This set of photos was taken in a classic urban underground garage. Before the shoot, both myself and photographer @Yunqingzzz spent a lot of time refining the lighting and angles. The underground garage naturally carries a cool industrial vibe, creating a perfect contrast with the custom teal Itasha livery beside us. As Firefly from Honkai: Star Rail, I gave careful thought to the outfit details: a custom wig with a white base and light blue highlights, topped with a sky-blue translucent bow hairpin. Instead of complex battle armor, I chose a more casual Japanese-style sailor uniform top paired with a grey-blue plaid pleated skirt, over-the-knee white socks, and black loafers. This uniform combination visually brings out a refreshing student feel while creating a cross-dimensional harmony with the character art wrapping the car.
During the shoot, the photographer specifically used hard lighting to highlight the silhouette and the clear translucency of the hair strands, yielding a very clean final texture. One of my favorite compositions in this set is the shot sitting on the hood. Finding balance on the hood was actually a bit tricky, but sitting with crossed legs created a nicely layered look between the long lines of the white socks and the short uniform skirt. Positioned right in the center of the frame, the light from the left headlight brought out clear, three-dimensional facial contours. There are also a few poses holding a bouquet by the car or sitting halfway inside the driver's seat, all meant to convey a more relaxed and casual mood.
Shooting in an underground garage with low headroom and complex ambient lighting really tests the photographer's lighting skills. Fortunately, the rendered skin texture, wig sheen, and uniform fabric texture came out looking very solid. The pink rose bouquet was a prop we picked on the spot, but surprisingly, it blended softly with the light teal car body and my white, grey, and light blue outfit, like tearing open a vibrant splash of color in a static mechanical backdrop.
For the duo photo in Image 3, my co-cosplayer changed into a black outfit with grey hair and a gold-trimmed jacket. We both struck a V-sign pose beside the car door featuring Firefly's half-body character artwork, bringing out a synchronized sense of character interaction and real-life recreation. There's also a playful snapshot of me raising one leg. While studio-style lighting can sometimes reveal minor imperfections, the overall atmosphere today fit the theme 'May We Meet Again in the Sobering Reality' remarkably well.
Many props and gear, like the Itasha's wrap design, took a lot of effort from everyone to customize. Looking at the character image on the car decal and looking down at my uniform always gives me the illusion of briefly intersecting with that character in reality. Ultimately, cosplay is often about passion and care—especially when bringing ACG elements into everyday settings, breaking the dimensional wall feels truly healing. During post-processing, we kept the original light and shadow texture of the underground garage without over-editing to preserve the authentic feel of the scene. Capturing a character's state in the real world through photography holds a special meaning in itself.