Passion

Luo Xiaoyun, who goes by the English name Jolie, is a young female photographer and a member of Chongqing's municipal photographers' association. Her photos have won awards at the French Maidenhair Cup and at Shanghai's sixth Photography Art Exhibition. She was named one of China's top 10 pioneer photographers for 2010-2011.

"I liked to take photos when I was a college student. Some of my works were published or won awards, both at home and abroad. The success and compliments cultivated my interest in shooting photos. People began to … ask me to take photos for them. I then decided to go professional," Luo says.

Being a professional photographer is different from taking photos as a hobby. "You have to be more precise, and there are rules to be followed. A professional takes care of things, but an amateur can express his/her feelings and understanding at his/her own will," Luo says.

"My father is a doctor, but he likes to take photos. His work keeps him very busy, but he makes time to travel to different places in order to take pictures. When he is off duty, he sometimes carries 15 kilograms of photography equipment in his backpack, and he climbs mountains. He tries to find a good angle to take photos of beautiful scenery. He always goes after work hours, so most of his photos are views of the night. When I was young, he always took me with him," Luo recalls.

"My father is a quiet, but organized, person, but he seems to become a different person when it comes to photography. I remember once when one of his friends asked him to go on a photo trip by car, and he refused. Instead, he got his backpack and went to the long-distance bus station.

"I asked him where he wanted to go, and he answered that he didn't know … He wanted to go to the station first, so he could check the destinations of the long-distance buses. He said he would then choose a place … He is so spontaneous … I love that about him," Luo says."I like to take photos because I want to keep track of my life and preserve the beautiful moments. I want to share my thoughts and what I have seen with the others through my photos," she adds.

Start a Studio

Luo and her friend, Xu Zhimin, or Cherry Xu, started a photo studio in Chongqing in 2005 — after they graduated from university.
"I knew Cherry long before we opened a photo studio. We first met in 2003, in a McDonald's. We chatted and liked each other a lot. At first, we did not think of going professional. It was just the two of us taking photos for fun," Luo says.

Xu, who has been studying art since she was a young girl, graduated from the photography department of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. Luo and Xu became friends through their mutual interest in photography. They eventually decided to start a photo studio.
"I am the visual director and Cherry is the art director of our studio. It is very difficult for young women to start a photo studio. The photography equipment, such as cameras, lenses and lights, are heavy. But we are determined to make the studio work," Luo says.

"We both invested all of our savings in the studio. We renovated the studio ourselves. We bought dozens of types of wallpaper to see which one was the best. We painted the walls of our studio by ourselves. It was a hard job.

"Neither of us has an assistant, because we want to take care of our own business. We sometimes make jokes about ourselves, calling ourselves a 'female King Kong,' because we believe we are capable of everything. The photo studio is like our child, and we raised it from nothing," Luo says.

"My job is to take photos of others. I take a lot of photos every day. I hope my photos will reflect people's appearances and their inner beauty. I always try to reflect people's thoughts, or their emotions, in the photos. "I travel a lot because of my work. I have to go to different places to take photos for my clients. I like this type of work. When I am tired, I can take a rest at home. When I regain my strength, I will travel again," Luo says. "Photography is a hard job, especially for a woman. Women are weaker than men physically, but we have a different angle than men; we are more sentimental, and we have subtle feelings. We can observe more things," Luo adds. "My focus is my work. I don't have concrete plans; I just let nature take its course."

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