Planning for this Bride Nero cosplay shoot actually began even before our Rome trip was finalized. Rome as a city possesses a heavy, classical sense of destiny. Whether it's the weathered stone walls of the Colosseum or the majestic portico in front of the Pantheon, the historic aura they exude unexpectedly harmonizes with Bride Nero's gorgeous, dignified, and pure white sacred aesthetic in FGO. So despite all the homework we had to do, we still planned to shoot an authentic set of on-location outdoor photos here.
But reality often hits harder than plans. On the day of the shoot, it started off sunny, but right as we arrived at our first location, Rome's rain poured down as if perfectly timed. The rain in Rome made everything super disheveled that day—my wig got blown messy first, the crown on my head was dripping with raindrops, and the originally airy white skirt became heavy as lead after absorbing water. The high boots were particularly tough to walk in on the slick cobblestone streets; with every step, I worried about mud splashing onto the white dress. Just resetting myself on the spot took quite a while. At that moment, I had only one thought in mind: if we couldn't capture any good footage today, this trip would feel truly half-hearted.
We didn't give up, however. Fortunately, the photographer was incredibly professional; during the brief lulls in the rain, we hurried between various famous landmarks. The first photo was taken in front of the Victor Emmanuel II National Monument (Vittoriano), where the overcast clouds after the rain brought a solemn ambiance to this pure white architecture. Our second stop was the Colosseum, and although the background was crowded with tourists, the photographer's focus locked precisely onto me. Finally, we wrapped up the outdoor shoot by the fountain of the Pantheon. To produce these photos, I actually sacrificed a portion of my travel experience. While others in Rome were leisurely sipping coffee, buying gelato, and feeding pigeons in the piazza, I was spending the whole time transferring between locations, retouching makeup, adjusting styling, and gritting my teeth through the cold wind and rain in my 2D daily life.
Of course, this Bride Nero costume itself is quite demanding to wear. The neck accessories, the detached wide shoulder sleeves, and the zipper detail at the chest require precise control in every movement to project a look that is both striking and beautiful. Luckily, diffuse light on rainy days is strong, giving the captured images a soft, veil-like quality that brings out an oil-painting-like texture far beyond what harsh direct sunlight would offer. One must admit that Rome's on-location sceneries are unmatched; as one of Europe's cities with the deepest historical heritage, every stone brick here injects a wonderful burst of fresh energy into anime-style outdoor shoots.
Special thanks to photographer @muyun for patiently photoshopping out the bustling tourists one by one in post-processing. In a world-class hot tourist destination like Rome, getting a clean drone shot is difficult enough, let alone capturing sacred compositions that require clearing the entire background. To recreate Bride Nero's naturally radiant holiness from the game, his workload in color grading and object removal was immense.
Looking back, even though the shoot that day was pure chaos and I was shivering from the cold, seeing these preview photos in the camera makes me feel that sacrificing everything for a beloved character and breathtaking scenery was entirely worth it. Here are 4 preview shots to share with everyone first, while the rest of the final photos are still being retouched. That's all for today—thank you for reading through my ramble about this special rainy experience in Rome!