[Kasumizawa Miyu Cosplay] Blue Archive's Special Investigator, Live Record of the Fan Content Festival

The set of photos taken during the Fan Content Festival has finally been sorted out. This time, I did Kasumizawa Miyu from Blue Archive. Since it was a session for the Fan Content Festival, I wanted to present the character's traits and atmosphere as much as possible within the limited time and space.

Let's start with the preparation of makeup, hair, and styling. The most time-consuming part this time was actually managing the wig. To restore the character's light purple long hair and iconic thick bangs, I spent several days in advance handling the smoothness of the wig and the arc of the bangs. There is a very prominent white ruffled lace headpiece on top of the head, paired with a light blue ring structure and that green leaf on the side; making it securely clip onto the wig without looking out of place indeed took some effort at the shooting scene. For the eye makeup, I chose crimson eyeshadow and colored contact lenses, hoping to bring out a touch of the character's cool detachment and alertness under the soft studio light.

The details of the costume are also key to determining the replication level. The classic light blue sailor uniform large collar, paired with a bright yellow neckerchief, forms a very refreshing warm-and-cool color clash. On the left arm, there is a small cartoon badge patch, which I reinforced with needle and thread to make it fit more snugly. The lower body features a blue-and-white plaid pleated skirt with light blue ruffles along the edge, which gives the skirt a wonderful sense of layering when sitting down at the thighs. During the shoot, I paid special attention to the angle of the skirt hem, aiming to make the skirt pleats look naturally voluminous in the frame while avoiding any accidental exposure.

Let's talk about the shooting scene and lighting of the day. To fit Miyu's setting of hiding away and quietly staying in a corner, we specially selected an indoor scene with wooden floors and Japanese wooden lattice doors (shoji). The photographer used a massive number of softboxes for large-scale diffused fill light, making the light and shadow of the entire environment very uniform, without any harsh transition lines between light and dark. This warm white, translucent light perception is exceptionally suitable for clothing materials like sailor uniforms, which look pure and lightweight. The wooden coffee table and the textures of the floor also presented a very comfortable quality under the soft light, making the tone of the entire photo set clean and soft.

We racked our brains on the choice of postures and composition. Especially regarding the treatment of the legs and feet, Miyu's setting leans toward being introverted, so no large-scale limb extensions were made during the shoot. I am highly satisfied with the sitting pose in the first image (cover photo); the slightly curled leg lines perfectly interpret the character's state of "defensiveness" and being "endearing." Going barefoot pairs with the white ribbon bows at the ankles, echoing the pure white attire, which looks visually very refreshing. For subsequent shots, we changed into thick-soled open-toe sandals adorned with white bows, which, coordinated with the action of holding a magazine with both hands resting on the knees, maxed out the character's sense of good behavior.

Throughout the shoot, the photographer constantly guided me in a very relaxed manner. Because I needed to capture that cute yet slightly confused expression, I tried my best to relax my gaze, and cooperating with the red colored contact lenses, it made my eyes look more focused and direct in front of the lens. For Anime cosplay photography, the refinement of costumes, makeup, and props is the foundation, but the final emotional expression and the alignment with the camera feel are the soul. I feel that we found an excellent balance point this time in balancing the boundaries between anime characters and real-world photography. After the finished photos came out, there was no excessive filter modification overall, preserving the authentic skin texture, which, combined with the translucent indoor light, is exactly the sense of reality for an anime girl that I wanted most.