[Moriya Suwako Cosplay] The Frog Goddess of Touhou Project, Frozen in Time at a Real Pond

For these convention photos, I chose the look of Moriya Suwako from Touhou Project, mainly to match the real-scene water set at the venue. The costume specially features a wide-brimmed hat with ruffled elements and a richly layered Japanese-style skirt. The primary color palette consists of purple and white, embellished with subtle gold threads and beads to make the overall appearance more detailed.

The ruffled hat on my head and the braided hair tied with red cords on both sides took a lot of time to secure before the shoot. Especially during strong winds or big movements, the flow of the wig and the angle of the hat could easily shift. The golden ring prop in my hand is the core element of the character; when holding it, I needed to pay special attention to the tilt angle to let this prop present enough visual tension in the frame.

The shoot took place in a realistic set built inside the exhibition hall. The pond stepping stones, moss, lotus leaves, seedpods, and a blooming pink lotus, combined with a transparent umbrella standing nearby, created a humid atmosphere of a clear sky right after rain. The close-up shot in the first picture is actually perfect for a cover, as the focus in my eyes came out quite well, while the wide full shot in the second picture further highlights the character's interaction with the entire lotus pond environment.

To reflect Moriya Suwako's ethereal lightness as a deity, my physical movements tried to simulate the feeling of walking on water. The photographer I collaborated with this time, @TropicalFish (@热带鱼), captured the light and shadow wonderfully, creating a sharp color contrast between the vast green lotus leaves and the purple-and-white outfit. The post-processing was also quite restrained, preserving the texture of the original raw shots. Since there were many attendees at the convention, in order to avoid the cluttered crowd and background during this cosplay photography session, we chose a medium focal length to frame the character into this small water-scene composition. The blurred white ceiling structure in the background also preserved the live atmosphere of the convention. Furthermore, the edges of the wide sleeves easily caught the moss on the ground and the moisture on the props, so I had to repeatedly rearrange the folds of the clothes between shots. Although these small details were tedious, they ensured the final photos turned out in an even better state.