Using a Fisheye lens and low-angle perspective for this Iuno cosplay shoot was genuinely effective for showcasing long legs and spatial depth, but it also brought many challenges. Because the distortion of a Fisheye lens is quite pronounced, it heavily tests the model's control over body posture. During the shoot, I had to constantly mind the leg lines—such as pointing my toes firmly rather than casually curling them, otherwise they would look bulky under the wide angle. Moreover, to make myself look as though I were suspended floating on that massive glowing ring, I needed to engage my core tightly while exerting strength through my legs. Regarding props, that large ring was truly heavy and took tremendous effort to set up. The background featured Gothic stained glass, and the natural light filtering through had great texture; however, to make the character pop, we set up several warm fill lights on set to illuminate facial details and prevent the face from crushing into pitch-black shadows under strong backlighting.
In pre-production, considerable effort went into hair and makeup to faithfully recreate the character from Wuthering Waves. The hair was blue and layered, which, paired with the headpiece, exhibited great translucency under backlighting. The golden disc beaded chain hanging at the waist was also handmade, chiming softly with every movement.
The costume featured numerous golden-bronze metallic ornaments; these materials showed their finest texture under rim-backlighting, reflecting gorgeous highlights. The white leg garter and top lace trims conveyed a delicate, fragile purity under the moonlight aesthetic, producing a visual result that harmonized wonderfully with the overall 2D Atmosphere. In post-production, the color grading was unified toward a cool blue palette, accented with blurred floral foreground bokeh. The entire shooting process was exhausting due to maintaining balance on the ring. However, once the final photos were processed, the distinctive angle combined with the stained glass, ring, and floral elements ultimately created a truly special Atmosphere. I've shot various types of cosplay before, but having the chance to portray a character through such exaggerated perspective was rare, and for a newer cosplayer, this angle felt truly novel.
The most difficult aspect during shooting was the outer edges of the Fisheye lens—hands and feet would distort heavily whenever they got close to the borders. Therefore, movements had to be pushed to precise limits, maintaining elegance without appearing stiff. It really felt like filming an anime action movie. The team was also constantly helping adjust light source brightness and positioning, as well as maintaining haze and smoke density to achieve the exact Atmosphere I wanted. This shoot took a significant amount of time. Furthermore, we employed an encircling composition in this series, uniting the subject with the giant circular prop to create an eye-like visual motif. Combined with the stained glass, it yielded a visual experience where the sacred and the ethereal intertwine. Post-processing in this style also tested color noise control—preserving shadow details while keeping highlights from blowing out.
Overall, this Iuno cosplay photoshoot attempt was a rewarding accumulation of experience. I love the alternative visual expressions enabled by diverse photographic techniques, which allow characters to reveal richer facets of their temperament in frame. This set primarily aimed to capture that fantastical aesthetic under wide-angle optics, and looking at the results, it turned out wonderfully.