[Ganyu Cosplay] Under Dali's blue sky, recreating the cool detachment of the Liyue adeptus

This set of photos was taken in Dali, Yunnan, choosing a shallow shoreline where dead trees lay crosswise. The wind was quite strong at the time, but the sunlight was perfect. The water surface reflected a very pure blue, and combined with the continuous mountain silhouettes in the distance, the atmospheric pressure of the whole scene was perfectly suited for Ganyu's inherent setting of having a sense of distance.

For the costume this time, I chose a halter-neck black dress with golden pattern embroidery on the skirt hem. The texture is relatively heavy, and it flutters naturally when the wind blows. The tights and off-shoulder design visually elongate the body silhouette while retaining a bit of the character's unique charm. The headpiece consists of a pair of black rabbit ears, and the wig has a silver-blue gradient that shows a subtle iridescence under the sun. In terms of props, I prepared a white bamboo-ribbed umbrella, which can both block the wind and serve as a core element of the composition—look at that seagull that happened to fly past in Photo 5, it perfectly echoed the white umbrella, which was a complete surprise.

The photographer and I communicated for a long time during the shoot because we didn't want it to feel like a rigid studio shoot, but rather leaned toward a combination of "travel photography + real scene." The dead trees served as a natural frame; we utilized their twisted lines to wrap around the figure so that the frame wouldn't look too empty. Both the first and sixth photos utilized backlighting or side-backlighting. After translucent light passed through the white umbrella, it turned into a warm yellow background, with the rim light outlining the lines of the hair and shoulders. There was almost no color grading in post-processing, and the transparency of the original shot was highly satisfying for this outdoor photography project.

I really like the close-up shot (Photo 3) because the sitting posture happens to let the skirt spread out. The leg lines wrapped in black tights form a color contrast with the red and blue gemstone belt at the waist, while the facial makeup is also relatively clean. The eyeshadow and lip color were treated lightly to avoid stealing the show from the environment. Additionally, the low-angle shot in Photo 4 showcases the tension of the dead trees beautifully; the open area of the umbrella surface is large, making the figure look smaller and more delicate, conveying a sense of independent loneliness.

We didn't bring too many flashes this time and relied entirely on natural light. The sunlight from 10 AM to 3 PM was the harshest, but combined with the diffuse reflection from the sea surface, it actually made the facial shadows very soft. The only thing to watch out for was that the umbrella easily flipped when the wind was too strong, but luckily we caught a few stable snapshots. The UV rays in Dali are very strong, so sun protection is a must for outdoor photography, but for the sake of the picture effect, I just had to endure it.

In post-processing, I only slightly adjusted the color temperature, strengthening the blue-cyan contrast between the water surface and the sky. The dark areas of the dead trees were lowered slightly to highlight the contours, maintaining an overall low-saturation, high-contrast cool-toned style, which resonates well with Ganyu's attribute of being a "chilly immortal beast" from Genshin Impact. During the shooting process, we actually encountered quite a few tourists, but everyone watched politely from a distance without disturbing us much, making it a very smooth outdoor shoot.

Various details of the clothing—such as the folds of the gloves, the ornaments on the waistband, and the transparency of the skirt—can be seen in the close-ups without extra filters to blur the texture. I feel that the most important thing in character roleplay photography is to blend the clothes with the person's temperament, rather than relying purely on post-processing to pile up the atmosphere. This photo set took about three hours to shoot, with a very high success rate, and the final product turned out more natural than expected. If I have another chance to come to Yunnan next time, I'll probably try other styles, but Dali's combination of dry shorelines and blue skies is truly perfect for an ancient style or fantasy setting for Dali travel photography.