Beautiful Chongqing Motor Show Models

漂亮的重庆车展模特儿

Guest article by Bored in Melbourne

I am a mid 30s man living in Australia, connected to Asia through friends, business, and lifestyle. Like many I was introduced to Chinese culture through the draw of a smart girl, who grew up in China and patiently spent time teaching me the language, culture, food, and sensibilities of her homeland before she tempted me to first travel there myself. In my frequent travels I enjoy indulging my interest in people which often reflects in my photography. Contrary to my online tag I am hardly ever 'Bored' at all, there is already too much to do, see, and learn in life.

: Chongqing Car Show

When I arrived in Chongqing at the start of June my business partner, a Chinese woman in her early 30s, took me to the local motor show. She insisted I must bring my camera to photograph the models. So off we went in a taxi and met up with her friend, a professional make up artist. The first request of course was to photograph my friend and her friend but soon after that I was pushed into the crowd with instructions to shoot the models.

Of course, I was a little shocked to be part of the huddle, to be right where a few weeks earlier I had been on this site making fun of the perverted guys harassing motor show models and doing their best to dehumanize them, as well as trying to shoot their breast, bottom, and under their limited clothing. But remember – it was my Chinese female companions insisting that I get in there and take good photos. So I did my best.

First tip is know your camera and learn how to use it. Get a decent lens to use for portraits. Since we all take a lot of pictures of people, you can get a very reasonably priced 50mm F1.8 lens for the popular brands as they make a LOT of them. I got one better and use a pro lens but that is not required for most people.

So, you have your camera and a good lens. Go do a weekend course and learn to use it. I am amazed that people will spend over US$1000 on a camera without question and never learn to use it, assuming they already know. It’s like having no driving lessons, you might get the hang of it over time, but if you could get a weekend with a skilled racing driver (the equivalent of a weekend course with a pro photographer) you would be streets ahead. After all you couldn’t expect a virgin to be a satisfying lover. Thus my tip – get some photography lessons.

My mistake for the day was not having a proper flash gun, sure I had the pop up flash on my camera, but it does not have the power over distance to wash out the shadows that you can see over the faces in some of the images, and for a professional that is just not acceptable, most of the shots would not be publishable.

I have been hard on a couple of people posting photos here on this site in the past, especially ,one person who said he had a good camera and was happy with his images. I think we should try to be better at most things in life, and no - I was not trying to be personal, I was urging him to learn to use that expensive toy that so many feel they need to have now. I hope you think that a little knowledge and familiarity with my own camera has paid off.

Now that you have the camera and you can use it, you need to learn to get the attention and connection with your subject. This is the key to a great portrait. Have a look through my shots here and see how well or poorly I have managed to get the focus and often a smile from the models. You can see from the crowd shot that I was in a competitive space, of course being tall, not Chinese and having some experience helped. But so did treating them like a person, giving a big smile myself and then being ready to capture the moment, that is what a photo really is all about.

Many of the models had travelled from around China for this job, but the promotional girls at the desks of each stand are Chongqing local girls.

Who do you think are really the most attractive?

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http://moominhouse.blogspot.com moom

Only a few pictures load. The rest just have “Chongqing Car Show Model Girl” and a number.
http://wanderingamericantravelblog.wordpress.com/ WanderingAmerican

Those girls probably don’t know a fender from a hubcap. :lol:
whatwhome

They are all attractive women to me…in my female opinion haha. That standouts are #s 1, 3, and 19 for their beauty + elegance. In additions, #s 4, 13, 17, and 19 are very cute + pretty. I would say the other girls are generally attractive and pleasant to look at. #20s look like twins.

No “wtf is she doin’ here?!” in any of the girls haha
http://blog.sina.com.cn/woaibabamamabaobao1314 Elijah

Great photos, guessing you had fun there eh?

As for photography, I find that pretty much any camera mass produced today is capable of stunning shots. It’s all about waiting for that one perfect moment, Sometimes it’s the lighting, sometimes it’s the back ground, sometimes it’s the focus, sometimes it’s just the angle.

I applaud you for treating the girls as human beings, I think it really comes through when they smile, because most of them have a genuine smile, rather than the polite grimace we so often see.

Although there is a number who seem to have just picked their jaws up off the floor from seeing a white-boy photographer, prett funny if you know what to look for. I think that actually adds something to the photos, makes them more real and personal, even though I was never there.

Different between a 2D picture and visual message I suppose.

