HuaYu: Starting with Photography to Navigate the Entertainment Industry

"Well..."

Zhou Man was speechless after being retorted by Xu Lang, and after a long pause, she finally replied:

"Teacher Xu, it's precisely because we're young that we need to plan this carefully. Please put in the extra effort. Don't worry, we'll charge the industry's highest fee, 10,000 yuan per set. You don't need to worry about anything, just take the photos."

Seeing that Xu Lang was not easy to talk to, Zhou Man directly offered her most direct bargaining chip.

One set of ten thousand?

Xu Lang was genuinely tempted. After thinking it over, he said, "Okay, I'm free this weekend. If you'd like to come, give me a call in advance."

"Okay, it's settled then."

After hanging up the phone, Xu Lang was a little smug. Two clients had come in at once, which meant things had taken off!

"I need to speed things up for the website as well."

The first day of school has passed just like that.

In the following days, while other students were in military training, Xu Lang wandered around with his camera. There were only so many people, and after taking pictures for two days, there wasn't much new material left.

The rest of the time, Xu Lang was busy with his own things, except for updating the school bulletin board and campus BBS.

In the past two days, the "Women Are Just as Good as Men" column has been spreading wider and wider within the school, initially attracting only the attention of male students.

Things were different on the third day.

The girls started paying attention, and more than one girl was approaching Xu Lang every day.

"Xu Lang, can you take a picture of me too?"

"2000 yuan each!"

Xu Lang looked down on any girl he hadn't photographed. When they came to him, he acted like a shrewd businessman, offering a fixed price as a way of rejecting them.

Some of the girls who were photographed by Xu Lang were no longer satisfied with just simple military training photos.

"Xu Lang, can you take a few pictures of me while I change my clothes?"

"1000 yuan each."

Xu Lang still gave a chance to those he liked, only asking for 1000 yuan per piece.

He didn't think it was expensive, but these young girls thought it was.

"What?! A set of photos at a photo studio only costs 800, and you're asking 1000 for just one? Are you crazy?"

"Then go and film it."

Xu Lang showed no mercy when he criticized people.

However, the more this happened, the more indignant the students felt, and the greater Xu Lang's fame became.

But most of the criticism came at once. Heartless, unscrupulous businessman, snob, and opportunistic—these became synonymous with Xu Lang.

Xu Lang didn't care. After all, being infamous is still being famous!

The girls who have been featured in the "Women Are Just as Great as Men" column are secretly a little proud.

This column suddenly became a symbol of identity:

Only those who make it into a column are true beauties!

Although it can't be considered an authority, it does have a threshold, and with Xu Lang guarding that threshold, ordinary people just can't get through.

Getting angry won't help.

During this time, Xu Lang received continuous system notifications.

On the third day, the number of "pleasing to the eye" ratings finally exceeded 1,000, and Xu Lang also gained a physical attribute point.

After adding attribute points, Xu Lang felt a surge of heat flowing through his body. Although he hadn't participated in military training, his physical condition was undeniably getting better and better.

These past two days, Xu Lang has spent the most energy on Reyizha.

The night after their meeting, Reyizha sent over the information Xu Lang had requested:

Only B+?

Looking at the chest size data, Xu Lang couldn't help but curl his lip. "Damn, I actually misjudged it!"

But he was also curious: why did it look so big before?

However, this is pure gossip; a real photographer would never pay attention to this.

That's something that only happens during the "mutual exemption" phase.

Studying Reyizha's physique and resume, Xu Lang already had a general idea in mind.

Friday night.

Re Yizha found Xu Lang,

"There's another test shoot for the magazine tonight, why don't you come with me?"

"Okay, if it's suitable, let's film it together tonight."

"Um."

Re Yizha drove Xu Lang towards the magazine's photo studio.

On the way, Re Yizha drove while Xu Lang scrolled through his phone; neither of them spoke.

After a long while, Re Yizha finally couldn't take it anymore, turned to look at Xu Lang, and asked:

"Xu Lang, what do you think is the best way to take my cover photo?"

Xu Lang didn't answer, but instead glanced at her chest, gesturing with his hand to indicate his name:

"Tell me first, aren't you uncomfortable crammed into this place every day?"

"cut!"

Re Yizha rolled his eyes and pouted. "Can't this kid look at anything else?"

In a fit of pique, she ignored Xu Lang and drove off on her own.

This suited Xu Lang perfectly, creating a rare moment of tranquility.

After driving for a while, the vehicle arrived at an industrial park in Chaoyang District.

"arrive."

Re Yizha got out of the car, still ignoring Xu Lang, and walked quickly towards the photography studio alone.

