[Shimoe Koharu cosplay] Ancient style photoshoot sharing for Blue Archive

The core concept of this photoshoot was integrating the character's classic features into a traditional Chinese scenario, presenting an elegant yet lively visual atmosphere through the tailoring of a modified qipao. Choosing black velvet fabric as the main material was specifically because of its soft diffuse reflectivity under specific lighting, preventing black clothing from appearing flat in the frame. The cutout design on the chest, paired with pink lining and traditional key-fret frog buttons, subtly infuses a lighthearted anime feel into the dignity of the traditional mandarin collar, creating a crucial visual focal point on the upper body. Short pink hair combined with black feather wing headpieces forms a striking color contrast, where black wings echo the tone of the velvet qipao. Although the hollow ring halo atop the head lacks exaggerated volume, it adds a 3D detail to the upper ensemble, perfectly balancing out the potential monotony of straight bangs.

To enrich material layering, I paired it with a white fur shawl; its fluffy texture forms a direct visual contrast with the smooth velvet, adding weight to the overall look under cooler lighting conditions. For the lower half, I retained the qipao's high slit design, pairing it with black chunky heels decorated with white fur pom-poms. The bright pom-poms echo the upper body's shawl, breaking up the dullness of dark footwear. The closed black folding fan held in my hand served as a supportive prop with crisp lines, offering a natural anchor for hand poses and eliminating awkward positioning.

As for scene setup, a wooden stepped platform paired with a bamboo-woven lantern on the left emitted a warm yellow glow—an excellent mood prop ideal for Ancient style photography. The background featured a classic Chinese circular archway lined with semi-transparent white calligraphy curtains behind it, creating a blend of illusion and reality that grounds the image in cultural heritage without stealing focus from the subject. Seated on a wooden armchair, leaning slightly or extending one leg forward beautifully showcases leg contours and shoe details while serving the limb-stretching needs of a high-slit qipao. During shooting, I avoided sitting too upright, subtly shifting body weight and utilizing the shawl's weight to balance headpiece proportions, making the overall posture look relaxed yet refined.

I've always felt that when shooting this type of modified oriental Anime-style fashion, the true challenge lies in color balance and material usage. A simple tri-color scheme of black, white, and pink often yields better results than a chaotic palette. The high-end sheen of warm light striking velvet surfaces, combined with the ethereal lightness of white fur and feather wings, achieves a fantastic dynamic equilibrium in camera. During the shoot, my main focus was on how qipao folds naturally draped while seated, and whether the collar cutout retained its neat shape. Fine-tuning how the outerwear draped and where hair accessories sat helped integrate wig silhouettes seamlessly into lower body styling through subtle adjustments.

During post-processing, I mainly enhanced warm-toned luster while preserving subtle dark shadow grays to ensure velvet textures didn't blur out under highlight. The final photos retained an archaic atmosphere while utilizing low and high camera angles to lengthen body proportions. Overall, this ancient style visual approach built on her character design achieved great results through material harmony and warm lighting—matching her lively traits while introducing an unexpectedly grounded composure via ancient props. Shooting proceeded smoothly, and the wardrobe expression came across naturally; I am quite pleased with how this photoshoot turned out.