[Ciel cosplay] Black Butler Xi'an Dreamland convention photo

This time at the Xi'an Dreamland convention, I took convention photos of Ciel from Black Butler. These are shared convention photos from a guest sister, and thanks to photographer teacher Mo Laotou for the shoot. Let's get straight to the point and talk about the details and feelings of this convention photo session.

First, let's talk about makeup and styling. To fit Ciel's temperament, which carries a bit of aristocratic arrogance and a touch of melancholy, the makeup focus was placed on deepening the eye contours. The contact lenses were chosen as a high-saturation bright blue, paired with a cool-white skin base for a stronger visual impact. The wig is short blue-black gradient hair, with bangs trimmed just long enough to cover a bit of the eyebrows. That blue rose headpiece on the head is truly intricate, made with black ribbons and metal chains for tassels, adding a bit of liveliness when moving. The costume chosen is this dark-patterned jacket in a blue and black color scheme, with a white ruffled shirt and a dark blue bow tie. For the sake of accuracy, a ring with a blue gemstone was specially matched. Black stockings and glossy leather shoes are standard equipment; the overall layering of the outfit is very strong, but it also means it is very hot, especially in crowded places like conventions.

The first shot during the shooting was sitting on a white plush carpet, supporting the forehead with one hand. With this action, I wanted to express the tired yet arrogant state of Ciel when thinking or signing a contract. When raising your hand, you must pay attention to the angle of your wrist, which shouldn't be too stiff, while exposing the white lace on the sleeves to increase the layering of the picture. Another shot was sitting sideways on the ground, mainly to showcase the proportion of the lower body outfit. Because I was wearing stockings, sitting sideways not only perfectly showcased the leg lines, but also allowed the skirt hem and jacket to drop naturally. However, adjusting postures while sitting on the ground tests core strength quite a bit, and one must also prevent wardrobe malfunctions; I kept adjusting the lace edge of the skirt hem.

The shooting environment for the convention photo was a bit special. This time it was in an area similar to a backstage or studio shoot, with equipment like tripods and light stands in the background. After blurring out these backgrounds with a large aperture, it unexpectedly had a documentary feel of behind-the-scenes footage. The cool-toned lighting combined with the snow-falling effect made with post-processing special effects, paired with the gothic-style clothing, created a very strong Black Butler atmosphere. The addition of the white carpet gave the center of the picture a visual focal point, also making me, the main subject, more prominent.

As a Coser, maintaining state during convention shooting is quite important. There are often many people around, so you must be able to ignore external interference. In terms of facial expression management, Ciel doesn't need too many smiles; the corners of the mouth are slightly flat, and the gaze carrying a bit of indifference and a sense of distance is just right. Regarding limbs, the shoulders must sink down and not shrug. Because the costume itself is relatively complex, if the body movements are too large, the wrinkles of the clothes will become messy, which is not aesthetic instead. Therefore, when posing, I basically adjusted with very small motion amplitudes, such as the bending of fingers or the slight turning angle of the head.

The photographer teacher captured the snapshot timing very accurately. While I was trying different states, the shutter sound kept ringing. Although this costume takes great photos, every time I changed poses, I had to fight with the stockings and skirt hem to prevent them from slipping or producing strange wrinkles. Sitting on the ground for a long time made my legs a bit numb, but seeing the final photos, I feel that the persistence in these details is all worth it. I really like this set of cool-toned pictures, and it also gave me a deeper understanding of the body language of the character Ciel. I look forward to cooperating with the photographer teacher again at the next convention to produce even better pictures.