Xu Lang had been to this photography studio in his previous life. It has a total area of ​​over 500 square meters, a ceiling height of 4.5 meters, and is fully equipped with all kinds of equipment. It is indeed a good place for shooting.

Xu Lang got out of the car and followed Re Yizha inside.

Soon, Re Yizha turned a corner and entered Studio 3. Before the door closed, Xu Lang quickly took two steps and followed him inside.

"Hey, you've come at the perfect time! Hurry up and get your makeup and clothes done, we'll film you after this one."

A man looked at the camera and said to Reyza.

"Thank you for your help, Professor Gao."

While Re Yizha was backstage with a girl getting her makeup and changing clothes, Xu Lang stood to the side watching the photographer take pictures.

After watching for a while, he felt it wasn't very interesting.

This thing looks fancy to the untrained eye, but frankly, it's just an assembly line.

Decide on the style, pick out clothes, do makeup, set the lights, strike a pose, 3, 2, 1, click!

Done!

As for how to determine your style, how to choose clothes, how to do your makeup, and how to pose, it's even simpler.

Industrialized production lines all have templates. Whatever you need, just follow the template, and the resulting product will be above average.

This is the power of standardization and assembly lines.

As for truly unique stylists, makeup artists, and photographers, Reyizha is still far from that level.

You need to reach at least the second tier to have a chance.

Less than an hour later, Reyizha came out from the back.

Her forehead was covered with bangs that fell just above her eyebrows. She wore a layer of trendy peach-colored eyeshadow on her eyes and a glass lip gloss in the same color on her lips. She wore a milky white puff-sleeved, fitted dress with delicate lace trim on the hem and white Mary Jane shoes with 3cm hems.

As she walked, her fingers unconsciously tugged at the lining of her chest.

"Wow, with this squeeze, it's at least a D-cup."

Xu Lang now understands why he looks so old.

"Okay, stand in your designated positions."

Teacher Gao glanced at her, adjusted two parameters on the lighting control panel, and gave the lighting technician an OK sign.

Two side softboxes and a front ring light were lit simultaneously, and the even soft light covered the entire white background, making Reyizha's skin look clear and clean, and even softening the shadows on her jawline.

Xu Lang nodded; the lighting was indeed above average.

It's clear that this lighting setup has been meticulously crafted and refined; it's a golden lighting scheme that's reliable, foolproof, and in line with popular aesthetics.

Reyizha stepped to the marked spot, followed the instructions, tilted her head slightly, gently brushed the stray hairs behind her ear with her right hand, placed her left hand on her waist, and smiled a standard, girlish smile.

"Hold on, soften your gaze, look at the camera, 3, 2, 1, cut."

"Next, turn your body a quarter turn, yes, lift your skirt slightly, smile more, and add even more sweetness."

"Good, keep it up, click."

The shutter clicked steadily; Teacher Gao's shooting rhythm was very steady.

Based on his experience, Xu Lang knew without looking that every single one of the photos he had just taken was perfectly in line with the standard in terms of composition, lighting, and the poses of the people; there were no unusable photos.

After taking another set of six photos, Teacher Gao put down his camera, waved to the hot pot, and...

"This set is pretty good, come and take a look and see what you think."

"They're here!"

Re Yizha, his eyes full of anticipation, walked quickly over and bent down to stare at the camera screen.

The photos are beautifully shot, with clean lighting, perfect makeup and styling, and her smile is just the right amount of sweetness. It's a flawless teen magazine photoshoot.

But soon, Re Yizha frowned.

Aside from the clothes and styling, there's no fundamental difference from before.

Before seeing Xu Lang's photos, Re Yizha certainly wouldn't have any complaints, and he wouldn't have had any complaints about today's impromptu photoshoot.

Based on the photos from the previous set, I immediately placed an order.

But now?

Looking back at the photos Xu Lang had taken, she always felt that something was missing.

Something doesn't taste right!

"What, it's still not working?"

Teacher Gao's tone carried a hint of impatience.

No, no.

Reza quickly waved her hand in denial, saying, "I just feel... I feel... it's not like me."

"How can it not look like it? Besides, what's the use of looking like it?"

Teacher Gao raised an eyebrow and showed her the covers from previous issues.

"This is the standard for our 'Campus Sweet Girl' theme this issue. The best-selling sets in previous issues all followed this approach. Readers recognize this, and that's the most important thing."

"Ha! You only feed your readers shit, and they can't just ignore it!"

Ok?

This one sentence immediately silenced the busy photography studio.

You could hear a pin drop.