This set of photos records my styling for Shimoe Koharu. When I first took on this shoot, the core concept was to highlight the character's slightly tsundere and lively demeanor, as well as interpreting the classic "Don't look there!" meme in a casual cosplay setting. Because her character design incorporates rather intricate elements in Blue Archive, we focused primarily on costume fabric selection and lighting effects prior to shooting.
I woke up at 5:00 AM to get hair and makeup ready. The wig used light pink fibers; to make the curve of the bangs and side locks match the character design, I curled and fine-tuned them repeatedly with a curling iron to achieve a light, airy, and fluffy layered effect that fits her personality. The deep navy choker was made of flocking fabric, hand-embroidered with tiny white stars and floral petal patterns based on the original design. To prevent it from looking bulky, the seam connecting the collar and neck was reinforced with thicker piping. For the floating pink halo overhead, a thin fishing line was hidden inside and anchored to the back of the wig. Adjusting the angle of tension created a natural hovering appearance before the camera, while manually tweaking the halo's pink glow ensured the color looked natural under studio lighting.
The tailoring of this outfit leans light and airy, combining expansive white base fabrics with glossy silver edge binding to create distinct visual layers. The front cutout design paired with crisscrossed pink laces heavily tests the drape of the fabric; I chose slightly stretchy suiting fabric so the neckline wouldn't slip during dynamic movement, maintaining a structured, crisp silhouette. The pair of blue-and-white wings at the waist serves as a primary visual focal point of this look. Hand-cut into various lengths from stiff composite leather and layered with adhesive, they provided enough structural support to mimic opening and closing wings. The lower half features an overlaid textured white sheer skirt with irregular pleated hems; as I walked, the cape draped and fluttered naturally, creating a cohesive sense of layered depth between the front and back hem when angled properly.
For the "Don't look there challenge" photoshoot, there were actually a few subtle tricks to expression management. You cannot be completely relaxed during the shoot; you must maintain a guarded, tsundere gaze without resorting to an outright angry glare. So I tilted my head slightly, catching the camera in my peripheral vision while looking down or raising a hand to avoid direct eye contact, bringing an instinctive feeling of defiance to both half-body and full-body shots. For the two full-body shots standing on the plinth, the contact area underfoot was small, so I kept my feet slightly apart to steady my center of gravity while keeping the upper body relaxed to avoid hunching my shoulders.
The shot holding the white rose was a deliberately requested half-body composition. The original styling carried a slight edge of assertiveness, but adding a bouquet of white roses neutralized the boldness of the chest cutout with pure white elegance, while giving my hands a prop to hold so the posture wouldn't look stiff. The white thigh-highs outfit looked stunning under the gray studio backdrop lighting; paired with the blue-white-pink color combination, the overall image maintained a clean, translucent tone.
During post-processing, highlights were subtly raised along the glossy silver borders of the garment, giving the figure a luminous clarity under the studio softboxes. Meanwhile, restoring the fluorescent pink hue of the halo accentuated its floating effect. When shooting such anime characters in anime-style photography, the greatest challenge often isn't crafting the costume, but discovering the emotional state that truly matches the character's personality. Recreating the costume gets you an 80%, but getting the demeanor and expressions right is what delivers truly satisfying results.
After testing several sets of poses through trial and error, the final result faithfully recreated my vision of Shimoe Koharu's styling. Spending a little extra time on the fine details of costumes and props saves plenty of trouble on set. This combination of a refreshing color palette and white thigh-highs outfit yielded fantastic results under the studio lighting.