual shooting, I believe what needs to be avoided most is looking overly staged. Even though we know we are roleplaying, we should make movements as natural as possible. For instance, not looking directly at the camera while eating the lollipop, or bowing slightly while tidying the skirt hem. After all, the character's intrinsic personality carries a hint of laziness and nonchalance; if facial expressions are too stiff, it loses that cool vibe from the original work.
Foot traffic at the Zhongshan Comic Con was actually quite heavy, but the photographer was exceptionally skilled at finding angles, using a wide aperture to completely blur out clutter in the background so all focus remained on me and my props. Even when standing beside a relatively busy street, the final results looked remarkably clean. I especially love the dynamic snapshots utilizing the prop tail; although the tail was heavy, swinging it before the camera created leather highlights and folded lines that added dramatic visual tension to the frame.
Naturally, doing a Convention outdoor photoshoot inevitably brings unexpected situations, such as the skirt easily blowing up in the wind—I took precautions underneath beforehand to avoid exposure. Additionally, red contact lenses tend to overexpose easily under bright natural daylight, so we softened the eye highlights during retouching to make them look gentler. Although this isn't a flamboyant magical robe or mecha armor, it's precisely this minimalist everyday JK uniform photoshoot look combined with the exaggerated tail prop that collided under the photographer's lens into a unique visual effect, making the character instantly recognizable.
In the final photos, I feel that nonchalant ease was conveyed spot-on. There was no need to force complex poses; simply standing there or holding a lollipop in one hand with a confident glance back over the shoulder was enough to tell the story of this outfit. Thanks to teacher Dakuai Zhaji for the wonderful photo delivery, allowing me to preserve such crisp memories beyond the convention floor. I look forward to experimenting with more engaging poses and compositions in our next outdoor shoot!