traditional chinese Culture 

model + stylist: stacey su pontius

creative directed by maia feruzi

Wednesday August 16th 2023 5:00pm

📍Brighton, MA

shot on: canon eos rebel t3i 18-24mm 70-300mm

concept

I did a modern Chinese culture shoot earlier in the year and soon wanted to try a more traditional take on it. Culture shoots to me mean dressing in clothing that is either traditional to or inspired by ones culture. I usually like to use props like food, games or accessories that are also unique to that culture. I want there to be no mistake of what you’re looking at when you see the photo. Stacey came prepared with her slightly modernized qipao and hair piece. I added in the fan and also the golden picture frame. We used early morning natural light to get that soft cool glow and I aimed for both traditional posing and a few fun shots as well. Stacey was engaged at the time so I also wanted to highlight the ring in some poses as well.

The significance of the frame is the Chinese concept of golden child, particularly in Chinese American children whose parents immigrated and often put unrealistic expectations onto their children in order to make their immigration worth it. There is usually an unspoken and sometimes extremely vocalized pressure to be “picture perfect” rather than genuinely happy. Rather than focus upon the individual a lot of asian cultures, particularly Chinese, focus on the community or in this case the family and how they appear to the world. It is a concept that is slowly changing as the world becomes more technologically accessible and the current generations are able to communicate and share their stories more easily.