Here is the photoshoot record for this Komeiji Satori cosplay.
Let's start with the hair and makeup. The pink wig wasn't ordinary straight hair; it needed richly layered, subtle waves. The length and curvature of the bangs had a massive impact on character fidelity, so trimming and styling required a lot of care. For the eye makeup, dark red eyeshadow smudging was used, with elongated and slightly winged eyeliner paired with brownish-red colored contacts to make the gaze sharper. The foundation was kept clean and pale to highlight the color of the pink hair.
The costume was a royal blue dress made of a structured fabric suitable for holding its shape. The outfit had numerous details, such as pink lace trimming on the collar and cuffs, pearl beading accents, and a red heart ornament on the chest. The sleeves were long, translucent tulle sleeves that used a lot of fabric with lace-trimmed edges; to achieve that puffed look, internal supports were worn underneath. Although these details were tedious, they turned out great in close-up shots.
The most exhausting part was the prop. The red Eye of Satori prop held in my right hand was genuinely heavy, featuring a strawberry-like textured surface, a half-open red device with a silver base, surrounded by white blossoms. The prop was fixed to a transparent bracket; to achieve that composition where it framed my face, I held it up for a long time and my arm became very sore. There was also a fluffy yellow orb atop the head, which required many bobby pins to keep from falling off.
During the shoot, the photographer's lighting was crucial. Because the background was purple-pink, the color temperature was deliberately raised during lighting setup to give the entire scene a dreamy, hazy atmosphere. The shoot mainly utilized close-up and half-body compositions, using both hands and the red Eye of Satori to conceal most of my face, exposing only one eye—this not only enhanced mystery, but also focused visual attention on the gaze and the red prop. Red and yellow curved tubes also factored into the composition, adding elements of geometric lines.
The character Komeiji Satori has many unique traits in the Touhou Project lore. For this shoot, I mainly wanted to capture that state of being slightly playful yet gazing deeply. Because the outfit was heavy and I had to hold a heavy prop the whole time, the shooting process was quite tiring, but seeing the final photos made everything completely worthwhile. We mainly utilized the venue's lighting, and post-processing slightly adjusted the light and shadow contrast to make the red-and-blue color scheme more vibrant and the pink hair more translucent.
Every time I shoot such detail-heavy 2D cosplay, it's a test of patience and stamina, especially practicing how to hold props naturally while posing. Fortunately, the final results turned out fantastic with accurately captured postures, fulfilling my wish of shooting this memorable Roleplay project.