[Robin cosplay] Honkai: Star Rail night pool photoshoot behind-the-scenes

This photoshoot was divided into two sessions: afternoon and evening. The afternoon session was mainly to capture the state under natural light. The evening light was relatively soft, hitting the blue mosaics of the pool very nicely. To match the coolness of the pool, I specially adjusted my makeup, using a color scheme with red smudging around the eyes and slightly elongated outer corners, making the eyes look more vivid in front of the lens. The wig was styled with slight curls and a half-updo, the stray hairs in front of the forehead were set with hairspray, and the top of the head was adorned with white feathers, a starfish hairpin, and a golden halo. The costume chose a white-toned star bikini, paired with a blue choker and purple ribbons on the arms, and the lower body featured a light blue skirt hem with a translucent texture. To break the monotony of color, I pinned a bright sunflower at my waist and held a blue drink as an interactive prop. Many poses were found through constant trials to reach the most natural state, such as the sitting posture—if the angle of the crossed legs was slightly off, the captured effect would be compromised.

After the evening sunset fell, we moved on to the night pool session. The biggest challenge of night pool photography is the lighting, as artificial light sources easily cause large-scale reflections on the pool water surface. We adjusted the position of the softboxes several times, eventually placing the main light at the front side and the fill light to highlight the back contour, which could illuminate the face while giving the pool's green mosaic tiles and water surface a layered feel. The white straps wrapped around the legs were prone to loosening, so every time I changed a pose, I had to readjust the tightness and crossing method of the straps to ensure smooth lines in the photos. There were also quite a few outdoor mosquitoes at night; to maintain the shooting state, we could only try our best to ward off mosquitoes in the gaps between touch-ups.

During the shooting process, I tried a variety of sitting poses. When sitting on the edge of the pool, I crossed my legs and extended them towards the lens, using the lens perspective to elongate the visual proportions. When sitting on the transparent floating row, the center of gravity had to be low and the back straight to showcase natural body curves. Leaning against the white round table, resting my chin on one hand, holding a drink with the other, and looking away from the lens created a casual vacation vibe. The palm umbrella, artificial turf, and potted hydrangeas behind me enriched the background of the frame. I also noticed a little yellow duck floating by from time to time in the pool, sometimes placing it as a casual little prop near my feet. To showcase the flowy feel of this outfit, I also shot a standing pose at the edge of the pool; the angle of looking back while turning sideways required controlling the twisting amplitude of the head and shoulders to present a naturally relaxed posture as much as possible.

Every scene change and lighting adjustment took a lot of time, and the straps and accessories on my body also required repeated position checks. To capture the best sparkling state on the water surface, we persisted in the night wind for several hours. Some photos were taken on the transparent floating row; because the floating row slipped easily, I had to pay constant attention to balance, and if core strength relaxed even slightly, I would fall off. Every time the shutter was clicked, facial expression management had to be maintained, even when the body was already very tired. I personally love the final effect presented by this set of photos; both the texture of light and shadow and the state of the character achieved the expected conception. Seeing the light and shadow changes across different time periods in the final photos can also be considered a record of this long photoshoot.