After finishing this set of photos, seeing the final results made all the preparation feel completely worth it. The character featured this time is Imbibitor Lunae from Honkai: Star Rail. With so many details in design and styling that can be refined in front of the lens, I really wanted to chat about the creative conception of this shoot and some of the minor challenges I encountered.
Let's talk about the character styling first. For the wig, the streak of red highlights amidst the black hair was the focal point. To ensure it maintained a natural drape through various movements, the placement of the hair wefts was adjusted back and forth several times. The two pointed horns on the head were actually the elements requiring the most care regarding fixation and angles—they needed to match the curvature of the head while appearing as a natural extension. Paired with cyan glowing pupils and pointy ears, it instantly established that otherworldly, mysterious aura. The makeup also intentionally deepened the eye sockets and eyeliner to make the gaze look deeper and colder, while a very light cool-toned eyeshadow base kept things clean and sharp.
We prepared three entirely different environmental styles for this shoot. The first set was shot on a tiled rooftop, which is also my personal favorite. The background was heavily darkened, dotted upfront with a bright yellow floral bouquet, a small red tassel-adorned lantern, and two cute white bunnies. In this set, the lighting tone leaned toward a soft, warm hue, focusing on displaying the bright interplay of white and cyan-green on the costume, creating a serene and tranquil overall atmosphere. While such a scene looks relaxed, it demands a lot from the lines of the boots and pants since the pose requires sitting sideways and stretching out; even a slight deviation in angle would let clothing wrinkles affect the visual appeal.
The second set was a relatively more dramatic chain scene. The background featured numerous hanging heavy metal chains with red flower petals scattered across the floor. This set employed strong contrasting red-and-blue collision lighting, with cool blue light on the left outlining the edges of the armor and sleeves, and warm red light on the right illuminating half of the face. Due to the harsh lighting, the requirements for facial makeup dimension were extremely high. Holding a short sword and lying half-prone on the ground, matched with the chain composition, it evoked a state of being bound by the past yet retaining an unyielding spine.
The third set was a quiet indoor scene. A wooden low table was set up in front with a Go board complete with placed game pieces. I held a black folding fan, partially shielding my face. This static sitting posture tested the conveyance of gaze the most; through the obstruction of the fan, focusing the line of sight intently, paired with the green dragon-patterned folding screen behind, the frame was suffused with an oriental classical charm. The opening and closing angle of the fan took a long time to select during shooting—it needed to cover half the face without obstructing the mouth and the flow of the gaze.
I also put a lot of effort into the costume's accuracy. The white fabric of the outfit was carefully selected to maintain both drape and a certain degree of crispness, ensuring that the golden scale-like patterns on the cuffs and the metal buckles on the waist belt possessed the proper sense of weight. The cyan-green pants and long boots featured complex linear decorations, especially the gold-trimmed borders of the boots, which were custom-made by a craftsman; the on-foot effect was undeniably more three-dimensional than substituting them with regular shoes.
The pacing of the entire shoot was quite fast, but transitioning between different scenes brought a sense of jumping that actually helped me better capture the character's state under different emotions. There was no stiff, deliberate posing; instead, it was more about expressing oneself along with the guidance of the scenes. Imbibitor Lunae naturally carries an aura of coldness and detachment, and through these three completely different scenes, I hoped to present different facets of his personality: the gentleness on the rooftop, the tenacity beneath the chains, and the composure before the checkerboard. Hopefully, this photo set allows everyone to feel the sincerity I poured into the costume and visual texture.