[Maomao cosplay] The Apothecary Diaries Autumn portrait photography Gathering Herbs in Old Summer Palace, Beijing Official Photos

Autumn in Beijing is truly too short. Taking advantage of the good weather these past two days, I quickly arranged the 1.0 herbal gathering version of Maomao from The Apothecary Diaries. From preparation to shooting, this set of photos took less than a week, mainly to catch this wave of golden autumn colors at the Pingxiang Pavilion in Old Summer Palace, Beijing.

In terms of costume, to restore Maomao's state of bustling around the palace while maintaining a bit of casualness, I chose this cyan-green cross-collar top paired with a bright red long skirt. The inner layer is a white cross-collar undergarment, with contrasting trim along the collar and cuffs. The wig features blunt bangs with braided pigtails on both sides, lightly decorated with small hair ties and ornaments at the ends, making the overall look quite neat. For props, we prepared a large woven bamboo back basket, a small hand basket, a paper umbrella, and a few yellow flowers. The bamboo basket was stuffed with prop flowers and autumn fallen leaves, and carrying it on the shoulder really gave a realistic sense of a herbal gathering girl.

The shooting location this time was chosen at the Pingxiang Pavilion in Old Summer Palace, Beijing, where the autumn scenery has very rich layers, featuring golden leaves, rockery stones, water surfaces, and very atmospheric red wooden piles. The sunlight was great on the shooting day, but the autumn breeze was quite chilly. To wait for a gust of wind to blow down the leaves, or for the sunlight to hit the face through the branches at just the right angle, we had to redo it several times. Because I was wearing a long skirt and sitting on a stone, every time I sat down and stood up, I had to tidy up the skirt hem to prevent wrinkles from affecting the frame. In the middle, we shot quite a few close-ups holding yellow flowers and ginkgo leaves, as well as a scene of sitting on the ground flipping through a pamphlet, trying my best to immerse myself in Maomao's leisurely and curious state.

Special thanks to photographer @Haila for capturing through the lens. When shooting by the river, the water's reflection combined with the fallen leaves had a great texture, and coupled with the soft light, the atmosphere of the raw photos was exceptionally good. Cosplay is not just changing into costumes for me, but experiencing the character's state in a specific environment. Carrying the bamboo basket and walking around the garden this time made me feel like I was really searching for herbs in the autumn days. This set of photos records the autumn of Beijing, and also records my love for the character Maomao. Although the process was hard, it was totally worth it.