[Sui family cosplay] Arknights Corporate Drone Group Shoot: Behind the scenes Record

After wrapping up this Sui family cosplay group shoot, my biggest takeaway is that being on set was a hundred times funnier than the final photos. The theme this time was primarily meant to capture our real-life state as overworked corporate drones. Shooting meme photos is honestly way more exhausting than standard posed shoots—not only do you have to wear heavy costumes and styled wigs, but you also have to coordinate angles and constantly adjust positions.

For instance, for that classic head-pressing gesture photo, three of us rehearsed in the studio for a long time. We needed to keep the hair secure while faithfully recreating that oppressive vibe. Honestly, holding their arms raised for so long left the other two with completely sore arms. Finally, the photographer yelled 'Press down!', and everyone truly let loose—only for someone to push with so much force that the wigs got pulled completely crooked.

Then there was the commission-taking set: holding a sheet of white paper with simple doodles had everyone cracking up. Imagining the exact mood of an artist facing endless revisions from a client instantly breathed soul into this photo set.

The real highlight of this shoot was the rent-paying set. The red-haired girl held up a crying-face sign while someone beside held a placard, making the entire studio reminisce about the post-graduation heartbreak of renting an apartment. As for the final shot holding stacks of cash, it was really just an ironic jab—after all, planning big-budget group shoots drains money like running water, capturing that authentic shock of being utterly dazed upon seeing the bills.

I also really loved the Go-playing corner: beside the deadpan serious faces, there was a pair of hands looking completely lost in front of the lens. Especially when shooting that close-up, the blank, zoned-out stare was the true essence. That Go board was actually laid out completely at random since none of us actually know how to play Go, yet we had to act like ultimate grandmasters. We later took a close-up insert shot of the board, joking that the younger brother narrowly won with a single white stone, when in reality we just stacked a coin on top.

The war correspondent set was pure snapshot photography, since we normally stare at each other like that anyway, making that segment look exceptionally natural.

A huge shoutout to our costume and makeup artists—everyone's wigs were very heavy, and securing the special animal horns and elf ears took a tremendous amount of time. But that certainly added an extra level of refinement to the photos. We picked out the outfits the night before and started makeup at 9 AM the next morning, taking about four hours—not including the time we spent applying false eyelashes and contouring.

Although the content was absurd, that is precisely the most fun part of cosplay: reflecting real-world humor through the characters. Compared to forcing a cool or ethereal look, these laugh-out-loud interactions are much more enjoyable—and way more physically demanding. Taking turns changing outfits, touching up makeup on set, and digging up props to add comedic flair fostered great chemistry through endless shared laughter. All in all, I am very satisfied with the results and look forward to more genuine Behind the scenes records like this.