[Regulus cosplay] Reverse: 1999, A Day Trip to the Street Record Shop

I spent over half a month preparing this casual look for Regulus. The stripe width on the jacket, the density of the pleats on the skirt, and that blue scarf with white polka dots—every detail was kept as close to the texture of the in-game art as possible. On the day of the shoot, the sunlight was fantastic. We chose this pedestrian street with built-in American vintage signs; the huge VEGAS light sign and guitar model happened to fit the character's casual yet slightly rock-and-roll personality perfectly.

For the first set of wide shots on the crosswalk, I intentionally stood in a relaxed manner without posing rigidly, wanting to create the feeling of having just finished crate-digging for records and walking past the street with a bag. The next two close-up shots leaning against the taxi were candid captures by the photographer. At that time, I was drinking a cold beverage, and the sunlight fell on the orange jacket. The fabric reflection was controlled well, and in post-processing, I only adjusted the contrast and color temperature, retaining the original high saturation without over-smoothing the skin, because this kind of street feel needs a bit of gritty authenticity.

The trickiest part of this makeup and hair styling was the hairstyle: light blonde curly hair plus a black-red-white striped headband. To keep the headband from looking out of place, I specifically matched the color palette of the makeup—orange-toned blush and earth-toned eyeshadow to deepen the contours. For sunglasses, I picked retro round frames, which both block light and reinforce that cool "don't want to be read" vibe. There were actually quite a few passersby watching during the shoot, and an auntie even asked if I was shooting a commercial, so I smiled and explained that it was a Cosplay photoshoot.

As for post-processing, I didn't add too many filters, mainly adjusting the details in shadows and highlights so that the blue of the sky and the orange of the outfit formed a contrasting color scheme, keeping the visual center more focused on the character. Also, for those two shots by the taxi, I had the photographer lower the camera angle slightly to capture the TAXI light on top of the car while elongating the leg lines. Combined with the short skirt and thigh-high socks, the overall proportions felt much more balanced.

I actually scouted this location twice beforehand because there were many sign elements on this street, making it easy to look cluttered. So I intentionally controlled the depth of field, keeping the neon words and guitar in the background properly blurred, retaining only clear outlines. In the crosswalk shot, I intentionally let pedestrians on the opposite side serve as blurred background figures to add narrative feel, as if I had just walked out of the crowd. The entire shoot took about two hours, with one touch-up of setting powder and lipstick in between due to the higher temperature.

I was very satisfied with the final results. The orange of the outfit, the blue of the sky, and the gray of the pavement created a classic color-blocking combination. Even though it's cosplay, I feel like you don't need to force specific in-game poses in every photo; capturing the character's aura and sense of life is far more important. Regulus in the game is a casual, slightly dashing girl who loves visiting record shops, so in front of the lens I basically just stayed true to myself—a bit more confident and relaxed, which actually felt more like the character. Later on, I'll post some detail shots of this set, including how the scarf is knotted and the charms on the backpack, hoping to give a reference for fellow cosplayers wanting to do this character.