My name is Chen Man
I photograph at least one celebrity a day
The first one to come here is Yang Mi
She was like, your place is totally standing aloof from worldly affairs
I’m a photographer
That means I’m always on the field
Only 1/5 or 1/10 of a year I’d be around the office
Originally it was a big deserted warehouse
Without even a skeleton
The renovation took about a year
I have a special preference for decoration
Everything that can be solved visually is particularly attractive to me
Even a piece of marble, a brick
I went to open-air sheds to pick them out myself
It was designed by the Song Art Museum
My request is “tech, Zen”
Because of the pine tree, we made a skylight
The space then looks very Chinese
Some props are really delicate
Instead of allowing them to be discarded, I take them back
On your left hand side is a gourd used when photographing Zhao Liying
Above the pine tree, the black ball
Is the prop used during Wang Junkai’s shooting
The lights come from Li Yuchun’s shooting
I thought they were nice
So I put them up in our canteen
They inspire our appetite
Yellow and red
I like our server room
The picture was downloaded online
I told them to organize the wires by the standard
Purple lines
The most interesting part is our bathroom
Inspired by chromosome
When people out of our company go to the bathroom
They would need some guidance
I worked for about 17 years
Has taken photos of celebrities for thousands of times
None of them was difficult to photograph
As they are actors
My photos seem to get on top searches all the time
The magazine covers photographed by me
Get twenty to forty top searches a year
I would photograph a celebrity many times
Every one of them is like a diamond
And I’m the one to polish them
Every time I photograph them, is a polishing process
I never felt like I’ve become popular or something
The celebrities I photographed just get famous
I used to be a very unsophisticated person
Didn’t talk much during the shooting
And had no personal relation with celebrities
That’s just how I am
It’s been helpful in a way
I can focus on the quality of my photos
I’ve been photographing Qianxi since he was a teenager
The only shared topic of us is cats
And the only time I felt that I should talk to him
Was the time we both sat on a couch
And none of us said a word for like 20 seconds
Then I was like, does your cat always have this long face
He smiled and said yes
Commercial photographing is for the sole purpose of making money
The masses are way smarter than fashion magazines, and they had better taste
It’s the same with Wang Fei
She had tried quite a few unconventional styles
But I saw the pure nature of her
White turtleneck, and a bare face
Many good stuff looks ordinary
Most of the women I photographed
Were actually for women
As a female photographer
I just want it to be gentle
I pay much attention to health maintenance
I would have acupuncture and moxibustion on me
And bring them to set
Other celebrities get curious
How could you appear like this as a fashion photographer
I like traditional Chinese medicine
I invest my time in health maintenance
My mother is a doctor
My grandfather gives traditional Chinese bone setting messages for free
People line up for his messages
I was born in Beijing
Grew up in the hutongs of the southern city
I do farming when I’m not working
People should stay close to the land, especially Chinese
You will see, oh this is how seeds look like
This is bud
You can make a salad with cucumbers
That are fresh out of the field
Life is just beautiful
Honestly, my work is not stressful at all
Life is my main source of stress
Especially intimate relationships
With more experience, photographed more people
I now have less fear