Dabei Photo Studio, located at the bustling Qianmen business area near Tiananmen Square (CFP)

 

Feng Rong's birthday gift from her 20-year-old son Lin is a photo shoot at Dabei Photo Studio. The family, who regularly had their portraits taken there in the distant past, haven't been back since 2002.

 

Feng dressed up for her photo, as she did many years before. She sat in front of the camera in a formal pose, smiling shyly, her son standing at her side with his left hand on her shoulder.

 

After several shots in various poses, they were led to a computer to choose the images they felt satisfied with and told to collect the prints in 12 days.

 

"It is a surprise that my son took me here," Feng told Beijing Review. "It is like taking a time machine that swings me back to the old days. I can't wait to see the printed pictures."

 

As a Beijing local, Feng has fond memories of Dabei Photo. "I still remember my parents took me for family pictures here," Feng said. "It was always a big family event and we all needed to put on the best clothes we had."

 

After Lin was born, Feng also took him to the same studio on his birthday until he turned 6.

 

"We bought a camera in 2002 and it was easy to take shots at home and so we didn't think it necessary to go to a photo studio," Feng said.

 

It was Lin's idea to renew the family tradition. "The idea popped up when I was reviewing the black-and-white family pictures at home," he said. "Each picture is not just the picture itself, but a reminder of those days, fresh and vivid. I want to continue the tradition and come back for a picture every year in the future."

A poster that Gigizhazha Picture Box makes for the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (GIGIZHAZHA Picture Box)

 

Time machine

 

Located in the Qianmen business area, a bustling maze-like neighborhood with many time-honored shops near Tiananmen Square, the three-story antique building is a local landmark. With a history of 95 years, Dabei has built up a large cliental of Beijing locals.

 

"Even though we [are] located in a tourism area, most of our clients are Beijing locals," Zhao Zengqiang, a senior photographer at Dabei told Beijing Review. "The majority of our customers are parents who take their babies for black-and-white pictures."

 

Zhao has been working at Dabei for almost 30 years, since 1988. Although he seldom takes photos now, he is often recognized by old customers.

 

A Beijing resident surnamed Hou took his family to Dabei on August 8 for a family picture as well as a birthday picture for his grandson, who is only 3 years old.

 

"When I was a kid, my parents took me here and it was Zhao who took family pictures for us," said Hou. "Now I have my grandson and we still come here for pictures. Dabei records the history of my family and I am sure it will still do so in the future."

 

The business in Dabei, in Hou's eyes, is always good. "It is normal to wait for three or even more hours in a queue as Dabei doesn't accept reservations."

 

"The modern smartphone and digital cameras never affected our business for sure," Zhao said. "It is just getting better."

A poster that Gigizhazha Picture Box makes for the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (GIGIZHAZHA Picture Box)

 

Modern past

 

Set up in 1921, during the boom years of photo studios in Beijing, Dabei has recorded the century-long history of photo studios in China.

 

"They were the prime years for photo business in China," said Yang Wei, from northeast Liaoning Province. "There were many photo studios in my hometown in those days, and the photographic skill was pretty good."

 

Yang, 31, studied the process and scenes of old photography at the China Academy of Fine Arts.

 

"The scenery of the photo is a kind of fine art, which carries information of life details in the old days."

 

His passion for this photographic genre fueled a dream to open a photo studio that could transport people back to the past.

 

The dream became reality when he met Wang Xu, a former classmate and a big fan of old cameras. In late 2012, the pair launched White Nights, their own studio in Heiqiao Art Zone in the suburbs of Beijing.

 

With an eclectic collection of old photo items and props, they tried to replicate the original scenery commonly found in photos from the past.

 

The school uniforms that female students wore in those days, for example, are different to what people always see in TV series, said Yang, who has commissioned a tailor to make a set based on historical records.

 

After movie star, Liu Ye, took a picture there with his family and posted it on his Weibo social media account, White Nights saw business skyrocket.

 

"I have to reject more than 10 orders each day," Yang told Beijing Review. "Even so, the reservations are full till the end of December and we have to hire more people to help."

Yang Wei (left) and Wang Xu take a picture in their own studio in September 2013 (White Nights Photo Gallery)

 

Find a better look

 

In another part of Beijing, Xiao Jie, the founder of Ele-Foto, sits and plans how to expand her studio overseas, after stabling two branches in the city.

