[Raiden Makoto cosplay] Genshin Impact Inazuma's gentleness and sorrow

This set of Raiden Makoto cosplay photoshoot photos is finally finished editing. When I first saw the real scenery of this garden, I immediately felt it matched the atmosphere of Inazuma wonderfully, so I directly brought this outfit there to shoot. The lighting for outdoor location shoots is actually quite difficult to control, especially the top light around 3 PM, which easily leaves harsh shadows on the face. To avoid harsh light spots, I deliberately searched for many forest edges and corners of the redwood bridge, using leaves and the paper umbrella to filter the light, letting sunlight shine through the wisteria on the umbrella surface to create a natural soft-light effect. Raiden Makoto's setting in Genshin Impact carries a very heavy tragic color inherently; unlike Raiden Shogun who is fierce and sharp, she gives off more of a feeling of an inclusive, gentle yet somewhat distant Archon. Therefore, in action design, I didn't perform many large-scale movements, relying more on gazes and subtle hand postures to convey this sense of tranquility.

There are actually quite a many details to this outfit. The purple-to-white gradient modified kimono has a great texture, and the red knot and silver tassels on the obi waist seal are also crafted very delicately. The only rather torturous thing was that paper umbrella; with the hanging simulation wisteria flower strings attached, the overall weight wasn't light, and after shooting for a long time, my arms really ached. Moreover, to match Raiden Makoto's cool tones, I wore purple contact lenses; although they looked great on camera, under outdoor sunlight for a long time my eyes got a bit dry, and I had to reapply eye drops several times in between. For the lower half, I paired it with white stockings and red geta sandals; the red-and-white color scheme popped out strongly against the green garden background, which was also meant to increase the visual layers of the frame and keep the overall colors from being swallowed by a massive area of green.

During the shoot, my favorite set of shots was sitting on the railing of the redwood bridge. The sun was setting at the time, the color temperature grew warmer, and the edges of the hair under the backlighting had a gorgeous rim light, paired with the water surface reflections, making the entire frame look extremely translucent. To showcase the layers of the skirt hem, I had the photographer shoot from a slightly low angle, which not only elongated the leg lines but also completely displayed the high-slit design and White stockings. During post-processing retouching, I intentionally darkened the background green, increased the saturation of purple and red, and added a soft focus effect to the highlight areas, bringing the image closer to the translucent 2D feel of Genshin Impact. Although the whole process was quite tiring and the weather was muggy, the moment I saw the final deliverables, I felt all the hassle was completely worth it. For such static works focused on atmosphere, rather than simply imitating movements, I hope to convey the character's subtle sorrow and gentleness through light, shadow, and scenes.