This time I completed the shoot for Yang Yuhuan's look at the comic con. The live environment of the convention photos scene was quite cluttered and the venue was huge, but the bokeh in the background actually turned out quite beautiful. The main body of the costume uses cyan-blue fabric with a certain glossiness, paired with large areas of golden hollowed-out lace, presenting an overall style that leans towards being ethereal and flowing. The upper body is a tube top style, with a pink flower print on the chest and a metallic-textured collar acting as a transition. There is a very wide belt at the waist, combined with some three-dimensional pattern decorations, keeping the upper and lower proportions from looking too unbalanced.
The lower body is a typical high-slit maxi skirt with hemlines on both sides sweeping the floor, swaying naturally when moving. To enhance the visual lightness, very long gradient translucent ribbons were added at both shoulders, with golden leaf decorations at the ends. My feet were paired with a matching series of golden high-heeled sandals, making the continuity of the overall color much stronger. Regarding headpieces, besides the metallic vine and branch styling on top of the head, there are small crowns on both sides, and the hair is divided into two strands braided into plaits hanging in front of the chest.
The makeup part was actually quite important. To fit the character's feeling, I intentionally enhanced the eye colors, elongating the outer corners with pink eyeshadow, and added a red mark on the forehead, which helped maintain facial three-dimensionality and recognition under the convention's slightly whitish overhead lighting. The Pipa prop in my hands is relatively large in size, featuring a white glazed surface and golden borders; one must grasp the center of gravity well when holding it, otherwise it easily tilts to one side. Although dealing with such a large prop is tiring, the resulting photos are indeed excellent.
During the shoot, we chose several different sets of actions: Figure 1 standing on one leg raising the Pipa, Figure 2 with arms spread open, and Figure 3 using one palm to prop upward while the Pipa hangs down. Each action was actually an attempt to give the ribbons and skirt hemline on my body a dynamic feeling. There were people coming and going on site, and time was rather rushed, but the photographer captured the moments quite accurately. The lighting at the convention photos scene indeed poses a test for makeup and styling; the indoor overhead lights usually have a whitish color temperature or even cold light, and if not handled meticulously, it can easily make the makeup look very flat or distort the clothing colors. This time I made a lot of preparations in advance, changing the fastening accessories for the headpieces three times, finally ensuring that they didn't loosen or fall off during the half-day activity.
Compared to common studio shoots, the biggest challenge for convention photos is actually finding suitable camera positions and angles, because there are many people and pillars in the background, and we also need to avoid other people who are taking photos. The overall experience at this Beijing Anime Convention was quite good; although running around was tiring, seeing the final photos made me feel that all the time and energy spent were worth it. The style of this outfit is indeed highly suitable for shooting in the aisles of the venue or slightly more open areas, without requiring complex backdrops, as the clothing's own design and props can hold up the frame.
In post-processing, I didn't actually make massive adjustments, mainly controlling the brightness and colors of the background slightly to make the character pop out from the environment a bit. This set of convention photos basically preserves the authentic state during the live snapshots, and what I wanted to share is exactly this feeling naturally presented on site for this anime cosplay project.