[Barbara Cosplay] Summer Swimsuit at Beitou Shopping Park: Genshin Impact Barbara Convention Photos

On May 18th, at the "Endless" Anime Expo held at Beijing Beitou Shopping Park, I completed the photoshoot and curation of Convention photos for Barbara's summer Swimsuit cosplay look from Genshin Impact.

The styling chosen this time comes from Genshin Impact Barbara's swimsuit design—overall a blue-and-white sailor suit aesthetic paired with a light-blonde twintail wig, detached sleeves, and a gradient-blue pleated skirt. To recreate the summery seaside vibe from the character lore, I prepared a blue inflatable swim ring and a yellow duck plushie as props in advance, visually making the entire coordination align seamlessly with a seaside vacation and her healing persona.

Speaking of the shoot that day, the ambient light at the Beijing Anime Convention venue was quite complex, so the photographer deliberately picked a dimmer area at the edge of the exhibition hall as a background, setting up single-light illumination with a hot-shoe flash fitted with a softbox. This pure black backdrop combined with intense key light beautifully highlighted the blue-and-white tones of the costume, the transparent high-heeled sandals, and the hair color, while effectively preventing cluttered convention crowds from disrupting the frame.

In designing the poses, we experimented with several distinct stances—from holding the blue swim ring while extending legs to flatter body lines, to sitting on a chair making playful gestures. In this process, rather than forcing stiff poses, I felt it was far more important to express the character's naturally energetic and cheerful personality. Because we frequently struck poses with extended leg lines, and with the skirt hem being relatively short, preventing wardrobe malfunctions required constant vigilance, so I asked several close friends to assist and keep watch during the shoot.

The clear-soled sandals featured in these Convention photos are one of the key essences of this styling—not only fitting the summer Swimsuit cosplay theme, but also visually elongating the leg lines. However, walking around the Beijing Anime Convention all day in these shoes while carrying a fairly bulky blue swim ring prop was truly a test of physical endurance, but to present the best side of the character, all the effort was completely worthwhile.

Among this set's compositions, my favorite is the profile shot waving with the swim ring against the pure black background; the props, posture, and gaze capture are all spot on, with the light and shadow delivering a cool yet refreshing ambiance. As the Deaconess of Mondstadt in Genshin Impact, Barbara has always projected a healing and vibrant aura, so I deliberately kept the makeup translucent, paired with blue contact lenses to emphasize her breezy, refreshing charm.

At the convention venue, one could deeply feel the shared love for ACG culture among fellow fans, and leaving behind such a set of Convention photos at Beitou Shopping Park was truly delightful. As a Genshin Impact player, attempting to pay tribute to the in-game summer design with real-world costume, hair, and makeup was a deeply meaningful experience. In post-processing, I avoided heavy over-retouching, focusing mainly on tuning skin tones to look natural and clean while preserving authentic light and shadow textures. The chemistry with the photographer was seamless, capturing numerous spontaneous dynamic moments; being able to recreate such a refreshing summer photo set brings me immense fulfillment in this Barbara Cosplay.