[Marisa Kirisame cosplay] Daily Life of the Little Witch in Touhou Project

The visual focus of this set lies in the light-transmitting effect of the handheld props and their harmony with the background environment.

The transparent cup was made of ordinary material and didn't look special without light-transmitting effects. To create the magical potion look seen in the photos, a semi-transparent frosted film was applied to the inside and bottom of the cup, paired with the translucent pink sphere on the wooden spoon; backlighting from a specific angle then created a luminous, see-through glow. The hardest part of the preparation was preventing unwanted glare. To leave natural highlights on the surface of the cup, the photographer and I adjusted the light placement multiple times.

For the makeup, I used a reddish-brown eyeshadow base, slightly deepening the outer corners and layering fine glitter over the center of the lids. Since the character has blonde hair, the eyebrows and eyelashes were color-coordinated accordingly. Blush was applied relatively high, which, paired with see-through bangs and long blonde braids on both sides, nicely flattered the face shape. The wig was styled with gentle waves rather than a blunt cut to make it look more voluminous.

As for the costume, the large black hat with white lace trim, purple ribbon, and yellow star accents was actually quite heavy; during shooting, I had to constantly make sure it didn't flatten the bangs. The lace along the collar and cuffs was accessorized separately, and a structured inner layer was worn underneath to create a dimensional, fluffy silhouette. The double purple ribbons served as the perfect accent on the pure white top. Since the dress features a black ruffled hem and purple ribbons—presenting quite a few visual elements in front of the lens—a simple wooden cabinet was chosen as the background to complement it.

During the shoot, I maintained a breezy posture, holding the base of the cup with my left hand and raising the wooden spoon with my right, keeping natural curves along the arm lines. The photographer continuously searched for the angle where light pierced through the props, while I intentionally directed my gaze slightly to the left of the lens to create an engaging vibe as if interacting with someone. Adjusting the lighting was the core of this photoshoot: the frontal fill light couldn't be too bright to avoid washing out the light transmission in the cup, nor could the backlight be too intense, which would otherwise flatten the hair texture. Reflector placement was also crucial to keeping the face illuminated without disrupting the cup's luminous glow.

Post-processing focused primarily on color temperature and ambiance. The overall image had to maintain a warm yellow tone, giving the background wood grain a warm, serene feel. Minor brightness adjustments were made to the purple ribbons and yellow stars to ensure proper color presence. For skin retouching, the original skin texture and delicate pore details were preserved as much as possible, focusing on clean facial contouring to highlight the eye makeup. The lighting logic, texture rendering, and compositional design of the entire set were meticulously refined.

This experience gave me valuable insight into shooting special translucent materials under low-light conditions. The final result came very close to my expectations, making it a wonderful endeavor.