Shooting this Honor of Kings Xishi Dream Journey of Guixu look mainly faced two challenges. The first was managing that extremely long and thick purple wig; without careful pre-styling and layering, movement would turn it into a tangled mess. I secured the wig in advance, using heat-resistant fibers to slowly curl the desired wave. The second challenge was the fabric selection: the main white fabric needed to be lightweight yet not see-through, the gray and silver geometric splicing had to stay crisp under the lights, while the wide sleeves needed a graceful drape. To give the airborne ribbons and sleeves that flying agility, a lot of thought went into the shoot.
In fact, what many people care most about is the over-the-knee White stockings on my legs, but pairing them with white pointed high heels and a single-leg standing pose was a tremendous test of balance. Every time I stood on tiptoe during the shoot, I had to grip the ground firmly with my big toe to stabilize my center of gravity, while constantly tightening my anterior thigh muscles to prevent the stockings from slipping down. Because the stocking fabric is slightly reflective, lighting could elongate the leg lines when brightened, requiring continuous camera angle adjustments between the photographer and me. My naturally hanging leg needed to be deliberately straightened, while the lifted leg had to find the exact angle so the contours wrapped in White stockings looked visually softest.
To prevent the lotus prop in my hand from shaking, I tried to raise my hand as high as possible. During the shoot, I noticed that the wide white sleeves easily blew into my face or collided with the wig in the wind, so whenever the wind picked up, I had to readjust the sleeve cuffs. After checking my condition in the mirror multiple times, we officially started shooting. To present a high-quality cosplay piece, I invested considerable prep time into this Xishi Dream Journey of Guixu outfit. This included eye makeup adjustments: I specifically chose purple-gray eyeshadow to echo the hair and expanded the eyeliner area to make my gaze look more ethereal. In the photos, I showed different expressions—sometimes opening my eyes to look straight ahead, sometimes softly closing them to feel the flow of the wind. That sensation of lightness wasn't just resting body weight on one leg; it also required leaning the upper body slightly backward while naturally extending hand gestures like dancing.
Actually, such ethereal poses demand very high bodily flexibility. The waist had to support continuously, and the toes were almost curled inside the shoes. When trying the leg-lift pose in another set of photos, I almost lost balance due to inertia, but thankfully the assistant nearby caught me. As a cosplayer frequently engaged in 2D photography, I believe showcasing character traits is far more vital than simple posing. Xishi is inherently a hero with an ethereal, nimble temperament, so I tried to incorporate a distant yet focused gaze into my eyes and micro-expressions. Although the primary palette of the Dream Journey of Guixu skin is white and silver, the purple accents keep the overall look from feeling overly cold. Standing in front of a solid background, watching the fan blow my hair wildly in the wind, having that instant frozen in time felt truly wonderful.
Finally, the white lotus I held in the photos was the visual focal point of this look; the shape of the bud and the hanging white tassels had to be positioned at specific angles to look natural. Such details all needed confirmation during early prep. The overall shooting experience this time was very positive; although my insteps and waist were sore afterward, recreating a tangible instant of a beloved character through the lens is profoundly fulfilling. I take every character portrayal seriously and hope this photo conveys Xishi's water-like agile beauty.