Snap happy

By Paula Taylor (JIN Magazine)
Updated: 2012-07-11

What is it about Chinese people and their love of taking photos? When we go out to eat I am now used to my friends, if a dish looks pretty, getting out their mobiles and snapping the food before we eat it. As we walk down the street they will take photos of a beautiful flower or an interesting stone. My mobile phone is an old cronk, it cost 80 yuan and of course is not able to take pictures, indeed I am grateful I can make phone calls and text, although I don’t know now much longer it can go on as it has almost given up the ghost. My friends are delighted and tell me that I can buy a new phone and I too will be able to take pictures. I tell them if I want to take pictures, I can use a camera. "You don't have a camera!" they all chorus. When we go on little trips I just commit the things I see to memory whereas they spend most of their time snapping away at anything and everything, thereby failing to notice the really interesting things as they are otherwise engaged. This is one habit they have in common with those other legendary snappers, Japanese people.

In view of the above, it is no surprise that photography studios are big business here. No. 1 on the list has to be wedding photography studios, closely followed by baby photo studios. I have noticed that recently there are more and more baby photo studios opening up. This is really a licence to print money, Chinese people idolise their children and the photography studios are easily able to tap into this rich source of income.

As far as wedding photos are concerned, you may have been quite surprised when you first came here and saw many couples simultaneously seemingly conducting their weddings in the park or outside a nice building. This presents an interesting cultural difference. In the west when we get married, photos are taken immediately after the ceremony, and the reception follows. Our weddings are generally all done and dusted on the same day. Not so Chinese weddings. The registering of the marriage means that the couple are married from that point on and no guests are required to attend. The reception comes at a time when the couple and their parents decide it is convenient. I know of one person who secretly registered her marriage without telling her friends, then a year later invited them to her wedding reception, nobody was aware that by that time she had already been legally married for one year. She had her wedding photos taken in the intervening period.

The Clothes

Posing for wedding photos involve changing clothes several times and these and the props are all provided by the studio. At the moment the most popular outfit for the photos is still the traditional white wedding dress. Also popular are fantasy themed dresses. One bride I saw was wearing a creation that made her look like a peacock, the dress consisted entirely of peacock feathers. Some wear old fashioned type costumes based on the Pride and Prejudice era. I have seen grooms wearing full military uniforms, complete with swords and medals. For us the idea of wearing clothes that many other people have worn before is not an attractive prospect. Also for us there is no need as we only require one or two outfits at the most. Chinese girls like to have a large variety of outfits and so there is the cost to consider. If they spent money on buying all the outfits they wanted to wear, there is the problem of what would to do afterwards with them, as most of them can never be worn again. For instance seeing Mr. Darcy on a Saturday afternoon in McDonalds would probably freak most people out. Therefore these studios provide a good opportunity for Chinese couples to be film stars for one day. A friend showed me her wedding album but I didn't recognise her and her husband, they really did look like film stars. I can’t see the point of photographs that do not resemble me. I don't want people to get a nasty shock when they meet me in the flesh!!

The Cost

I have often wondered about the cost, in view of the time involved I thought it must be prohibitive. However a quick survey of some Chinese friends revealed the following; Mike You, who got married on 8th August 2011 gave his views. "The price for the wedding album varies from city to city and from season to season so we went back to Shandong to take ours. The basic price was 2300 yuan and we spent 3000 as we ordered more photos. The frames are free. We thought it was reasonable and we saved money by getting them done at home. It took one day to stage the scenes using various props like a windmill, yacht and "beach" etc. In Tianjin it would maybe take two days to do all of this. Every new couple looks forward to this in China. I didn’t mind posing at all, I was supporting my wife, for Chinese girls, taking wedding photos is a real highlight in their lives".

Nana who got shot her pictures in June 2004 also spent around 3000RMB. Her photo album took one day to shoot. Her husband didn’t mind posing at all and they were very happy with the result.

Susan's answers made me really laugh. "Although 3000 is the basic price, we paid 4500RMB in the end because, after they did the photo shop work, we were satisfied with all of the pictures. The cost was acceptable to me as I figured I was only getting married once in my life in so it's like a one off deal. They would not earn money from me again! Taking the photos lasted from 8am to 6pm so I was very tired, but I felt like a movie star. My husband handled it well, although he could not always do what the photographer asked him to. I was very happy when I got the photos back because the pictures are beautiful, they look like me and my husband. I guess maybe the photo shop skills were not so advanced at that time!”"

Meranda, who had her photos taken in August last year saved money by purchasing a group deal on line and didn't buy any extra photos so she only spent 2400RMB, which she thought was acceptable. She was happy with the photos generally but felt that two of the outfits didn't fit her well. Her husband also felt shy when asked to pose.

The consensus is that having these photos taken in this way is absolutely essential. I feel the last word must go to Susan who says "It was very important for me as I wanted to capture the memory of when I looked best in my life. People say women will be a princess for one day, (wedding day), a queen for 10 months queen (when they are pregnant), and a slave for the rest of their life!!!"