[Zibai Cosplay] Genshin Impact White Horse Adeptus, Two Forms of Day and Night Produced Under Scorching Heat

Zibai, stepping right out of the Lantern Rite storyline, has finally had his photoshoot sorted out today. Actually, I’ve been in love with the White Horse Adeptus setting ever since the storyline ended. The early preparations were off and on for quite a while, delayed for several months, and it wasn't until recently that the shooting schedule was finally locked in.

For this shoot, we chose traditional ancient-style gardens and a bamboo forest by the water as our locations, aiming to convey an atmosphere woven with ethereal and cool, detached vibes. Since the shoot spanned across two time periods—daytime and evening—the lighting conditions differed greatly, so the makeup and lighting strategies were adjusted accordingly.

Let's talk about the daytime set first. The direct sunlight on a clear day demands strict control over highlights. White wigs easily overexpose under harsh light, so I intentionally added gradient shadows at the hair roots to ensure the white hair doesn't look stiff in the final photos, but rather has a natural transition of layers. The white plush stitching and teal fabric of the costume show a very solid texture under the sun. The long-handled prop was also temporarily perfected right before the shoot; the combination of the golden ring and the white shaft provides just the right weight in hand to steady my posture. The hand-raising motion in the first picture was actually candidly captured several times. The moment the wind blew the wig, coupled with the bamboo forest behind, truly makes one think of cultivating immortality in the mountains.

The evening set was a completely different experience. The photographer used a woven bamboo lantern as the main light source to go with the overall cool and dark environment. The warm yellow tone of the light hit the white hair and teal clothing, creating a very strong color contrast. I really love the photos taken on the bamboo platform, where the waterscape in the background and the large lotus leaves in the foreground perfectly frame the subject. Night shots are harder to control because the surroundings are almost entirely natural dark light, relying only on that single lantern as the key light. This demands a high dynamic range from the camera and strict color correction in post-processing. We intentionally adjusted the color temperature to give the entire frame a quiet, deep, and even slightly lonely mood. The structure and texture of the prop lantern itself showed up beautifully under backlighting, retaining rich details.

Speaking of the environment on the day of the shoot, I really must mention the scorching heat. Although the overall photos look like an ethereal scene with a gentle breeze blowing, the location was outdoors, and both the ground temperature and humidity were extremely high. A heavy wig, combined with a fluffy collar and boot covers, meant sweating profusely every time I completed an action at a specific angle. I remember during the breaks, sweat was trickling down my cheeks, and to avoid ruining the base makeup, I could only gently pat it away with a tissue. So being able to smoothly finish both the day and night sets within one day was quite a test of physical endurance.

During post-processing, I intentionally kept some of the original environmental light's color tendencies instead of pulling the color temperature to an absolute match, because the high saturation of the day and the low saturation/high contrast of the night are themselves the stylistic differences this set wants to convey. The core of the White Horse Adeptus look lies in that 'ethereal yet not fragile' expression, so in post-production, I also focused on processing the eye glint to make them look more spirited and firm. The details of the props and costume this time, such as the patterns on the waist and the metallic armor, were also well preserved during the sharpening process.

Unknowingly, I've accumulated so many years of shooting experience. Often, what determines the quality of the final photos isn't just the equipment, but more so the early set preparation, the refinement of makeup details, and the photographer's sharp capture of light and angles on the spot. Huge thanks to the production team that day for braving the sun with me. Though this Zibai set comes a bit late, the entire preparation and production process gave me a deeper understanding of this character. The moment the final product came out, it felt like all the months of procrastination were totally made up for.