When shooting this set for Sankarea: Undying Love, it happened to coincide with the peak blooming season of the Hydrangeas. Since the character's setting carries a quiet sense of a zombie girl, the overall scene and color palette lean towards blue-purple tones to create a cold yet ethereal atmosphere as much as possible. A Long straight black hair wig with straight bangs, paired with red cosplay contact lenses and a small white flower hair clip, was used in the makeup and styling to replicate the original character's traits as closely as possible.
For the clothing, the uniform chosen this time features a white base with a purple sailor collar, with the dark blue bow serving as the finishing touch. To echo the vast patches of blue Hydrangeas in the background, the outfit details and color combinations were carefully considered. The purple stripes along the edge of the sailor collar and the purple color blocks at the bottom of the skirt give the overall colors a nice contrast without being too jarring.
The biggest challenge for this set of photos actually lay in the poses and angles. Since Hydrangeas are low-growing shrubs, to capture the feeling of the character being surrounded by flowers, it often required a half-squat or low-angle shot. At that time, to find the right light, the camera position was adjusted repeatedly. Comparing it with the line-art feel and slightly muted tones of the official original artwork, choosing natural overcast light during the actual shoot beautifully captured that quiet and melancholic emotion.
I especially love the depth of field effect created by the Hydrangeas clustering in front of and behind the lens. This feeling of enveloping the subject perfectly matches the slightly fantastical youth atmosphere of the original work. When processing the hair strands and eye reflections, I intentionally retouched them into a clear, impurity-free texture. When the final images came out, not only was the composition comfortable, but the entire visual focus was completely centered on the interaction between the person and the flower bushes.
Although it was easy to get covered in pollen and dew in the flower bushes, seeing the final images match the flower-sea atmosphere in the settings made the shooting process of this cosplay set thoroughly enjoyable.