[Shiranui Cosplay] Onmyoji Shiranui A-li Cosplay: Holding a Fan and Watching All the World's Vanity

"Brush aside the floating clouds before the eyes to gain the freedom of the heart." This sentence kept lingering in my mind when shooting this set of A-li. This set of pictures is finally organized; this time I'm doing Shiranui A-li from Onmyoji. Actually, the preparation work took quite a long time, from trimming the wig to the costume details, trying my best to get close to the character's temperament. Instead of a studio shoot according to the original setting, I chose a rather cold, deep light and shadow to emphasize that resolute yet gentle feeling. As everyone can see, the red little fish hair accessory paired with the white double buns hair look, along with some red strap embellishments, forms a highly striking color clash. This marks a proud White hair appearance for me.

I am highly grateful to my team this time. The makeup artist, Hun'an (魂安) Sensei, truly understands me. The makeup not only preserved the character's signature red eyeshadow traits but also made the gaze look much deeper through meticulous eye makeup, practicing fine Traditional Chinese style makeup and styling. The photographer, Mo-ti (默愓) Sensei, was exceptional at guidance during the shooting process. Everyone should have noticed the folding fan prop in these photos; whether it's the half-open blockage or the massive foreground blur, they were all built by the photographer constantly adjusting angles and light on-site to create an atmospheric sense. The post-editor, Yin (银) Sensei, also handled the skin texture and the gauze translucency of the clothes exceptionally well, letting that contradiction of being lightweight yet carrying weight manifest thoroughly. This represents the pinnacle of Cosplay photography.

Turning back to the day of the shoot, it was actually quite hard. The white hair wig plus the intricate hair accessories carried a lot of weight, and the thin gauze coat required constant organizing under the lights to show natural wrinkles. Executing actions while holding the folding fan was actually the hardest; I had to both maintain the fan-shaped expansion without collapsing and keep a relaxed demeanor, striking many poses just to find a tiny touch of A-li's vibe. Sometimes expressing a cool detachment isn't about being expressionless, but rather having some narrative depth in the gaze, which is my deepest realization during this cosplay practice.

I wonder if everyone has this feeling: when you change into this outfit, don the wig, and face the lens, you unconsciously restrain your usual jumping self to step into a new state. This time we didn't use an exceptionally gorgeous, brilliant aurora lighting, but rather adopted side backlighting and a soft main light source. I feel this light-and-dark contrast can better bring out the character's free-spirited temperament of carrying her destiny yet remaining free in the story.

In terms of composition, we selected some unconventional angles. For instance, one photo used the folding fan as a large blurred foreground, pulling the visual focus back to the gaze, and many details are hidden between the opening and closing of the gaze and the folding fan. Actually, cosplay isn't merely about putting on clothes and snapping a photo; sometimes you need to stand in place for a long time just to capture that single moment when hair strands sway. During the post-production process, we also discussed the color tones repeatedly. The cold blue background and the red crowning touch are our unique understanding of the character this time.

During shooting intervals, sitting there fanning myself to rest, listening to the shutter sounds on-site truly made me feel highly relaxed. It felt like briefly escaping the hubbub of real life to experience a lifestyle from another world. This is exactly why we always say, if you love something, you must work hard to achieve a result that satisfies yourself.

Posting the final cuts is actually a type of record for myself as well, recording the emotions and states of that exact moment. Now sharing these photos can be counted as an explanation for my dedicated preparation during this period. I hope the ultimate presented frame can transmit a bit of that narrative depth inside A-li. This shooting experience was highly rewarding for me, and thank you to the entire team for giving me this Shiranui cosplay work full of sincerity.