[Yaqing cosplay] I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day, collision of dark blue sailor suit cosplay and stained glass windows

The lighting and composition of this shoot revolved around the stained glass windows. The venue was chosen to be a space with church-style painted glass. To preserve that somewhat heavy yet secretive atmosphere, I had the photographer place the main light source at the back-side, using backlight and a side reflector to lower the shadows, so that the contour sense of the characters' edges was outlined. Under the cool-toned light, the unique drape of the dark blue sailor suit's fabric was embodied very concretely. The white collar and cuff stripes on the clothes provided necessary visual focal points against the dark background, preventing the overall picture from becoming a blur when the two hugged together.

Regarding the lower body pairing, the combination of black stockings and small leather shoes not only fits the character setting but also extends the leg lines nicely when shooting sitting poses. Because high-saturation lighting was not used in the scene, the black stockings do not look rigid in the shadows; instead, they allow the visual center of gravity to land firmly on the two people's faces and the intersection blocked by the bouquet. When standing or kneeling, the trajectory of the wig's hair strands and the blockage of the bouquet both required precise angle control. A slight deviation could easily cause the facial contours to be swallowed by shadows, so the camera position was adjusted numerous times on site.

The bouquet in hand was specially selected blue hydrangeas and white carnations, with sufficient volume to just fill the visual blank space in the middle of the frame when the two clung together. The color of the flowers echoed the cool color blocks in the background stained glass, preventing the colors in their arms from looking abrupt. Actually, this set of photos also has quite a few spliced versions, because I really like that cross puncher; the edges of the cut paper have a sharp feel. During post-processing layout, arranging them in a grid and adding a bit of filter processing gave the overall picture texture an extra layer of handmade collage fun. Another picture with added filters and text tried a recording method leaning more towards a journal style.

During the shooting process, we constantly communicated to fit the state of interaction between Yaqing and Lizzy Seiran cosplay. The closing of the distance between the two, the action of supporting the face with hands, and the angle of converging gazes all required repeatedly finding the right feel. To allow the static photos to convey the entangled emotions between the characters, I tried to shift the body's center of gravity slightly forward, utilizing the thickness of the clothes themselves and the bouquet as cover, leaving enough room for the audience's imagination. The photographer also very cooperatively used a shallow depth of field, blurring the foreground flowers and background stained glass to ensure the visual focus was entirely concentrated on the facial expressions of the two of us. During the shooting process, it was inevitable to encounter situations where clothing wrinkles became messy or the wig shifted, requiring constant stops to adjust, ensuring that the state presented every time the shutter was pressed was the most accurate.

The overall photo output effect fit the original work's atmosphere even better than expected. The collage decorations handmade using a puncher can be considered a little extra fun outside of photography. If there is an opportunity in the future, I hope to try more compositions under different lighting environments to dig deeper into the texture of this sailor suit.