Today, I shot a set of particularly satisfying Convention photos at the Firefly ACG Expo outdoor area, and I'm taking advantage of this excitement to record today's shooting experience. This time I'm cosplaying a character from Wuthering Waves, with an overall fantasy style in blue and black colors. The chances of encountering professional heavyweight cosplayers at the convention outdoor area are indeed much smaller than smaller ones, but as long as you carefully prepare the costume and props, you can also become the focus of the crowd.
Let's talk about the details of this outfit first. The inner wear is a black short dress with a relatively close-fitting cut, layered with a blue-and-white gradient hanging fabric on the outside, and hollow-out designs at the sides of the waist. To increase the gorgeous feel, metal chains are hung around the waist, and there are also black armor and leather accessories on the neck and arms. The most eye-catching parts are the pair of Elf ears on the head and the blue-and-gold dragon-horn-like headpiece, matched with a head of long golden hair, making it look very dynamic and lively when walking. The long blue cape at the back has a very long train, and the fabric has subtle gloss changes under the sunlight, edged with golden patterns. Although transparent high-heeled sandals look great, you need to be extra careful when walking outdoors, avoiding getting stuck in the gaps of stone slab roads, and to maintain a good posture, the exertion of the feet must be controlled all the time.
In terms of props, the translucent light-blue Greatsword prop in my hand is the key focus. The shape of the blade looks like frozen water flow or ice crystals, visually very light, but actually quite heavy in hand. Because the hilt is relatively long, lifting it with one hand requires core strength to stabilize the center of gravity, and after shooting a few photos, I need to change posture and rest for a bit. To match the cool and detached feel of this outfit, I deliberately deepened the contour of the eyes in my makeup, leaning towards cool tones overall, fitting the non-human delicate feel of an elf as much as possible.
The outdoor shooting environment is completely different from studio shooting. The sunlight was great today, and the natural light hitting the props and fabrics had a texture much more natural than a flash. However, there were also many people on site, with red and white warning tapes pulled everywhere, along with various reflector umbrellas and photographers. Finding the right lens angle in a crowded environment is a matter that tests concentration; people surged around, but once the lens was aimed, I had to enter the state immediately. Due to the crowded and mixed crowd outdoors, every time I prepared to shoot, I had to first find a relatively open angle with a clean background. Sometimes to wait for a moment with no people, I had to stand aside for a long time. What I wore on my feet were transparent high-heeled sandals, which visually elongated the leg lines nicely and showed the lightness of this costume. But standing on the concrete ground for a long time is still quite tiring; to maintain an elegant posture, I needed to constantly adjust my center of gravity and always pay attention not to hit passersby with the props.
The most physically demanding part of the shooting process was capturing the dynamic movement of the cape. In order to capture that ethereal feeling of the skirt hem and cape being blown by the wind, I repeatedly flicked the long fabric behind me several times. Sometimes when the wind direction was wrong, I had to start over again, and then quickly strike the pose of holding the sword. The on-site photographer was also very cooperative, constantly guiding the angles and lighting. Whenever a satisfying full-body photo was captured, all the previous fatigue felt completely wiped away.
After experiencing the entire convention, although tiring, it was very fulfilling. Wearing these cumbersome accessories took about half an hour, ensuring that every piece was in the correct position and wouldn't slip off while walking. Outdoor shooting is not only a test of physical strength, but also an exercise in on-the-spot reaction capability. Today I also met many friends who love 2D anime; everyone gathered here for the same hobby, and the atmosphere was exceptionally good. I am extremely satisfied with the Convention photos of this outfit; whether it's the color matching or the presentation of props, they all achieved the expected results. I hope that in upcoming conventions, I can continue to challenge more distinctive outfits and leave behind good-looking camera records in more outdoor areas.