During the prep stage for this Genshin Impact Ganyu Formal wear cosplay outfit, I reviewed the reference sheets repeatedly. Compared to her traditional work outfit, the cut and detail design of this formal dress were far more appealing to me. The blue-and-white color scheme paired with the dark brown paneling across the chest creates distinct visual layering. Red accents on the headpiece set against light blue hair strands balance the warm and cool tones of the entire look. The moment makeup, styling, and wig were complete, looking at myself in the mirror, I felt this shoot would turn out great.
For outdoor shooting, we chose a location in front of a structure featuring classical white stone pillars. Such open outdoor spaces are excellent grounds for testing a cosplayer's condition. We shot four sets of frozen poses in total. The first was sitting on a stone platform, where I adjusted the collar shape slightly while catching my breath, making the sitting posture look as natural and non-stiff as possible. For the second, I tried spinning around; the wind lifted the spliced inner and outer skirt hems. Because of the multi-layered skirt, the white lining and blue-teal outer layer fanned out as I spun, creating a light, airy dynamic feel—capturing that exact moment took quite some effort. For the third pose, I chose a forward-facing walking stance while lifting the skirt, which is great for displaying the outfit's silhouette lines, especially the strapless top half and waistline, clearly presenting the overall tailoring. Pairing the White tights cosplay look with white-base blue-trimmed high heels also gave the lower body a wonderful sense of visual extension.
Of course, the biggest design highlight of this dress has to be the glance over the shoulder in the fourth pose. The outfit leaves a large back area bare, perfectly emphasizing the shoulder blades and necklines. Looking back at the camera while the long dress trails along the ground showcases the skirt's rich weight. Although the skirt hem easily picked up dust from walking and turning during outdoor shooting, overcoming these minor details was necessary to faithfully recreate Ganyu's quiet, cool yet adorable aura. Wearing white gloves also required precision, resting just above the elbow with snug edges so they wouldn't slide down.
Cosplaying, in many ways, is far more than just wearing a costume for photos—it is an exercise in understanding character disposition. Ganyu evokes a gentle, grounded impression in lore, whereas this formal gown amplifies her elegant, delicate side. Therefore, regarding expression control during shooting, I kept emotions contained—favoring soft, approachable micro-expressions over exaggerated sharpness. Capturing the natural flutter of the skirt under natural breeze conditions without fans was genuinely thanks to great weather luck. The ambient lighting was diffuse soft light without harsh top or side lighting, exceptionally friendly for skin tone rendering and white fabric texture. Overall, it was a smooth Anime-style photography experience; whether costume pattern-making or makeup styling, everything aligned with the temperament I wished to convey. Putting on this outfit to take photos and preserving this moment in images is the most meaningful aspect of doing cosplay for me.