[Ibuki cosplay] Blue Archive Night Photoshoot Record Outside the Convention

The Convention photos from this Guangzhou Anime Convention are finally organized! Because it was too hot during the day, we deliberately waited until after dark to shoot outside the venue. We picked the B2 underground parking garage; the background signs and dim ambient lighting unexpectedly gave this set a unique urban vibe. The cosplayer is me doing an Ibuki cosplay from Blue Archive—a big thank-you to photographer @Dayecha.

This outfit may look simple, but it actually has plenty of details: a white sailor-collar shirt paired with a dark navy pleated suspender skirt and a red ribbon tie, making the overall colors vibrant and striking. To accurately recreate the character's features, I prepared black bat wings, pointed ears, and that eye-catching glowing yellow halo well in advance. The material of the halo requires careful handling, as it can snap very easily.

The cutest parts are the little black horns on the headpiece and that fluffy brown mini-bag hanging from a gold chain. I thought it might look slightly out of place at first, but the final shots turned out unexpectedly great. On my feet, I paired bright yellow rain boots. Some might feel rain boots look clunky, but this highly saturated yellow against the dim parking garage, hit directly with on-camera flash, delivered a visually arresting punch.

The hand-held props also had careful thought behind them. Tucked inside the sketchbook were two drawings—one a colorful crayon sketch and the other a red line doodle, both hand-drawn beforehand. Posing with the artwork facing the lens genuinely made me feel like a little demon showing off her drawings. The other prop was a red-and-white toy gun adorned with star and moon stickers; it had quite a solid weight in hand, requiring serious core strength to keep balance when holding weapon poses.

The shoot was actually quite demanding. The lighting conditions in the underground garage were extremely poor, relying almost entirely on speedlights to overpower ambient light. To capture crisp image quality and vibrant colors, we repeatedly adjusted light placements. In one series of poses sitting on a black suitcase, I tried stretching my arms upward and resting my legs across the luggage. Wearing a pleated skirt and rain boots, sitting down meant paying close attention to the drape of the skirt and leg angles to convey a relaxed ease while preserving the character's energetic spirit. The photographer nailed the capture—especially the low-angle shot, which elongated the leg lines significantly and, paired with the yellow rain boots, delivered striking visual power.

A few other shots involved kneeling or standing directly on the floor. The ground was cold, making switching poses slightly strenuous, but we pushed through multiple sets to ensure natural shots. Wielding this oversized toy gun backed by black wings didn't require overly complex facial expressions—maintaining a cool yet faintly cheeky gaze was enough to blend seamlessly into character.

From location scouting to prop preparation, this set was planned through collaborative team communication. Rather than deliberately chasing grandiose backgrounds, we utilized the existing elements of the parking garage and strong lighting contrast to highlight the details of the costume and props. Looking at the raw shots afterward, high contrast under strong flash feels exceptionally well-suited for this style of Anime-style photography. I hope to have more opportunities to experiment with shoots in diverse settings in the future.