Like I said before, nice!
- http://blog.sina.com.cn/woaibabamamabaobao1314 Elijah
  
  Oh and I’m lovin’ photo #20 with the twins in red…
  
  Definitely what I’d call a “Double-Down”
  
  *cue 70′s porn music*
  
  :cool:
- Bored in Melbourne
  
  Elijah I just had to grab a shot of those twins double trouble as we say. In terms of the modern camera, I think many will give an approximation of a good shot, but too many people are lazy and use their phone now which I see as sacrilege. I used a pro lens for these photos which just allows you to get a reasonable shot, no flash and play with your depth of field, the blurred back and foreground is what works for portraits, we need to focus on the true subject, you just miss that with a lesser lens.
  
  These photos are all untouched apart from running them through software to reduce the file size only, otherwise they would have been too large to email to Crystal.
http://lavenderdarkness.xanga.com/ Louisa

Lovely photos.

I actually dislike using flash because it tends to wash out the subject, but that’s just me. Usually I mess with the shutter speed/aperture settings to get what I want. Though I’m not like a “photographer” by any means.

And as someone who’s just started doing cosplay (yes, shush I’m a geek), I really appreciate your statement that the photographer should interact with the subject. I just came back from Comic Con and although most of the people I came across were polite and asked me to take photos, I did get a weirdo who took a picture of me squatting and eating a sandwich in my costume. Not really something I want captured for the future, though I tried my best to make it work.

So woohoo photo tips!
John

#1 does it for me, apart from the knees!

I think 50mm is a really bad choice for portraits. You could get so much better with something around 135. Myself I have two zooms – 18-85 and 70-300 which together cover just about everything I’m going to need. The long zoom takes some really good portraits, but its main drawback is that its shortest focus is 6 metres or so, so you have to stand a long way away. That eliminates distortion, but I guess is not practicable in a situation such as the car show.

And I try to avoid flash as much as possible. With an f1.8 lens in a well-lit hall, why would you need it anyway?
- Bored in Melbourne
  
  John #1 was like a doll and had very little expression that was the best shot of her, the rest showed her as almost plastic.
  
  135 is a fairly unusual choice for portraits in a busy environment. 85mm is often used but even then these days in digital format you are often cutting a little out of the frame unless you want to stand away. Personally I like to get more of the subject most of the time than just the framed face, hence the 50mm choice most of the time.
  Ideally you have the opportunity to get lighting how you want it, but you can see from this group even with a f1.4 lens light can vary and shadows across the face are not easy to eliminate outside the studio. While we might not like to use a flash you are unlikely to find a studio without them. With the right settings and knowledge a good flash does not have to wash the shot out and they can also help to truly freeze and capture the moment. Once again though some training pays dividends, you might be surprised what a professional can teach you in a flash workshop.
  
  Myself I have sold my really long zooms like the 300mm, I might get another when I can justify the investment but as my taste for lenses is more exotic than most of the basics a good 300mm is more than a few dollars, and I hardly used it.
  
  As you might not have picked up from the blurb, this series is actually not meant to be perfect, but has a variety of good and average shots to show what happens without ideal circumstances in a big crowd. This is why the paparazzi are normally lucky if they just grab the one great shot to get their pay-day
  - John
    
    Well you asked me which one I liked best, and that was it. The rest do little for me, #1 does more. maybe it’s because I can’t see the make-up pancaked on her face, the fake eyelashes, etc.
    
    I don’t think 135mm is an unusual choice, in fact it was the norm with film SLRs. I suppose with digital that would be something like 105mm. Certainly shorter lenses make for plenty of distortion. Well not so much the lens as the fact your model is only a couple of metres from you.
    
    I recently bought myself one of those 64-led lamps, principally aimed at movie-makers, but quite good for lighting up dark areas, and resolving facial shadows. They’re less than 200RMB and their principal weight is the 4 AA batteries.
    
    I don’t really have the desire to limit myself to a fixed focal length lens, and I certainly don’t have the neck and shoulders to lug a big assortment round. In fact the 18-80 Sigma lens is massively heavier than what I replaced (Canon kit standard) and even that makes me ache after a long day.
    
    I’ve had my camera five years, taken about 40000 photos, and I still don’t understand how it thinks.
    - Bored in Melbourne
      
      John I never think of my fixed 50mm f1.4 as limiting as the quality of the images are so good it really in an extension. However I think most people only need a few lenses and 1 fixed prime lens is enough so just choose what you would use, it might be an f1.8 35, 50, or 85mm or an f1.4 if you want to treat yourself to something special. I was almost tempted to go for Sigma on the last trip through Hong Kong but I resisted, the image quality of my Nikon lenses is just better, not more to it. Having said that some are far better than others, you can find some excellent lens reviews online.
      
      I’ll have a look in ebay for the 64 led lamp it sounds great.
      
