How can you ascend to heaven when you are a star?

Chapter 283 Becoming a Butterfly
After deciding on the theme of "Rebirth from the Cocoon", Zhang Wen, Bai Lu, photographer Guo Yan and his team discussed the content, styling and other aspects.

Although there were a lot of people around, it was actually Zhang Wen and Guo Yan who were communicating most of the time. Others occasionally spoke a few words to answer questions raised by Zhang Wen and Guo Yan.

Zhang Wen attaches great importance to the opportunity of this cover shooting, so he has very high requirements in all aspects. He would rather spend a lot of time thinking about it than make a decision casually.

Anyway, it’s the September magazine cover, so there’s plenty of time to prepare.

The team members brought by Guo Yan thought that their boss's requirements for photography were already very high, but they did not expect to meet someone with even higher requirements today. He was simply a perfectionist and would not give up until it was perfect. This also caused the discussion to take an unusually long time.

One night...

Two nights...

Three nights...

On the fourth night, everyone sat in the conference room, all silent, no one spoke.

There was no way. All the brain cells were exhausted. Even Guo Yan had no new inspiration for a while after several plans were rejected in succession.

In fact, taking photos is not difficult for photographers. There are many techniques on the Internet. What is difficult is the theme, style, and shape. These are creativity and the soul of the photo.

Photography has never been a show of skill, but a way of expressing emotions.

"..."

The conference room was quiet.

Everyone has been sitting here for more than half an hour, and no one has spoken except for greeting each other when they meet.

After a few days of discussion, after constantly "proposing", "denying", "proposing again", and "denying again", everyone looked worried, and even their complexion was much worse than the first day.

Bai Lu saw that everyone was silent and the enthusiasm for discussion seemed to be extinguished. She couldn't help feeling anxious, so she secretly stretched out her foot under the long table and kicked her boyfriend next to her, and winked at him.

"Are your expectations too high? I think it's just about right."

My boyfriend should be the first one to reject the proposal put forward by a famous photographer to the point of being speechless.

You should know that in the fashion circle, few people will question the photographer's plan, because if they question it, they will be accused of not understanding art. Over time, celebrities will not say anything other than their agreement when taking pictures. This is why some photos posted by celebrities are considered ugly by the public.

Maybe even the celebrities themselves think the photos are ugly, but they are just too embarrassed to say it out loud when they see them.

Zhang Wen didn't look into Bai Lu's eyes, but instead fixed his gaze on her long legs. The pattern on her black stockings was very beautiful, especially at her ankles, where there was a butterfly, glowing under the light, as if it were alive...

Bai Lu noticed her boyfriend's gaze and was speechless.

Everyone is thinking about plans, but you are thinking about legs?
Is now the time to think about legs?

Zhang Wen stared at the butterfly pattern intently for a long time. Suddenly, an idea came to his mind and he slammed his hand on the table.

"Snapped!"

"Have it!"

The sound was like a sudden thunder, startling everyone in the conference room.

Bai Lu quickly retracted his foot and sat upright, like a primary school student, thinking: Did I use too much force? No!

"Teacher Zhang, what happened? What happened?" Guo Yan asked curiously.

Everyone else looked over, and the female makeup artist was so scared that she slapped her chest with her hands. If her throat wasn't so tight, her heart would have almost jumped out.

"Since it is a rebirth from the cocoon, how can we miss the butterfly?" Zhang Wen said with a smile.

"Butterfly?" Guo Yan was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up. He sat up straight and asked, "You mean emerging from a cocoon and becoming a butterfly?"

"Yes, a butterfly emerging from its cocoon." Zhang Wen said, "Adding the butterfly element would be best achieved with a gradient effect, from white to a riot of color, gradually presenting brilliant colors. The white represents the cocoon, and the colors represent the butterfly, symbolizing transformation and rebirth..."

Zhang Wen talked incessantly. Once he started talking, he couldn't stop. Moreover, when he was describing, his words were full of excitement and his whole body seemed to be glowing.

Everyone listened attentively, with no expression at first, but as they heard more and more, a beautiful picture unconsciously appeared in their minds.

"What do you think of my idea?" After Zhang Wen finished speaking, he looked at the photographer and his team sitting opposite him.

He didn't know whether these people understood what he had just said, but he really thought this was a great idea, much better than the previously mentioned ideas of sitting in a cocoon or standing in the ruins.

After hearing this, everyone looked at Guo Yan.

There are two teams in the conference room, one is the star team, represented by Zhang Wen, and the other is the photographer team, represented by Guo Yan.

Now that the representative of the celebrity team has spoken, it’s up to the representative of the photographer team to decide what to think.

As long as Guo Yan agrees and both parties reach an agreement, they can enter the next stage.

