拍写真 / Taking Photo at a Studio

这次去中国做的另一件事是拍写真。另一位友人说她的弟妹及侄女拍了一套写真集，拍得可好了，弟妹看起来特别显年轻，本来相貌一般的侄女更是一下子就变成了个小美女，简直赛过明星呢。听后心里顿时痒痒的，也想赶快拍一套，友人表示会带我去，可以问价钱不得了，原来她们花了￥7000+，这怎么得了？我哪能花得起那么多钱啊？有一次，我去Walmart购物时突然看到一个拍写真的摊位，拍18张成册加一个冰雕盘和一个有25张照片（其中18张加修版，另7张则不包）的CD共￥500。感觉这个价位还可以接受，而且他们的样品极为精美，变付了钱。等到了studio一看才明白为什么这家比较便宜，原来这是个家庭式的影楼，他们将一个住宅单位改造成studio，只有一位化妆师，一位摄影师和一位后期制作，摄影师连助手也没有，而且布景极为简陋，令人无法进入角色，摄影师能想得到的姿势也极其有限，他所教导的姿势我实在摆不出，除了第一集休闲外，越拍越扫兴，只好勉强拍完了事，故效果不佳，但想想便宜也就算了，下次要换一间影楼啦。

Another thing I did this time in China was taking photos for an album in the studio. My friend told me that her sister-in-law and her niece did so, and the result was incredible. Her sister-in-law looked very young and her niece looked even better than a movie star despite her being just an average looking girl! I was then very keen and wanted to follow suit. My friend promised me that she would take me there. But after having found out the price, I was stunned! It was ￥7000+. By no means could I afford this. Once, I saw a stall when I went shopping at Walmart. They charged ￥518 (S$104.02) for an album of 18 photos (including a touch up) and 25 (including that 18, and the other 7 without a touch up on CD) and one on the plate. The price was affordable and their samples were fantastic. So I paid. I realized why it was so cheap after I reached the studio. It was a small family business and they had simply converted an ordinary residential flats into a studio. There was only one make-up artist, one photographer and a digital media designer. There was not even one assistant for the photographer. The setting was so basic that it could not bring a person into his/ her role. The poses which the photographer could think of were also limited, and the majority I could not even follow. I could not get into the right mood and I lost my enthusiasm after the first episode. That’s why the result was not very ideal. Next time I’ll definitely choose another studio.

每日一照 / Photo Everyday

忽然惊闻有人每天拍一张照片，而且足足坚持了12年之久，他也由此成了网络红人，哇靠，这也能成名？哼，等着瞧，俺说什么也要打破此记录。不过话又说回来，这还真是个好习惯，起码能帮助你回忆往事，且能及时发现自己哪里出了问题，想来经常拍照的人会越变越美吧。当然这只限年轻人而已，俺就不行喽。
I heard that there is a guy who has taken his own photo everyday for 12 years. Now he has become famous on the internet. My God, can you become famous just like that? Wait, I will definitely break his record. It’s also a good habit which will help you to recall what happened in the past as well as find out one’s problems. I believe it will help a person to improve his/her look if he/she does so. Of cause, this only works on young people, not me.

P.S. I forgot to take on 24/7 and 25/7.

大头贴 / Stickers

我这次拍了一套大头贴，共36张，如不放大加洗则只要￥30（S$6.14)，人家可以免费给存在硬盘或是thumb drive里，只是我犯了一个错误，我让她们加洗了一套放大的，又花了150块（S$30.68)，爸爸说如拿到照相馆去洗同样大小的每张只要7毛钱，那36张也不过才￥25.2（S$5.15),我足足多花了将近S$25,而且质量还不如相关的好，唉，被人宰了一刀，就当吸取个教训吧。

I took one set of stickers on the machines there. Altogether 36 pieces. It cost ￥30（S$6.14）if you don’t enlarge them. They would give all the soft copies and save them inside your thumb drive. But I made a silly mistake. I asked them to enlarge them for me, which cost me ￥150（S$30.68）extra. Father said that since I already have the soft copy, I could easily get them printed in any of the photo developing shops which cost only ￥70 per piece. So it would be ￥25.20 (S$5.15) for 36 pieces. And the quality would be better. I learned my lesson.

Nail Art (3) / 指甲上的艺术（3）

这次我的指甲是在另一件店做的，我本来在这里剪头发，发行师不是原来的那个，不过这个也不错，尤其擅长剪刘海，价格只需￥29（S$5.93)。帮我洗头的美眉大力向我推荐在他们店里做指甲，那就试试看吧。这次连手带脚一共花了￥280（S$57.26），不算太便宜，但她做得还蛮细，据说贵是因为这是双色花，先要打一层底胶，然后再在上面画，画好后再上一层胶把花封在里面，着实有点复杂。

This time I did my manicure and pedicure at another shop. I went there for a hairdo. It was a different hairdresser from the last time. But she’s not bad either, especially good at cutting the fringe. It cost only ￥29 (S$5.93). The girl who washed my hair strongly recommended me to do my manicure and pedicure there. OK, then no harm to try it. This time cost me ￥280 (S$57.26) for both hands and feet. It’s not very cheap. It was said that because the flowers had two different colors, and that’s why it’s more expensive. She laid one layer of gel below, then painted the flowers and then put another layer of gel to seal the painting inside. A bit difficult. But it lasted only 2 weeks for hands. The ones on my feet are ok. Even now , almost 6 weeks have already gone by and it’s still perfect.