The outfit shot this time comes from the Arknights x Ave Mujica collaboration outfit "Marionette Id" Wakaba Mutsumi. The theme itself carries a thick sense of dark fairy tale and dream-like confinement, so from the moment I got the costume, I was pondering how to present that aura of being controlled by invisible strings, sleeping in the dark depths.
Let's talk about the details of the costume first. This dress is a very typical Gothic Lolita style, with the main body made of black velvet fabric, which feels soft but carries a matte deepness. The skirt hem has many layers, with delicate white ruffled lace stitched on the edges, giving an overall gorgeous yet oppressive retro feel. The teal ribbon ties at the chest and collar are the finishing touch in the entire dark tone, breaking the dullness of the black. The hat is a large ruffled black hat adorned with pearl accessories, paired with a fluffy cape, forming a texture contrast between toughness and softness. Looking further down, the black polka dot stockings and leather metal knee pads visually weigh down the fluffiness of the skirt hem, giving the overall silhouette more power.
In terms of makeup and styling, I tried my best to lean towards the direction of a "lifeless, exquisite doll." The base makeup was made very white and matte, with almost no facial shadows, to weaken the rosy look of a real person. The eye makeup was the most important part; I chose clear, large-diameter colored contacts, kept the eye shadow saturation very low to retain depth, and then used extremely fine upper and lower eyelashes to frame the eyes, creating that slightly hollow yet innocent and fragile expression. The light green wig was also carefully trimmed and styled, with the bangs falling naturally, letting the face be wrapped in this dreamy tone.
The shooting venue was a real-scene studio with a dark retro style. The desktop was filled with distressed candlesticks, scattered pearls, retro carved mirrors, and goblets, bringing the atmosphere to life instantly. The photographer interspersed many green thin lines throughout the scene to simulate cobwebs or the entanglement of marionette strings. This prop was very critical, directly visualizing the imagery of "Marionette Id". When composing the shots, I would deliberately make my movements present a sort of pulled weightlessness, or like a stringed puppet lifted by lines, with fingers slightly curled and arms in a natural hanging state.
Especially the green rabbit plushie in the picture, as well as the chubby cat plushie held in the photo—in such a gloomy gothic environment, the sudden appearance of these soft and cute objects actually highlighted an absurd and lonely fairy tale feeling. I sat on that vintage leather chair, leaning halfway, emptying out my expression. Facing the camera, my gaze was defocused, as if looking at some very distant, illusory place, instead of directly making eye contact with the audience, so as to perfectly fit the copywriting setting of "sleeping in a dream."
For lighting, we used the foreground bokeh and several sets of warm-toned candlelight as the main light source. The cool ambient light and warm candlelight interwove on the black dress, making the contrast between the velvet texture and the light-transmitting lace more obvious and the layers richer. Especially the close-up shot towards the end holding a golden carved mirror frame—the mirror as a foreground cut the frame, locking the focus entirely on the eyes and face, giving an illusion of peeking at a sleeping soul in the mirror, which is highly narrative.
Although this styling is beautiful, putting it on, taking it off, and adjusting it is very time-consuming; the combination of the hat, petticoat, knee pads, and gloves had to be repeatedly adjusted. However, seeing the final photos, where the unique coldness, confinement, and exquisiteness belonging to "Marionette Id" were conveyed so well, I felt that all the hassle was worth it. Shooting this kind of work with strong character attributes makes immersing oneself into the scenario more important than purely posing. Working with the light and props in the scene to let the work carry its own quiet sense of atmosphere is the direction I have always wanted to pursue in this genre.