When it comes to Yanfang Photo Studio, almost everyone in guangzhou knows it, and it records the fanghua of several generations.
Founded in 1912, the Chinese time-honored brand known as the "Provincial Hong Kong Yanfang Photo Studio" was photographed by Sun Yat-sen and Lu Xun in the 1920s, and was a recorder of the Era of the Great Revolution; after the reform and opening up, Yanfang took the lead in introducing Kodak to realize the upgrading of color printing technology and become the first choice for lao Guang's family life photos.
However, with the advent of the digital age and the impact of the trend of corporate restructuring, one traditional photo studio after another has closed down, and although Yanfang has the privilege of surviving, she is also struggling to find a new way out of development in perseverance.
In recent years, Yanfang's teachers have found that more and more young people have come to the door to take retro black and white film photos.
Why is that?
"In the Meitu Xiuxiu and PS popular today, the teacher of Yanfang Photo Studio still insists on making a stroke of the picture as always, all of which takes time, from the moment when the shutter is pressed to the moment when the photo is received, so that we who are accustomed to fast food culture are a little overwhelmed, grateful for such a classic photo studio that adheres to the craft."
In this message shared online by two post-90s girls after taking vintage photos of Yanfang, we found the answer.
Several precious footage is included in historical documents
As soon as you enter the Yanfang Photo Studio, the old photos hanging on the wall on the right-hand side remind the visitors that this is a photo studio with a history and a story.
"Since its establishment, Yanfang has taken many precious shots, many of which have been selected for historical documents." Huang Yaohui, general manager of Guangzhou Yanfang Photo Gallery Co., Ltd., turned over Huang's Yanfang archives and told reporters, "The most widely circulated of them is a group photo taken on August 11, 1923 for Sun Yat-sen, Soong Ching-ling and the officers and men of the Yongfeng ship. In the early years, the staff of the Guangdong Provincial Archives also went to our photo studio to learn about the photo, and now the photo is hidden in the archive. Not only that, during the Great Revolution, Master Yanfang was also invited to take a number of important news photos for newspapers and periodicals such as Guangzhou National Daily.
Mr. Lu Xun and his wife Xu Guangping went to Yanfang in 1927 to take pictures, and he wrote this experience into his diary. The "Diary of Lu Xun" records: "On September 11, Qing, in the afternoon, Jiang Jing came three times, took photos with Yanfang, and invited Guangping. This group photo is now displayed in the Lu Xun Museum and printed in Lu Xun Images. In addition, after the founding of New China, Yanfang Photo Gallery has also taken photos of the core figures of the three generations of party leaders. Huang Yaohui said, "These contents are recorded in the local history of Guangdong Province. ”
The only one in the province can take thousands of photos
Why can Yanfang take so many precious historical photos?
Huang Yaohui said that Yanfang has always been willing to invest in advanced photographic equipment, and in a fairly long historical period, only Yanfang in Guangdong can take a group photo of a thousand people, and at most 4,000 people have taken group photos. At the same time, Yanfang's successive photographers have been proficient in studying technology and have excellent craftsmanship. From the 1920s to the 1940s, Yanfang Photo Studio was very famous in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, and Yanfang's master was invited to take photos on important occasions.
At the end of the 1970s, the situation began to change, and the reform and opening up brought many new things into China, including color film. In 1997, in order to meet the market demand, Yanfang's master took the lead in developing the technology of printing large-scale strips of color, and won the local technology invention award, so that the large group photos of more than 1,000 people were also colored. To this end, Yanfang has taken a group photo of several Guangdong Provincial Party Congresses and People's Congresses. Therefore, until the end of the 1990s, Yanfang was the first choice and only choice for large-scale group photos in Guangzhou.
Old and new photographs bear witness to the changing times
Speaking of Yanfang, the old Guangzhou people are very familiar, because there are photos of the era in the home that are taken from Yanfang. Wong has worked in the photo studio for more than 30 years and still remembers YanFang in the early years and the grandeur of the domestic photography market in that year.
