This photoshoot of Reimu Hakurei at the Shenzhen International Animation and Game Festival was completed under intense backlighting conditions. During the peak crowd hours of the event, the photographer used a telephoto lens with a wide aperture to blur out the messy background crowds, unexpectedly capturing a stunning backlit lens flare in the process. The fabric of this red and white shrine maiden outfit revealed an airy, lightweight texture under strong lighting—especially the wide detached sleeves and voluminous skirt, which, paired with shide paper streamers and spell card props, strongly embodied the character's signature aura.
The shooting process was quite challenging; with heavy foot traffic at the gaming festival, we constantly searched for relatively clean backgrounds. The outdoor shot capturing the flowing skirt under the setting sun was taken on the street outside the exhibition hall to catch the remaining natural light. The wind was so strong that day that I practically had to hold the skirt firmly to maintain its shape. Due to the harsh directional light, post-processing focused mainly on balancing lighting contrast—reining in blown highlights and lifting shadows to preserve intricate details across the red and white fabric.
The outfit design is rich in delicate nuances, such as lace trimmings on the cuffs, oversized red bows, and geometric patterns along the skirt hem, all requiring careful light handling to retain their visual depth. Although this was my first time cosplaying a Touhou Project character, putting on this red and white shrine maiden outfit made adjusting my posture and angling the gohei purification rod feel completely natural. For convention shoots of this style, knowing how to balance prop angles and sync sleeve-flings with spins and over-the-shoulder turns was essential to capture her effortless, agile grace.
Shooting directly into the light frequently caused heavy lens flare, occasionally making it hard to discern contours through the viewfinder. Nailing these sharp shots with clear expressions took genuine patience—especially the shot using a spell card to partially veil the face, which required precise angle calibration so light would subtly penetrate the paper edges. These delivered convention photos preserve the authentic lighting atmosphere of the venue without excessive post-processing, and I hope these behind-the-scenes insights offer helpful references for shooting traditional-style characters at anime expos.