[Kochiya Sanae Cosplay] Touhou Project: Moriya and the Frog God in the Rain Veil

Shooting Touhou Project's Kochiya Sanae and Moriya Suwako in a rainy lakeside forest was a real-world test of both our equipment and patience. The photographer, Da Lizi Shan Shan Fa Guang, was extremely meticulous with composition, using giant leaves and water ripples to construct a deep, tranquil atmosphere. For my Kochiya Sanae Cosplay, I wore a blue-and-white multi-layered lace dress; both standing poses and low-angle close-ups required strict attention to the angles of the skirt and socks. Standing on wet, mossy stones in White stockings and platform shoes significantly raised the difficulty, as a single misstep could lead to slipping. Working in great synergy with my partner, Mr. Sha Sha Sha Sha, who portrayed the Moriya Suwako cosplay holding her signature lotus leaf prop, we designed several interactions along the shore—such as tugging fabric, exchanging gazes, and standing side by side. To achieve optimal lighting, we continually adjusted our positions by the chilly waterside. With rain fluctuating throughout the shoot, the photographer had to wipe the lens frequently, using a telephoto lens with a wide aperture to blur the messy ambient reflections on the water. The sound of raindrops striking the lotus leaf combined with the authentic mist created a visual atmosphere perfectly attuned to the gods of the original lore.

The main challenge of this Photography in the rain lay in how severely the weather degraded makeup and hair styling, forcing us to touch up our hair and makeup rapidly between location shifts. Preventing the dress from becoming overly heavy from water absorption also took plenty of effort. The camera angles were mainly concentrated near the moss-covered shoreline by the water, where the photographer used flanking trees as natural framing elements to place us at the visual center. To complement the mysterious and solemn aura inherent to Sanae and Suwako's lore, we experimented with diverse lighting methods early on—standing backlit at the water's edge to use surface highlights as a backdrop tracing our silhouettes and wigs, and then shifting sideways to catch dappled light filtering through the canopy. During this time, my White stockings and platform shoes remained semi-soaked, leaving my toes somewhat numb with cold, yet I strove to maintain an upright stance to preserve clean lines in the frame.

In the latter half, the rain intensified, and water droplets on the lotus leaf added noticeable weight to the prop. I held the lotus leaf overhead like an umbrella to shield my partner, and the photographer clicked the shutter right from the front, capturing the most stunning shots of the entire set. That natural sense of dynamic motion is something studio shoots can hardly replicate. All of our shooting took place in an authentic outdoor environment without any artificial rain machines, making the texture of the raindrops and the ripples on the water surface look exceptionally genuine. Regarding the styling, the skirt's voluminous fabric grew heavy once soaked, showing me firsthand that creating art in the rain is as much a physical challenge as a technical one. Nonetheless, seeing the cool tones and delicate details in the final images demonstrated the professionalism of the color grading while preserving the raw purity of the forest nature. Because the shoot was lengthy, the spare clothes we brought proved essential to change into during breaks and avoid catching a cold. The hands-on experience gained from this shoot will remain deeply memorable, and I'm confident it will help further refine the quality of my future cosplay work.