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.