[Runami Yachiyo cosplay] Cosmic Princess Kaguya!'s dreamy style underwater light and shadow

This time shooting Runami Yachiyo cosplay, two completely different expression directions—studio shooting and underwater photography—were decided at the early planning stage. The studio set was mainly intended to highlight facial expressions and the sense of interaction with the lens. To create that playful yet ethereal effect, I added the clever idea of stretching out both hands to form a viewfinder in the action design. Styling the silver wig took a lot of thought; the layering of the bangs and the angle of fixing the hair accessories needed precise control, as even a slight deviation would look awkward in the lens. The purple-red-green overlapping colors of the clothing are very layered, but it's also easy to look messy, so we used softer lighting to highlight the material texture of the clothes themselves.

The shooting difficulty of the second underwater scene indeed exceeded expectations. Opening eyes underwater is a big challenge for the eyes, contact lenses easily shift, and long hair often sticks to the face in the water. To capture that naturally spreading, oxygen-filled effect, I needed to constantly adjust my posture, find the right breathing rhythm and the angle of suspension. The buoyancy of the pink microphone prop was greater than expected, so I had to find the correct focal point of gripping force, while also controlling the floating direction of the purple ribbon at the bottom of the microphone. The light refracted by the water surface makes the skin look translucent, but this also means frequent makeup touch-ups are needed, because controlling expressions in the water easily becomes unnatural due to holding one's breath.

Throughout the shooting process, I kept pondering how to use body language to fit the Cosmic Princess Kaguya! setting. Although the clothing became very heavy after absorbing water and the body's sinking speed was fast, the movements must not appear stiff. The existence of the prop microphone is a very good fulcrum, making my floating state underwater look more purposeful. Most of the instructions given by the photographer underwater could not be heard clearly, so we needed to rely on gestures and long-term tacit understanding to cooperate, and the timing of snapshots heavily tests experience.

I am personally very satisfied with the effect of the final photos. The shimmering refraction of the water surface combined with post-processing rendering of blue and cyan tones successfully enhanced that surreal dreamlike feeling. I have always felt that cosplay is not just the restoration of clothing and wigs, but also finding the unique temperament of the character. From the layers of clothing to the details of the props, every time entering the water, touching up makeup, and organizing the wig, although physically draining, seeing how the light and shadow are presented in the photos makes everything feel so worth it. If there is a chance in the future, I would still like to continue trying such challenging shooting scenes, bringing flat characters into a more three-dimensional space to refine them.