Receiving this replicated cosplay photoshoot of Citlali from Genshin Impact, I spent a highly fulfilling day in the studio for this studio shooting session. From the makeup test to the actual shoot this time, the overall concept leaned toward the character's temperament, trying my best to recreate that unique tone packed with laziness and casualness.
Let's talk about this light pink long straight wig first. To align with the original styling design, the wig not only needs to preserve its natural smooth texture, but the top of the head also underwent a fluffy contour treatment. The hair strands feature a gradient color transition in the lower half, which, paired with the iconic black over-ear headphones, immediately brings out the visual recognition. In terms of makeup, the focus lies in the eye makeup colors and the blue inverted triangle patterns on both sides of the cheeks. The light blue colored contacts paired with pinkish-purple eyeshadow make the gaze look deeper, while the patterns on the cheeks relied on delicate brushstrokes to replicate. The overall makeup strived to be clean and translucent, avoiding looking heavy.
The costume design is also a highlight of this cosplay. The black sleeveless top selects a material with a faint gloss to better accentuate the texture, and the irregular hollow-out design on the chest displays the tailoring details while rendering an excellent visual effect. The black leather half-gloves and metallic armlets on the arms add a touch of crisp coolness to the whole look. The waist is a highly core area, where blue and pink patchwork ribbons are interwoven together, with a striking blue gemstone-like ornament embedded in the middle, which both secures the skirt hemline and becomes the visual centerpiece of the waist. The lower body is an intricate patchwork maxi skirt hemline, where the color blocking of dark blue, purple, and pink, combined with a mesh-like texture, delivers rich layers. The black cross lace-up sandals on the legs are also an important coordinate element, displayed with particular clarity in the third look.
The shooting scene this time was chosen in a specially built exotic studio shooting setup. Large areas of purple curtains and blue curtains draped and interwove, forming a highly dramatically tensed backdrop. What satisfied me most was this ethnic-style rug under my feet, whose alternating red, yellow, and blue stripes and complex geometric patterns exactly formed a wonderful echo with the colors on the costume. The studio was further adorned with golden vessels and white plaster columns, paired with green plants on both sides, elevating the overall color saturation and depth of layers by quite a notch.
During the shooting process, we tried several different compositions and postures. The third photo is what I personally consider the single frame that best embodies the full picture of the costume—sitting on the bed, the lace-up sandals on the legs and the geometric patterns of the skirt hemline can be completely displayed, and the naturally relaxed sitting pose plus the booklet featuring character illustrations held in hand bake the atmospheric feel just right. The other two are a larger-proportioned half-body shot and close-up, focusing on displaying the facial expression and upper body details, and the barefoot setting also makes the look appear more comfortable and free. The standing frame adopts an interactive action of extending a throw pillow forward, generating a certain depth of field and sense of movement, making the entire frame more vivid.
Every set of cosplay photoshoot is the result of close collaboration among the makeup artist, photographer, and model. Being able to step into the studio while wearing these clothes to interpret a character I appreciate is a very happy thing in itself. I hope this set of photos with an exotic flair can bring you into this character's unique atmosphere through this mutual exploration of anime-style photography.