[Keqing cosplay] Sword light as me, cutting through all clutter

Shooting this Keqing cosplay photoset, the biggest challenge actually came from the glowing prop sword in my hand. The purple light of this sword was amazingly bright, making it almost impossible to look directly at during the shoot, otherwise, it easily caused glare. To balance the highlights emitted by the hilt and the fill light on the face, we spent quite a bit of time adjusting the light positions. This outfit has a strong sense of layering, with light blue loose sleeves spliced with a deep purple main body, and golden armor-shaped accessories embedded on the shoulders. To make the hollow-out design on the chest appear just right in front of the lens, I repeatedly adjusted my standing posture and shoulder tilt angle. The wig was a key part that needed careful grooming; the light purple-gray long hair was interspersed with some highlight hair strands. To make it look fluffy and avoid feeling heavy, I used a lot of hair spray and clips for styling, and the cat ears and white flower hair accessories on top of the head were also carefully fixed to ensure they wouldn't shift during shooting.
In terms of makeup, to fit the character's temperament, I chose blue-gray contact lenses, intensified the depiction of the outer corners of the eyes and eyelashes, and chose a reddish shade with stronger glossiness for the lips. The shooting environment was chosen as an indoor setting with a wooden background and pink flowers. To highlight the glowing prop, the regular lighting on-site was deliberately dimmed, relying mainly on the purple light of the sword body as the main light source. This lighting method made the contrast of light and shadow in the frame very strong, with the warm yellow ambient light intertwining with the cool purple light of the sword body, adding a fantasy-like dramatic feel to the overall picture.
During the shooting process, I frequently needed to raise my arms to showcase the lines of the sword blade while maintaining a sharp gaze. Because the light emitted by the sword body was very strong, when shooting close-up facial portraits, I had to struggle to control the instinct to blink in order to maintain that cool and focused expression. The material of this outfit is mostly jacquard fabric with dark patterns, which looks very textured under the lights, but at the same time, it somewhat restricts movement. Every time I swung the sword or adjusted my posture, I had to be careful not to let the lace at the neckline and the bow accessory on the neck shift. The preparation and shooting process of this photoset was full of challenges, but every time I captured the moment of the sword light cutting across my side through the lens, I felt it was completely worth it.
I still remember that while shooting this set of photos, my understanding of the phrase 'Sword cometh, all else is cleared!' deepened more and more. To showcase Keqing's decisive and efficient temperament, I constantly tried different sword-holding angles in front of the lens. Sometimes holding the sword blade horizontally in front of me, the purple light just happened to illuminate half of my face, outlining the lines of the jaw; sometimes raising the sword above my head, letting the light naturally fall. This interaction of light and shadow added a lot of color to the photos. Especially when shooting half-body close-ups, the warm-colored lighting in the background and the cool purple light of the sword formed a highly layered light and shadow transition on the character's face and collarbone, an atmosphere that is hard to completely replicate in post-processing. While shooting, I also had to pay attention to controlling my breathing, because even a slight change in fill light would move the highlight point on the eyeballs. From wearing the outfit to styling the hair, and finally to the shooting itself, the whole process took a long time, but this is also what attracts me most to cosplay—it gives me the opportunity to get in touch with and portray the characters I love, even if only for a fleeting moment.