[Tenochtitlan cosplay] Fate/Grand Order Rain God: Summer Sharing of Overexposed Blue and White Water Gun

The shoot actually went quite smoothly; the only issue was my own carelessness. The sunlight was fantastic at the time, and I figured shooting under such bright sun would look amazing, completely overlooking camera metering. When I got home and exported the files, I realized the white balance was completely off—the facial highlights were entirely blown out to pure white, and the green foliage and background blue tiles were heavily overexposed. I felt utterly devastated, but since the shoot was already done, there wasn't much else to do.

I tried various mobile editing apps, initially attempting to pull down the exposure. However, lowering brightness on blown-out areas caused severe color banding, making the skin look terribly unnatural. Then I thought about using filters to suppress it, but applying filters over an overexposed base just made the entire photo look muddy. In the end, I transferred the photos to my PC and tried adjusting exposure and contrast in Lightroom. Unfortunately, I'm really not good at color grading—split toning, highlights, and shadows are still a mystery to me—so I could only roughly tweak the parameters to retain the original summer brightness. Lowering it felt like it would lose that crisp, sun-drenched atmosphere.

Even though post-processing and grading were a major struggle, I genuinely love this Fate/Grand Order Tenochtitlan outfit. The white-to-blue gradient wig had immense volume; when I first tied it on, it felt heavy enough to break my neck, but styling it into large waves really flattered my face shape. The white wide-brimmed hat was also a plus, and paired with red contacts, it cleverly blended the cool composure of a water-element character with the heat of summer.

The most exhausting part during the shoot was the giant water gun prop in my hands. It's made of plastic, but because it was crafted with such realism and detail, it was much heavier than anticipated. Holding it up with both hands to pose tested my arm strength significantly. So I figured I might as well lift a leg, balance on one foot, and shift my center of gravity—which showcased my leg shape without dropping the prop. Nailing that pose took countless attempts under the sun, leaving my right leg nearly cramping by the end of that sequence.

This white dress paired with thigh-high white tights created a powerful visual impact. Honestly, white tights are incredibly difficult to maintain. To achieve that slightly sheer, alluring look, the stockings were very thin, risking snags from twigs or dry grass during outdoor shoots. After every take, I had to carefully check my ankles and knees for runs—luckily, no major disasters occurred.

Portraying this character was also quite demanding on the skin, as the original design features an extremely fair, rosy complexion. To achieve that translucent effect, I applied heavy base makeup along with plenty of shimmer and highlighter. Under the blazing sun, it was an absolute trial; the slightest movement caused sweating, leaving my face glistening. Whether it was natural oils or foundation, it surprisingly ended up looking like an inherent, dewy glow.

Although I messed up the exposure due to clumsy camera handling, the raw atmosphere definitely feels like summer. The bright, luminous frame looks quite refreshing—let's just consider it a keepsake of being deeply kissed by the summer sun. The outfit is now hung up in my closet; next time I wear it, I'll definitely find a shaded spot with soft light for a proper shoot. Finally, here's one full-body shot that turned out relatively satisfying after grading—the only pose I feel didn't look overly forced.