Rushed to shoot this set of Wang Guiren final prints before the studio closed. The biggest challenge of this shoot was how to replicate the character's aura which carries both a lightweight feel and a narrative storytelling sense. Actually, this costume is very heavy, with layers upon layers of black and red brocade, especially the metal and fabric decorations at the cuffs and waist, combined with the fluffy big tail and fox ears—the weight volume of the overall styling far exceeds its visual lightness.
To create the sensation in this photo, the studio specially set up warm yellow paper lanterns, paired with bamboo curtains and traditional ink wash paintings in the backdrop, attempting to forge an indoor sense of mottled bamboo shadows and early night lamps. The small wooden tray prepared by the prop team displayed a white porcelain wine pot, two wine cups, and two fresh fruits. This kind of arrangement carrying a touch of daily life atmosphere can beautifully neutralize the original "ethereal aura" or "sense of aloofness" on the character, making her look more like a truly existing fox immortal who would drink alone or take a nap in the dead of night.
The action in front of the lens was decided after pondering for a long time. Lightly pointing the index finger at the corner of the mouth, with the gaze not staring straight into the camera but slightly tilted upward, can exude a thoughtful yet playfully cunning feel. Because the character "Tingyun" herself inherently carries a double-sided trait of being as gentle as water yet hiding sharp edges, while the form of "Wang Guiren" adds a few notches of cynicism and a lightweight sense of being relieved even after experiencing heavy pasts. During the shoot, I intentionally let myself enter that semi-relaxed, semi-standby state, preventing the muscles from being overly tensed to maintain the softness of the posture.
The floral arrangements in the scene were also carefully selected; the emerald bamboo on the left and the lilies and daisies below broke the dullness of the dark backdrop with vibrant colors. The post-processing did not undergo too much skin smoothing, but rather preserved the natural transition of light and shadow, especially the luster reflected by the lanterns on the cheeks, neck, and arms, giving the entire photo a more breathable feel. Speaking of that "baby food supplement" tag, actually two friends from the prop team saw me holding the wine pot and kept heckling that this was "rice wine brewed for the baby." Although there was truly just water in the pot, this kind of relaxed joking atmosphere among everyone indeed added quite a bit of fun to the intense shoot.
Looking back at this set of final prints, I'm quite satisfied with the fine highlights filtering through the gaps of the bamboo curtains, resembling the illusion of a gentle breeze blowing by. This kind of warm-toned studio shoot actually has very high requirements for lighting, otherwise it easily makes the skin look yellowish or the clothes look gray; luckily the lighting technician cooperated with great chemistry this time. Moving around in the studio with this gear was actually highly inconvenient, and I almost tripped over the wide cuffs multiple times. However, to replicate the character's divine rhythm, all these small troubles became worthy interludes to reminisce upon during the shooting process. The casual posture when putting down the wine cup came closer to the image in my mind of living a leisurely life on the仙舟 (Xianzhou). Having the opportunity this time to put on these clothes to present this character and experience her unique aura was a very happy experience for this anime cosplay project featuring ancient style photography and kemonomimi cosplay.