The development process of photo studios in China

For many old Beijingers, Yao Jingcai’s name is as familiar and cordial as the signboard of a Chinese photo studio. This top-notch photography technician who entered a photo studio as an apprentice at the age of 15 and moved to Beijing with his family at the age of 37. He died of illness in 1997. While winning a lot of praise from customers with his camera and simple person, he also became passionate about the art of photography. His persistence and love will always remain in this foreign land of Beijing.

“In my heart, rather than saying that my father is a master of photography, I would rather say that he is a lovely old man with a cheerful and enthusiastic personality who loves to eat Baodu Feng and Quanjude roast duck.” Yao Jianzhong, who also works in a Chinese photo studio He is the youngest son of Yao Jingcai. Although he is 45 years old this year, he looks like a child when he mentions his father. "I grew up listening to my father telling stories about the grand move to Beijing and the photo studio." Among all the allusions, Yao Jianzhong What impressed me most was the story of Premier Zhou coming to take photos. One Sunday in October 1956, Yao Jingcai, then the manager of China Photo Studio, and his colleague Zhang Kongjia were taking photos for customers. Without any notice, Premier Zhou Enlai walked into the studio and quietly sat down next to the customer in front. When they discovered the Prime Minister, they hurriedly put down their work, held the Prime Minister's hand tightly, and asked him to take care of him first. However, the Prime Minister said: "According to order, whoever comes first shall take the photo first." After it was the Prime Minister's turn, Yao Jingcai and Zhang Kongjia seemed a little nervous. The Prime Minister joked: "This is your first time taking pictures of me. Once you get familiar with it, you can Okay. You are experts, I believe you can take the photo well." With sincere and enthusiastic encouragement, Yao Jing pressed the shutter. It was this standard portrait that was used by the Prime Minister throughout his life, and was later designated as the Prime Minister's portrait by eldest sister Deng Yingchao, becoming a classic in the history of Chinese photography. What moved Yao Jingcai even more was that, in order to express his gratitude to them, the Prime Minister made an exception and gave them the original photo as a souvenir. A photo made the person photographed cry

Like Yao Jianzhong, Master Yao’s apprentice Xie Qianyun also often listens to stories. As a second-generation master photographer in China Photo Studio, Xie Qianyun has never forgotten the promise he made to his master since he entered the industry in 1961: "I am willing to grow my career forever." In his decades of photography career, Xie Qianyun's portraits are not only loved by customers, but have also won many national photography competitions. An old man with a disabled left eye cried with joy when he saw the photos taken by Xie Qianyun with clever lighting, which made him feel the special meaning of this job: "Everyone has the right to love beauty, and what I want to do is Record people's most beautiful moments with the camera in your hand. "Now that he has reached retirement age, Xie Qianyun accepted a re-employment from his employer, returned to the newly opened Jinyuan branch due to illness, and returned to his favorite portrait photography work. The time-honored brand has survived the bleak period and regained its glory

In the 1950s and 1960s, when the Chinese photo studio had just moved to Beijing, “there was a long queue in front of the store from four to five o’clock in the morning every day, and there were dedicated The staff distributes number plates to customers, usually until 3 p.m., but the filming studio has to be busy until around 10 p.m. every day before closing. "

In 1992, the renovation project of Wangfujing Street began, and the passenger flow increased. With the sales volume showing a downward trend and the entire photo studio market showing weakness, Chinese photo studios have fallen into an unprecedented low.

From 1992 to the beginning of 1995, due to unfavorable operations, the superior company changed the main leaders of the company three times, but this did not stop the decline in the operating conditions of China's photo studios. The company was unable to respond, the leaders were at a loss, and the employees were panicked. This was the dilemma that Sun Xiuzhen, the current general manager of China Photo Studio, faced when she took office in August 1997. In order to survive and develop in the market economy, after market research, China Photo Studio decided to break the traditional store operation method, seize the opportunity of the International Year of the Elderly in 1999, go out of the store, and carry out free photos for the elderly and give away photos. . This seemingly risky activity eventually won many repeat customers for China Photo Studio, pulling China Photo Studio back from the "life and death line" of the enterprise.

Now located at No. 180 Wangfujing Street, China Photo Studio has a business area of ??more than 900 square meters. It has five branches, more than 3 million imported digital equipment, and an annual turnover of more than 25 million yuan.