[Sphene cosplay] Final Fantasy XIV Unlost World, checking in at the Queen Eternal trial

The theme of this shoot is Sphene from Final Fantasy XIV. Since it happened to coincide with the raid title of the Unlost World, I just added it in. Actually, the initial thought of shooting this set came from constantly nagging my teammates in the game every day, saying "Baby, please let a mount drop for me." I felt that the background setting of this raid fit Sphene's temperament quite well, so I dragged the photographer out for location scouting.
In terms of the costume, this dress had far more details than I imagined. The metal pieces at the collar and chest have a strong texture, but they are also very easy to scratch the skin, so it took quite a bit of time to adjust their positions when wearing them. The arm sleeves have a scale-like texture; although they look nice, their breathability is average, and my arms were covered in sweat after the shoot. The dark waist corset is the highlight of the entire outfit, and the position of the lacing needed to be tightened bit by bit to present the most perfect curves in front of the lens. This time, the makeup tried to preserve the bone structure as much as possible without over-embellishment, slightly deepening the eye contours, which, paired with the metal crown on the wig, aimed to present a feeling that is both majestic and somewhat detached.
The geometric steel structure background at the shooting location is simply amazing. The white intersecting lines and circular nodes formed a very strong visual guidance under the warm golden lighting. The photographer is great at catching angles, especially those low-angle shots that really elevated the aura of the whole person. When spreading my arms, it honestly felt like unleashing some large-scale AOE skill. However, the lighting on that day was actually quite tricky; the metal reflection of the architecture itself was very strong. To suppress the highlights of the background and make the facial light and shadow more even, we waited until almost sunset to shoot. I am very satisfied with the composition of this set of pictures because the architectural lines intersect diagonally, forming a wonderful echo with the straight and curved lines on the character's costume.
Special thanks to Britania Great Witch for the color grading, who rendered the interweaving feeling of wasteland and divinity so comfortably. The overall warm gold colors make the image textured yet not dazzling. As for the post-processing and makeup styling, I polished every bit of it myself, especially when retouching the face and adjusting the light and shadow of the costume, trying my best to retain the true fabric texture of the clothes without doing overly exaggerated liquefaction.
To be honest, every time I do a Final Fantasy XIV cosplay, it feels like engaging in physical labor; both putting on/taking off the outfit and shooting require immense patience. But the moment I saw the final photos, I felt it was all worth it. I just wonder if, having cosplayed the Queen Eternal this time, the game will actually drop a mount for me. I'm posting two photosets for everyone to see first, and I hope everyone gets the mount they want on their very first run in the raid.