[Eriri Cosplay] Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend — Blonde Twin Tails under City Night Lights

Just wrapped up this night photoshoot of Eriri and wanted to share some of my thoughts and experiences from the session.

For this look, we went with the classic deep navy blue knit vest over a white long-sleeved sailor-collar shirt, with the bright red bow tie at the chest serving as the visual highlight of the entire outfit. On the bottom, a pleated skirt with white stripe details paired with over-the-knee black socks and chunky-heeled loafers easily brought out the classic JK uniform feel and the character's personality. To stay true to the character design, I chose an extra-long light blonde wig. The hair is incredibly flowing and fluffy, but managing such a huge volume of hair during a night street shoot was a real test. Even the slightest breeze made it fly everywhere, and if I wasn't careful, it would easily get tangled in the bow tie or the hem of my clothes. Tidying it up definitely required a lot of patience.

The shooting location was a city street at night. Thanks to the neon signs and streetlights, the overall color atmosphere was incredibly rich. Everyday street elements like escalators, pedestrian crossings, and the blue-green station benches felt very slice-of-life when paired with the school uniform. However, lighting conditions for night portraits are actually quite poor. Relying solely on ambient light would result in heavy facial shadows, so this set relied heavily on the fill light carried by the photographer. We explored many angles during the shoot to balance the color temperature between the front fill light and the ambient light, ensuring that facial features and skin tones were accurately restored without losing the gorgeous neon bokeh in the background.

In terms of posing, I opted for a few different moods this time. I personally love the shot where I'm sitting on the escalator handrail because the composition perfectly centers the character, and the cross-legged pose adds some dynamic tension while highlighting the texture of the black socks. On the bus station bench, I went for more relaxed poses, like gently pulling on the tip of my twin tail—this kind of casual, slightly tsundere vibe fits the street-strolling atmosphere perfectly. There is also the final shot where I point at the camera with one hand on my hip, adding a sense of immersion and interactivity.

The shooting process was actually very tiring, especially staying in character and maintaining emotional investment in a busy public area while constantly checking if the wig was messy. Finding camera angles, adjusting my state, and coordinating with the flash and telephoto lens for close-ups took nearly two hours. However, seeing how the vividness of the character and the dreamy atmosphere of the night streetscape blended so well in the final photos made it feel completely worth it. This combination of a navy blue uniform and black stockings is incredibly versatile and looks great on camera, especially on autumn or early winter nights. I kept the post-processing quite simple this time, focusing on preserving the texture of the night scene and my natural skin texture, making this blonde twin-tailed character look even more vivid and natural under the city lights.