      As I said in the original post I suggest a 1-2 day course if you still have some issues on the way your camera behaves although I admit sometimes my Nikon still does something I wonder about. You find some brands do train up some good teachers though and they often give you some breakthroughs in a short time.
George

Judging from the past posts of the author, one’d imagine he’s a “handsome” man. Turns out..hee hee hee
- Bored in Melbourne
  
  A deliberately unrecognisable shot which does not even look like me. You can make your own call though, I don’t care at all, we are never going to meet. :?: It was not easy to find such a poor shot, the sunlight even makes it look like I am balding as well, we can play many tricks with light in photography.
  
  I just prefer to remain anonymous for my career and business as you may understand, I have a couple of friend’s whose online comments have derailed their jobs, one was even jailed in Asia, and another banned from entering a country for a political slight, I’d prefer to avoid that, while still having the freedom to express myself.
Sean

You have a 1.8 aperture! why use flash? It skew up skin tone big time.
I took this in the Changsha Auto show back in 2009, no flah, kit lens.
http://www.imageupload.org/?d=148499AB1
- Bored in Melbourne
  
  Sean, Yes a flash can stuff things up, but if you learn how to use it professionally including speed setting and stopping up/down as well as the other stuff taking you well away from the basic auto flash setting you will find it is an essential tool for a professional as well as a keen amateur. You’ll never meet a real pro who does not have at least 1 quality flash unless they only really do landscapes and the like. Yes photography in it’s essence is ‘capturing the light’ but sometimes taking control of the light also gives us control over the results.
  
  In my shots here you can see how the flash might have enabled me to get rid of shadows across faces etc. When the artificial light sources are against you, you might need to correct it.
  
  Flash can really allow you to do many other things, have a search online for the amazing stop motion images that are created in the studio freezing water droplets falling etc. If I ever get to the point of mastering flash myself I will post up some cool shots.
Jay K.

#3, 9 respectively are the nicest.
http://moominhouse.blogspot.com moom

15,20,25…
Soldano

19 and 20 for me. My type. The others… Not so much to be honest. They look pretty generic to me.

Their dresses look terrible though. Not elegant just look ike wanabee cuture styles and cheap silk looking synthectic materials.

An exception is N16, although the dress looks weird, it’s also pretty good. The pendant she wears is a nice compliment, and she seems to have a matching bracelet too, matchin but not too obvious. Would pay to see the shoes she wears.

19 is probably the more suited to the situation. That’s pretty much what i expect to see in a auto show.
- Bored in Melbourne
  
  19 was also a favourite of mine.
C

What is the usual diet of these local chong qing girls?

they have really flawless skin/complexion and beautiful shiny hair.

they all look beautiful…. but it also looks like they might have

done a bit of surgery to look like white people….
- Bored in Melbourne
  
  Most of the models are not actually Chongqing locals at all. If you want to see the local girls look at the images of the girls at the desks.
  
  These models are all wearing make up of course and they do not choose ugly girls with acne to be in a motor show when you have so many choices available.
  
  I was not a fan of most of the dresses but my business partner also introduced me to a friend there who had arranged VW show and he had also chosen their outfits, he hardly seemed a stylish guy, more an overweight geek. So we cannot blame the models for the poor styling.
  
  In terms of looking like westerners, this is a common comment in terms of what is perceived as attractive in China, they often comment that what we see as beautiful is just a very oriental looking face.
http://chinesedatingsecrets.com/ SamReeves

I was talking to a girl the other day who often models at car shows as well as some other places, and asked her if it got annoying to have her photo taken all the time by guys, she said she didn’t mind it too much but what she did say that was interesting was this:

“I only ever remember one guy who took my picture from the many hundreds, and that was the only guy who ever sent me the picture he took of me after. None of the others ever do.”

I guess the moral of the story is if you want a model gf send her the picture! Simple.
paul k

those are great photos !!!!

want to hear something funny your two lady friends sound a lot like my wife !!!

i brought back hundreds of potos of women from beijing and zhuzhou , changsha , leiyang and guangzhou ..

my wife kept telling me when i wasn’t taking photos of gorgeous her and my daughter to take lots of photos of the beautiful souther chinese women to show my male friends back in canada !!!

i was like a kid in a candy store and it surprized the hell out of me she did not mind not even when young chinese girls in their 20′s wanted to get a photo of the westerner white guy !!!

she just laughed when we got as much attention as the great wall when we were on it lots of chines people wanted my photo with them !!! hehehe

they were really crazy once they found out i was from canada . canadians are sort of heros over in china because they mostly all know the story of the canadian doctor that went to help in one of their big earth quakes and stayed for months and months helping them it was all over the news in their country !!!
so chinese people are very happy if they know you are a canadian !!!

i would like to see a canadian woman say to her husband please take lots of photos of these beautiful women so you can show them to your friends !!!! hehehehe not !!!!
alessandro

how can i join my wife to make a model test ? please i need to know

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