[Ruan Mei cosplay] Honkai: Star Rail: Plucking the strings to guide the flow of time into the past

Today's shoot features Ruan Mei's Plum Blossom Notes in Snow skin from Honkai: Star Rail. For this shoot, I tried on the entire costume in advance to get familiar with how to hold the props and my sitting postures. The main body of the garment is made of deep cyan velvet fabric, adorned at the waist with golden embroidery threads and tassels, while the white lace trims on the collar and cuffs are exceptionally exquisite. To convey a sense of lightness, the flowing silk ribbon behind was chosen from a translucent tulle material, creating a wonderful dynamic effect with even the slightest breeze during filming.

The ruan in my hand was custom-made, with meticulous recreation from the shape of the instrument head to the patterns on the soundbox. I also intentionally wrapped some artificial plum blossom branches around the instrument body to enhance the details. The wig features a black-to-cyan gradient; achieving a natural fluffiness took a significant amount of time during styling. The eye makeup used red-toned blending paired with cyan-green contact lenses, which intuitively and visually strengthens the character's otherworldly feel.

The shooting location was chosen as an indoor studio featuring wooden screens, with a highly reflective mirror-like floor surface. To make the best use of this reflective flooring, the photographer and I communicated extensively about angles. In the final finished photos, the reflections and the subject echo each other, presenting a very special sense of layering within the frame. The on-site lighting leaned toward a cool purple-blue tone, which, paired with the pink flower branches and wooden screens in the background, gave the entire frame a theatrical, stage-play-like atmosphere.

In terms of pose design, because the bottom of the costume consists of shorts plus a long tulle train, I constantly paid attention to how the skirt hem unfolded. Poses with one leg bent and looking back over the shoulder nicely showcased the layers of the skirt hem while making body lines appear more fluid. When holding the instrument, the strength of the wrist and the placement of the fingers also needed to fit a playing posture without appearing too rigid. The waist design of this costume is relatively form-fitting, requiring slight breathing control while moving in order to keep the posture relaxed.

The entire shoot lasted from afternoon well into the night. The preliminary lighting setup, prop placement, and adjustments to the floor's reflection consumed a lot of time. To capture a satisfying reflection effect, we repeatedly adjusted the character's position and the intensity of the lights. Although the process was somewhat tiring, being able to completely present the details of these costumes and props made all the preparation and waiting feel completely worthwhile.