The schedule for the first day of BW 2026 was extremely packed, and shooting Ye Shunguang at the Nanguang booth's white studio was a rather special stop in our entire exhibition arrangement. From finalizing the styling to the on-site lighting setup, we communicated with the team many times. When we got the final prints, my first feeling was that the light and shadow truly added a lot of value to this outfit.
This time, Ye Shunguang's overall design adopts white as the primary tone, supplemented by a large amount of red and black elements to enhance the visual focus. The wig is selected in a moderately bright brownish-red, paired with a red bow hair accessory and white paper ornaments, giving the overall styling a rich sense of layers. What took a lot of effort this time was the ultra-long red ribbon on the back, which is sewn with copper bells and golden embroidered leaves. During the studio shoot, whether standing on one leg or turning around, the drape and dynamic feel of the ribbon could be perfectly captured, adding plenty of agility to the originally clean white background.
Our shooting area was set up in the white studio in the center of the booth, with equipment supported by Nanguang. As seen in the live environment photos, two large octagonal softboxes played a decisive role. Casting a high-positioned soft light source from both left and right illuminated the character's contours and the details of the clothes exceptionally clearly. Many friends visiting the booth often ask if photos taken in a white studio would look very flat. Actually, as long as the light positions are arranged broadly enough, the resulting light and shadow layers can fully rival a professional photography studio. This time, the background wall was processed with a pink-purple and light-blue gradient, which, combined with the white circular platform under my feet, beautifully highlighted the overall lively and lightweight feel of Ye Shunguang.
During the shoot, I intentionally experimented with several standing poses, such as standing on one leg, looking back while turning, and close-up side profiles. Paired with the detached white sleeves and black high-heeled ankle boots, the overall visual center of gravity naturally fell on the character's body proportions. The high-heeled boots feature red block heels, which form a wonderful echo with the red details on the clothing. Special mention must be made of that giant, fluffy brown beast tail; it has dense fur, and when shooting turning movements, the natural swaying posture of the tail prevents the entire photo from looking too rigid, adding to the character setting vibe of the anime figure.
For booth-produced photos, the proportion of onlookers and hardcore photography enthusiasts on-site was very high. Many photographers brought telephoto lenses to capture the light and shadow moments of the scene. Since it was the first day of the exhibition, the atmosphere on-site was also quite enthusiastic, yet we still tried our best to maintain our consistent professional standards from scene setup to final photo production. We actually encountered a few minor difficulties during the shoot, such as how to avoid the reflections on the booth floor and how to make full use of the soft light provided by the white studio to restore the texture of the white clothing without appearing overexposed. Thanks to the equipment at the Nanguang booth and the timely adjustments by the on-site staff, these details were ultimately handled very well.
In booth photography, a lot of times what we care about is a sense of naturalness and 'truth.' Without needing too much fancy post-processing, as long as the light in the white studio is sufficient and the character's expression is on point, an excellent atmosphere can already be presented. This first-day shoot was both an offline display for fellow fans and supporters, as well as my own re-interpretation of this styling and demeanor. The entire outfit actually carries a certain weight when worn, especially when walking around in the exhibition when the crowds are massive, but the moment I stand on the circular platform facing the camera, I immediately get into character.
Sorting out these photos after the first day, I can see many moments worth reminiscing about from different camera positions and compositions. Whether capturing the gaze in close-ups or presenting poses in full-body shots, everything restored that sense of confidence and activity we wanted to express on-site. Behind the venue where light and shadow interweave, there is a group of people with the same love for the character and photography collaborating together. Being able to leave these sets of highlights in such a lively venue as BW 2026 is a very meaningful thing to me, and also a great opportunity to meet friends who love this character design offline as part of our Nanguang Dimension Creation and Anime-style photography journey.