Chapter 42: Photo Studio Models

Translator: Lan Editor: – –

For Qin Guan’s free spirit, that kind of training was real training. Of course, he needed to adjust to the tedious courses. You’re wondering how he adjusted, aren’t you? He would do his favourite work, making money!

Sister Xue managed to squeeze into his tight training schedule a small job, a sample photoshoot gig for a photo studio. Qin Guan hadn’t known the difference between a sample photoshoot and a formal poster shoot until he got to the makeup room of the studio.

First, the makeup artist applied a thick layer of powder on his face. The rouge and powder were pasted on his face, making him look quite uncomfortable.

Qin Guan had to wear several layers of clothes. A shirt, a waistcoat, western-style clothes that, in combination with the hot lamps above, would make any model sweat. Qin Guan was so hot, he could feel sweat stream down his back.

For fear that the sweat would influence the effect of the photos, the makeup assistant fixed his make-up with a powder puff again and again. Qin Guan felt like there was a powder mask on his face.

First, they took solo photos of him. His poses were quite simple. He stood against the decorative pergola with his head slightly bent forward and his neck exposed. Then he turned around to show his sides. After several clicks, the photos were done.

The next series was even simpler. Qin Guan sat on a chair with his legs crossed, both his elbows on the armrests of the chair, and his hands crossed.

The theme of the photoshoot was royalty, and Qin Guan’s clothes were edged with rolling lace.

The loose western-style clothes were clipped around his back by the assistant to make them fit better and set off his slim waist.

It took him a total of ten minutes to finish the first two series of photos. A female model showed up for the next one.

In the first series they shot together, the female model sat on a chair while Qin Guan stood behind her, holding onto the back of her chair. His body was leaning forward like he was embracing her from behind.

The pose was quite simple, and the photographer captured it easily.

In the second series, they had to stare at each other with deep affection. Qin Guan had to put his arm around the model’s waist, and she had to put her hand on Qin Guan’s shoulder.

They got prepared as the assistant arranged the long hem of the dress properly in European style. The hem was spread around the ground in a beautiful arc.

The photographer checked the indoor lighting through his lens and said, “Okay, models get ready. Face each other. Right. Good! Look at each other with love.”

Qin Guan looked down and noticed the girl’s false eyelashes mixing with her real ones. They were sticking together like a fly’s legs, making him want to laugh.

Meanwhile, the female model was thinking to herself happily, My partner is so handsome this time, much better than my usual partners. She was daydreaming about a potential love story while they worked.

Suddenly, Qin Guan burst into inappropriate laughter during the photoshoot. The girl was so angry, her face turned grey.

Sister Xue covered her face helplessly. Qin Guan was acting silly again! She immediately waved Qin Guan over and warned him, “Can you be more serious? Do you remember Professor Li’s words?”

Qin Guan coughed somberly and answered, “No matter the conditions, I should remember and stick to professional model integrity, which consists of seriousness and concentration.”

Sister Xue clapped him on the back, “Then why did you laugh? You pissed me off again!”

After getting beaten by Sister Xue, Qin Guan walked back on set. He made a shy bow to the photographer and smiled at the female model apologetically, “I’m sorry for my mistake. I’ll ask the assistant to redo your makeup after the photoshoot. I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

The female model was still confused when Qin Guan suddenly found the right feeling. It’s simple to express deep love. I will just imagine she’s Cong Nianwei. Let’s do this.

The photographer shouted to the models, “Okay, look at each other with deep love. Good! Young man, look down a little. Well done!”

Click, click. The series were finished smoothly. When Qin Guan moved on to the next shoot, the female model was still there, lost in thought.

At the photographer’s request, Qin Guan’s eyes filled with emotion.

He looked at her as if he had something to say, but something was stopping him. The female model was lost in his emotional gaze.

Under the photographer’s instructions, Qin Guan changed his expression at once and left without any delay. Before the female model knew what had happened, he had disappeared.

When the assistant came over to remind her to change into the second costume, she remembered something and pulled on the assistant’s arm, “Where is the dresser? I need to redo my make-up.” The assistant looked scared and pointed at the makeup room in a hurry.

While she got her makeup redone, the girl realized why Qin Guan had laughed. The false eyelashes had two layers of lashes, and as a result made her eyelids look like they had three layers. Although at post production she might not even recognize herself in the photos, the dresser should still have been more careful.

When her makeup was done, she changed into her costume. Qin Guan was already dressed.

He was wearing a formal European-style suit in royal blue, double-breasted with firm pads on his shoulders.

His jodhpurs were stuffed loosely into his long black riding boots. Qin Guan looked like a soldier in an oil painting of the Middle Ages.

Qin Guan’s work for that day would be finished after one more series with the female model.

They shot against a dark yellow curtain to show the feeling of times past. In Qin Guan’s opinion, the photo studio endeavoured to create the atmosphere of a blockbuster film starring ordinary people. The setting was pretty simple, but their costumes featured great attention to detail.

The female model was standing in the middle with a long European-style dress supported by an iron pannier. She also wore a corset and a waist girdle.

Qin Guan lowered his head to kiss the girls’ hand, bending down on one knee. He kept that pose for five whole minutes before he moved on to the next one.

After the work of the morning was finished, Qin Guan washed the thick powder off his face with a deep cleansing oil provided by the studio. Finally, his skin could breathe. (He would have to put makeup on again after lunch.)

Sitting in the dressing room, Sister Xue talked with Qin Guan about his plans for the future. “The studio will divide your payment into two parts. For indoor shooting, you’ll get only 600 yuan. The outdoor shooting will be more troublesome, so they will pay you 2700 yuan. These jobs are mainly print media photoshoots. Professor Li said that you shouldn’t walk the T stage yet, so there will only be one exhibition meeting and a poster in the first half year. You should study carefully in your spare time. When Professor Li thinks that you have finished your courses, she will make an arrangement for you.”

Qin Guan was taken aback and asked, “How about you?” Sister Xue glanced at him helplessly. “Professor Li said that if you finish her courses successfully, I could become your private guide.”

Qin Guan looked at her with sympathy. “But then you wouldn’t make much money. I can only work on weekends.”

Sister Xue didn’t drop her idea though and tried to persuade him, “Think about it, Qin Guan. Models have a bright future. Professor Li and I have enough contacts, so you wouldn’t starve.”

Qin Guan told her seriously, “I’m preparing to take my accounting certificate in sophomore year. Then I’m planning on working on commercial accounts for others. When I have two years of working experience, I will be able to take the exam to become a certified public accountant. My roommates and I have decided that we’ll be self-employed as soon as we graduate. My dream is to build a business empire with my bare hands. Being a model is just not enough for me.”

Sister Xue’s lips quivered. She wanted to go have a smoke outside to see if there were any cows flying in the sky [1].

Qin Guan didn’t want to say much more. He just waited for his lunchbox happily.

It was the end of the morning shoot. Everything’s been smooth, hasn’t it?

Translator’s Thoughts

Lan Lan

[1] She thought Qin was bragging.