"Before liberation, yanfang's photos were mainly of big events and big people; after the founding of New China, people's lives settled down, and the number of ordinary people taking pictures of Yanfang increased." Huang Yaohui recalled, "I entered Yanfang in 1989 to work, around the 1980s was the company's heyday, reform and opening up has just begun, the old Guangdong people's pockets are gradually bulging, but the camera has not yet been popularized, to take photos to run to the state-run photo studio, are to record important moments in life, such as 100 days of birth, wedding photos, family portraits, etc." ”
Huang Yaohui sighed: "In the eyes of people, the photo studio at that time was like the milk tea shop now, fashionable and hot. Under such circumstances, Yanfang suddenly developed five branches, and there were more than 100 employees in the Zhongshan Fifth Road main store alone. It once became the largest photo studio in Guangzhou. ”
In the late 1990s, with the development of science and technology, digital cameras appeared, which had a great impact on traditional photo studios.
In 2000, Yanfang was transformed from a state-owned enterprise into a joint-stock system, and under the impact of digital photography, although the company did not lose money, it was not as good as ever in terms of development. Later, the popularity of smartphones, the market for old photo studios like Yanfang further shrunk.
Photography, from the luxury of the seventies and eighties, to today's selfie that can be taken with a mobile phone, the "evolution" of which is self-evident.
Attract the post-90s with classic ingenuity to return
"However, in recent years, we have noticed that there are more young people in the Centennial Yanfang Photo Studio, who specialize in taking black-and-white film photos." There are also on the platforms such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu, there are many sharing of retro photos of Yanfang, and some young people from other places have therefore come to Yanfang to punch in and take photos. Huang Yaohui said that this is probably because of the rise of nostalgia now, retro things are welcome.
Among the young people who come to Yanfang, some are post-90s girls who want to travel through history, put on Zhongshan suits, tie twist braids, and do a "May Fourth youth"; some are parents of the post-80s, with the memory of following their parents to take pictures when they were young, specially to take a photo similar to their own childhood, copying a warm moment.
"In the Meitu Xiuxiu and PS popular today, the teacher of Yanfang Photo Studio still insists on making a stroke of the picture as always, all of which takes time, from the moment when the shutter is pressed to the moment of receipt, making us accustomed to the fast food culture is a little overwhelmed, grateful for such a classic photo studio." The two post-90s girls took retro photos in Yanfang and wrote such meaningful messages.
"Indeed, after so many years of several iterations of imaging equipment, our Yanfang master craftsmanship is still excellent." Although Huang Yaohui has always been full of concerns about Yanfang's current situation, he also said that Yanfang's photo quality has always been online. Yanfang's business has rebounded, in addition to the rise of nostalgia, the most fundamental thing is that people's spiritual and cultural needs have increased, and they have higher requirements for the quality of photos.
The spirit of craftsmanship carried by Yanfang Photo Studio is different from today's fast food culture, and behind each photo is the dedication of the master, which can become a work memory, and this is the precious culture and spirit that needs to be found in this era.
"Now, Yanfang Photo Studio still has a vinyl camera at work, which is probably the only one left in the province, and it is becoming more and more difficult to find a master who can use it to take pictures and wash photos." Huang Yaohui hopes to use the nostalgic wind and the century-old quality of Yanfang to attract more young consumers to enter Yanfang and leave a shadow.
How can a long-established brand be revitalized?
Sticking to the classics can become a trend
——Huang Yaohui, general manager of Guangzhou Yanfang Photo Gallery Co., Ltd
In the Chinese time-honored brand, Yanfang's development is not outstanding, under the impact of the digital age, we were once on the verge of closing the embarrassing situation, especially after the restructuring of enterprises around 2000, Yanfang faced pressures such as rising rents and loss of customers.
But even in the most difficult moments, Yanfang did not give up the spirit of craftsmanship; even with the introduction of digital equipment, our old black film camera is still working.
Many old customers say to me, thank you Yanfang for leaving them good memories, in fact, I want to say that thanks to them, Yanfang can last for so many years. Among the young people who come to Yanfang now, some of them are the children of old customers, and they still remember Yanfang's photos and quality.
So from Yanfang's experience along the way, I think adhering to the spirit of craftsmanship is the most important, and a good classic photo can also become a trend sought after by young people.
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【Written by】 Li Jie
【Photography】Zhang Di Yao Jiashuo (Intern)
【Editor】Zhou Xinyu Ma Hua Yao Jiashuo (Intern)
【Planning】Chen Hanhui Cheng Peng Zhao Binghui
【Coordinator】Zhao Binghui, Ma Hua, Li Jie
【Production】Southern Industry Think Tank
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【Author】 Li Jie; Zhang Di; Zhou Xinyu
【Source】 Southern Press Media Group South + client
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