 

Decorated like a café, Ele-Foto started business with the idea of "taking the most beautiful identification pictures."

 

Stepping into Ele-Foto, the first thing that comes to mind is a sentence on a pillar at the studio entrance—"It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearance"— by Oscar Wild.

 

Zhao Yang, in charge of studio marketing, said that although the plethora of apps on smart phones can make anyone look beautiful in a picture, it is still difficult to take good ID, passport or official style portraits. "People always complain of looking ugly in such pictures and we want to do something to change this situation."

 

Normally, people would go to a random photo studio on the street and spend about 30 yuan ($4.5) for such pictures. In Ele-Foto, it is a totally different experience, with a 299 yuan ($45) price tag.

 

"We will help the customers to find a better self rather than making a fake pretty face with photo editing software," Zhao said. "To take identification pictures always requires a person to show the eyebrows and ears and forehead. This is supposed to limit many possibilities for styling, but we have our ways."

 

Every customer at Ele-Foto will be provided with a small pack, containing a brush and a powder puff and then a dresser in the studio will do the make-up and hairstyle for the customer.

 

Zhao said that although most women can do their own make-up, few ever get the chance to have a professional do it for them, so that they can look great when the camera shutter drops.

 

When choosing the color of lipsticks, for example, the one that looks great in natural light might not be as good under the light of the photo studio. "We can offer a lot of professional advice during make-up sessions," said Zhao.

 

"The experience in Ele-Foto is great," according to an online review from Xiaoxiong. "The café-style decoration is cool and if the clothes we wear don't look good in pictures, they even have a variety of shirts that we can choose to put on."

 

Each studio room is equipped with a big screen so the customer can see how they look while shooting and tell the photographer when they are satisfied.

 

"I used to take such pictures at a random photo studio on the street," said another online customer, Littleant. "When I heard the price here is 299 for one set of such photos, I thought it was crazy. But after the experience here, I think it is worth the money. I never looked so good in identification pictures."

 

"Now many big companies choose our studio for taking pictures of their employees," said Zhao. "The business is very good so far and customers have to make reservations days in advance for the service."

 

Some customers also come here for creative and funny pictures, which is also a feature of Ele-Foto. "Although it is easy to take pictures now, there is still a big difference between pictures by smartphones and those taken in professional studios," said a customer, Xiaofei.

 

Trendy poses

 

Trying to take the boredom out of studio shots is Gigizhazha Picture Box, also in Beijing. Their slogan, "to be interesting is the most important thing in life" aims to do just that for every customer on any occasion.

 

Co-founder Hao Lianhui said, "We always see the neat pictures of pop stars in fashion magazines and our studio is here to provide such a service for everyone who wants to have similar pictures taken."

 

As a creative director in an advertising agency, Hao, more famous for his Weibo name dongdongqiang, is a big fan in exploring "interesting parts" of life.

 

"I know it is comfortable to play cards, watch TV series or simply stay in bed, but I can't be satisfied by such simple stuff, I want more prolonged interesting experiences," Hao writes in an article, expressing why he would open such a photo studio.

 

"We can't see everybody being interesting, but everybody can definitely do some interesting things," Hao told Beijing Review. "What we do is to help the customer to discover his interesting parts that even he doesn't notice."

 

Take wedding dress pictures, for example, many such studios would offer several types for customers to choose from—say Korean, Japanese or European styles. For Hao, this is a simple and absurd division. "Here they can have their wedding pictures based on their own stories," Hao said. "We will talk with them and design a style specifically for the couple."

 

Gigizhazha was originally opened in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, by Lu Yibin, a contemporary of Hao's from the same ad agency, who wanted to "just to do something fun."

 

Gigizhazha is named after the sound of a magpie and magpie is also the name of a café that Hao and Lu always visited around the Drum Tower area in Beijing.

 

After seeing the pictures that Lu shot in Taiyuan, Hao was amazed by the creation and fine quality, and persuaded him to open a branch in Beijing. He finally relocated the studio to the well-know 798 art zone, a booming modern art area renovated from abandoned factories.

 

In August 2014, the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, neighboring Gigizhazha, wanted to take a series of pictures for its sales team. The studio created scenery that looks like a traditional grocery shop in China and the sales people of Ullens either used old scales in selling goods or rulers in selling cloth.

 

"This business is very good so far," said Hao. "But what is more important is that we enjoy the process of creating fun." 

 

Copyedited by Francisco Little

 

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