[Elysia Cosplay] Summer Swimsuit Paired with Pink Long Hair: Honkai Impact 3rd Elysia Photoshoot

The location chosen for this shoot was an outdoor swimming pool at a resort. Because the styling is quite unique and the long pink hair easily reflects harsh light outdoors, styling the wig took considerable effort, adjusting layered textures multiple times to simulate the natural curve of hair windswept by the water.

For the makeup, it mainly complemented the character's pale purple eyes; the eye makeup layered pale pink and soft purple, and the base makeup was kept translucent to convey a dewy, hydrated look. The outfit is a purple-and-white ruffled Anime-style swimsuit, paired with white sheer off-the-shoulder sleeves and a pink translucent swim ring. To capture her agile and spirited vibe, I asked the photographer to shoot from side and 45-degree angles to better showcase leg lines and waist curves.

The lighting on that day was fantastic, with reflections from the water surface forming a natural soft-focus glow. The shooting process was actually quite physically demanding—for example, to capture the moment of water splashing, I had to repeatedly pose standing on one leg, maintaining balance while keeping facial expressions natural through numerous takes. There was also the set of poses slipping through the swim ring, where the angle required clever control to project a playful visual appeal without blocking the body lines.

In post-processing, focus was placed on unifying the overall color palette, creating a warm-cool contrast between the pink-purple dominant tone and the azure pool water, while lightly retouching the skin on hands and legs to ensure a clean, translucent frame. Since it was outdoors, the dynamic flow of windswept hair was difficult to capture purely through snapshots; some sections required post-shoot refinement aligned with the wind direction, or using reflectors to fill in shadow areas. I really love the pose reclining sideways across the swim ring, where the curvature of the float perfectly accentuated my body silhouette.

As for the shot on the lounge chair, removing distracting background elements required substantial editing, but I chose to refine it thoroughly to maintain visual purity. Although this gear looks refreshing and breezy, the wig was very thick and dense, making outdoor shooting in midsummer quite stifling; thankfully, the overall expressiveness achieved the expected results. I did dedicated research prior to the shoot: because this specific Summer swimsuit styling has high recognizability in character lore, meticulous care went into selecting matching accessories for fidelity, as coordinating props and outfits is a crucial part of cosplay. This photoset primarily aimed to convey summer refreshment combined with the character's dreamy aura, harmonizing the pool's blue, the palm trees' green, and the costume's pink and purple into a crisp, refreshing ambiance. I am personally very pleased with the final translucent aesthetic, keeping excessive edits to a minimum so everything feels natural.