Wearing a sailor uniform feels even more magical than imagined, especially when wearing this classic uniform as a boy; that visual contrast brings a very unique experience. This shooting was chosen on an outdoor boat deck; the bright sunshine and slightly salty sea breeze just fit the relaxed, free, yet slightly expectant atmosphere after school.
For this outdoor portrait photography, I did a lot of preparation work on the outfit. The top chosen was a black long-sleeved sailor uniform, with gray collar and cuff stripes adding overall layering, tied with a white bow at the chest, which can effectively brighten the visual center of the dark series. The lower body was matched with a gray pleated short skirt, with the length falling just above the knee, paired with black over-the-knee socks and brown loafers, plus a vintage brown leather bag in hand, a standard Hanfu, Lolita, and JK fashion coordination was completed. Boys wearing skirts need to pay attention to the choice of cutting; the position of the waistline must fit snugly, otherwise it's easy to look bloated. The wig was also carefully trimmed and styled, with straight bangs paired with brown long curly hair, which can present a natural fluffy feeling under the blowing of the sea breeze.
The light on the shooting day was very clear, belonging to typical hard light. On the deck, photographer Xiaobai used the metal railings and white cabin doors as background, guiding me to make various natural movements. To get rid of stiffness, I tried saluting with one hand, walking with the bag, and even sitting down to blow bubbles. The bubble blowing prop was particularly useful; the sunlight refracted colorful light through the transparent bubbles, making the picture instantly lively and relaxing me a lot. The postures of saluting and looking into the distance were to strengthen the story sense of waiting for companions to go home together at the pier after school.
The elements on the boat are very rich; the red lifebuoy and rusty metal doors bring their own vintage texture, forming a strong color collision with the clean sailor uniform. When shooting the squatting posture, the photographer adopted a slightly low-angle perspective, which can not only elongate the visual proportion of the legs, but also better showcase the wrinkles of the skirt hem and the edges of the high socks. Many friends are curious if boys will feel awkward wearing sailor uniforms. In fact, as long as you adjust your mindset and treat it as a clothing style expressing self-aesthetics, you can naturally immerse yourself in it. Wearing this clothes on the body didn't have a sense of restraint, instead making me find back a kind of simplicity and happiness belonging to student days.
Under the blowing of the sea breeze, carrying the heavy leather bag and looking at the distant waves, it felt like truly returning to that after-school dusk full of cicada chirps and expectations. Without complicated thoughts, just purely enjoying the state in front of the lens and recording this unique memory belonging to youth.