"I think this is a good idea. We can give it a try." After saying this, Guo Yan picked up the pen on the table and started drawing on the white paper.

When everyone heard Guo Yan's statement, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and a relaxed smile appeared on their faces.

After four days, they finally reached a plan that both parties agreed on. But soon, the stylist and makeup artist stopped laughing because the next step was to test their abilities.

How to create the corresponding shape?
How should I apply the makeup that Teacher Zhang mentioned?

These are all tests for them.

Bai Lu lowered his head and looked at the butterfly pattern on the black stockings. Is this okay?
If I had known this, I should have worn this pair of stockings on the first night, and we wouldn’t have wasted several nights here.

After more than ten minutes, Guo Yan finally stopped writing.

He looked at the draft and then pushed it across the table. "Teacher Zhang, what do you think of this design?"

Zhang Wen reached out and took the paper in his hand. He saw a half-length portrait of a person. The clothes on the person were cocoon-shaped, with strands of clothing gradually transitioning upwards from the neck.
Although the painting is very simple, it is clear at a glance.

I can draw a picture almost exactly like it just by listening to his narration. He is indeed a famous photographer.

However, he always felt like something was missing.

Zhang Wen thought about it carefully, and finally picked up the pen and added a butterfly above the portrait, which was both an embellishment and had a certain symbolic meaning.

"Ah."

Zhang Wen nodded with satisfaction, then returned the painting to Guo Yan opposite him.

After Guo Yan took it, he handed the draft to the team member beside him, then stood up, looked at Bai Lu and said, "Let's get started."

"Ok."

Everyone came to the studio, stylists and makeup artists came into action, and Zhang Wen and Guo Yan were directing from the side.

Since I didn't make any preparations in advance, I could only try out makeup tonight and do some simple packaging using the materials provided by the magazine.

During this process, constant adjustments are needed, and post-production shooting can only be carried out after the styling and makeup are officially finalized.

However, after having a theme and a plan, everything that follows seems to become much simpler.

It took only two days to finalize the styling, clothing, and makeup, and then just one night to complete the photo shoot.

When the photos came out, everyone was amazed and agreed that the previous week of preparation was worth it.

The saying "sharpening the knife before chopping wood" is vividly demonstrated at this moment.

"Beautiful, so beautiful! This is the most beautiful photo I have seen in recent years." Fang Meihua praised the photo, saying that if it undergoes later photo editing and color adjustment, it will surely amaze everyone.

"It's mainly because Teacher Zhang has a good idea." Guo Yan said after hearing this, and smiled rarely.

A hint of surprise flashed in Fang Meihua's eyes. When did the other party become so humble?

It's rare, so rare. I've known this person for five or six years and have never seen him smile. I thought he never would.

"It's mainly because of Mr. Guo's excellent shooting skills. Not only can he capture perfect moments, but his control over light and shadow is also unparalleled. Moreover, the team's execution ability is very strong, with tacit understanding and strength. It's in line with the old saying: A strong general has no weak soldiers." Zhang Wen also praised him without hesitation.

This time it is not commercial hype, but comes from the heart.

Although the process of this cover shooting was tortuous, the result was good, and that is enough.

Fang Meihua looked at Mr. Yang's younger brother. This young man was really rude when he denied others, but he was also really pleasing when he praised others.

"Teacher Zhang, it's a pleasure to work with you this time. I hope we can have the opportunity to cooperate again in the future." Guo Yan said sincerely. The indifference and arrogance he showed when they first met had disappeared without a trace during this week's interaction.

"That's what you said. When we find you, you can't refuse." Zhang Wen took it seriously.

Bai Lu's career is still on the rise, and he will shoot more magazine covers in the future. Knowing such a famous photographer saves him a lot of trouble.

Not to mention the distant future, when "Perfect Days" is broadcast next year, it will be necessary to take promotional photos for Bai Lu, which will be useful then.

"Don't worry, I will never refuse." Guo Yan said seriously. He has regarded the other party as a source of inspiration for photography and can't wait to start the next cooperation and shoot more and better theme blockbusters.

"I've made up my mind!" Fang Meihua said as she looked at the photo. "I'm going to put Bai Lu's photo on the cover of the July magazine. I can't wait any longer."

"Editor-in-chief, we've found the artist for the July cover and taken the photos," the assistant whispered.

"Go talk to the artist and arrange her cover for September," Fang Meihua instructed.

As the editor-in-chief, this is just a matter of words for her.

"Yes." The assistant quickly wrote it down.

July……

When Bai Lu thought about seeing himself in a magazine next month, his eyes were filled with anticipation and his heart was filled with excitement.

……

(End of this chapter)