The continuous rain brought by the typhoon finally stopped, and as the dark clouds dispersed, a brief window of time opened up right before dark to capture this set of sunset backlit visuals. Because I often ran into issues where the face was pitch black or the background was completely blown out when shooting in this kind of lighting before, I made specific adjustments to the equipment and settings. This time, I mainly used the DJI Pocket 4 Pro for shooting. Considering its focal length and portability, I framed the shots close to foreground flowers to enhance the depth of field in the frame.
The air after the rain was remarkably clear yet still contained plenty of moisture, acting as a natural filter. I kept the ISO in a lower range, paired with a wide aperture to blur the background. Meanwhile, to ensure sufficient brightness on the face in backlit conditions, I used global exposure compensation along with focus-exposure point separation, keeping the face slightly underexposed while preserving the rim lighting around the hair as much as possible. Since the hair strands are light blue, shooting strictly front-lit would make the color look flat; by letting highlights slightly blow out while preserving shadow details, the color layering of the hair became richer and more dreamy.
Regarding costumes and props, the light-transmitting quality of the white tulle dress and lace parasol was the core of this look. During the shoot, I consciously let the light filter through the ribs of the parasol and the skirt hem, creating a translucent, hazy feel. To prevent harsh facial shadows from direct sunlight, I had my partner adjust the position of an LED reflector board or used the parasol itself for shade—slight variations in light directly influenced the mood of the image.
During the photoshoot, because the space between flower bushes was narrow and the ground was damp, moving between camera angles required careful stepping. Backlighting also strains the eyes easily, especially near sunset when direct light into the eyes makes it hard to keep them open; thus, it took patience to wait for changes in light angles or capture fleeting expressions, where often only one or two shots out of consecutive shutter clicks achieved perfection.
Beyond the Backlit photography itself, the most critical aspect this time was mosquito defense. The greatest enemy of a Cosplay outdoor photoshoot is mosquitoes, especially in flowerbeds after the rain. After wrapping up this shoot, my legs were bitten multiple times and covered in swollen bumps—I practically became an all-you-can-eat mosquito buffet, making the process exceptionally tough. But seeing the final photos made all the effort feel worthwhile. The fortune of brief clearing after gloomy rain and the transparency brought by the light were beautifully conveyed through the lens. I hope when attempting similar backlit scenes, everyone takes good care of themselves and captures that unique natural light and shadow.