[Iochi Mari cosplay] Blue Archive gymnastics uniform animal-eared girl photoshoot record

Shooting the gymnastics uniform styling of Iochi Mari from Blue Archive this time took a lot of thought from makeup test to set design. The white-and-blue color-blocked athletic jacket and shorts chosen for the outfit feature many contrasts in pattern, striving to restore that sense of youthfulness belonging to an athletic girl. The pairing of white over-the-knee stockings is the highlight of the entire styling. During the shoot, to maintain the fit of the stockings, they had to be readjusted every little while to avoid obvious wrinkles affecting the visual texture of the frame.

In terms of makeup and styling, the long golden hair and animal ears are the soul. To make the blue eyes look natural and translucent under studio lighting, the makeup intentionally reduced highlight areas, instead using a bit of pinkish blush to enhance the cute anime attribute. The small white flower on the headband looks inconspicuous, but it can play a great visual buffering role in a solid color background, preventing the golden hair on the head from looking too monotonous.

This time, a green-and-white color-blocked volleyball was specially brought as a prop. Before shooting, I practiced several poses for holding and bumping the ball, finding that if sitting upright, placing the ball by the feet or gently clamping it with the legs makes the gaze feel more natural. For scene arrangement, school desks, chairs, and small white square stools were used. Against the solid white and light purple backdrops, the clean base background actually concentrates the colors of the frame more, making the main subject stand out more.

In terms of action design, the first pose of sitting on the edge of the desk with legs naturally extended and resting on a chair can lengthen leg lines to the maximum extent. To ensure that the white stockings have a good texture under strong light, I communicated with the photographer multiple times about lighting angles, trying to use soft face lighting to minimize harsh shadows. Several other sitting poses tried different body angles, such as crossing hands on the knees or holding the ball to partially block the body, all to make the movements look more everyday and natural, fitting the style of gymnastics uniforms which lean towards daily vitality.

The shooting process for this set of photos wasn't actually complicated; the focus lay on capturing that relaxed yet playful state while avoiding deliberate expression management. The combination of long hair and animal ears is prone to disorder during movements, requiring constant attention to stray hairs on the sides to maintain the integrity of the outline. Overall, the finished photos retain the vibrant feel of sportswear while reinforcing anime characteristics through white stockings and animal ears elements, achieving the expected visual effect and making it a very smooth studio shooting experience.