Today I shot a Honkai: Star Rail cosplay in a rehearsal room, intentionally choosing a slightly industrial-style venue. The outfit I'm wearing is actually quite elaborate, featuring a white top with pink ruffles and bell sleeves, paired with a bright blue and white long dress on the bottom. The high-slit design requires careful angle-finding during shooting to avoid exposure or unflattering proportions. It took a long time to style the wig to get that fluffy look with a headband and floral decorations, and details like the emerald pendant around my neck and gloves are maxed out. To match the overall color scheme, I specifically paired blue sleeve covers with white gloves, and the overall blue-and-white color palette stands out vividly against the black grid background.
There was a white wooden Guitar on-site as a prop, originally intended to give the frame a musical girl texture. But right as I struck a pose, the KTV room next door was belting out a heart-wrenching rendition of a song, and my mind was filled with that hypnotic melody, almost making me forget my poses entirely. The image with the speech bubble floating above my head in the photos was truly my most authentic reaction at the time. The stringed instrument I originally wanted wasn't a Guitar, but after searching around, only this white Guitar matched the outfit best. Because of the singing next door, I had to suppress my laughter the whole time, and the resulting gaze in the photos looked particularly helpless, yet oddly adorable and dazed.
Speaking of cosplay, this attempt is actually a bit out-of-character (OOC), because the original setting and this impromptu style I tried in the rehearsal room might deviate a bit in atmosphere. Apologies for that, but I really wanted to capture this sense of collision where anime styling blends into daily life. The vinyl record decorations in the background, the black-and-white checkered floor, and the flight cases nearby all enriched the composition. The high-slit skirt hem combined with long leg lines, paired with the contrast between white gloves and blue sleeve covers, created wonderful visual layering.
Lighting was also a major issue during the shoot. The rehearsal room's overhead lighting is quite harsh, so to keep the wig from looking too flat, I had to constantly adjust my standing posture, turning slightly sideways or finding angles to catch the light. When posing with my hand propping my chin in thought, keeping my arm suspended in the air was exhausting, but to match that speechless emoji speech bubble, I pushed through to the finish. While the outfit looks stunning, it's quite cumbersome to wear, especially the pair of long sleeve covers which slide down with any slightly wide movement. I had to carefully maintain the styling the whole time, occasionally tugging at the skirt's position to ensure the best proportions were captured on camera.
Looking at the raw photos after the shoot, although it turned out completely different from the aloof or deeply emotional musical atmosphere I originally envisioned—getting hijacked into a comedian by the KTV next door—it has the charm of being authentic and funny. Consider it an unexpected rehearsal room log.