Hailed as China's top talent in fashion photography, Chen Man was not only selected by Piaget as one of its 10 Extraordinary Women, she was hired to photograph the campaign as well
One of the most prolific photographers in China, Chen Man's hyper-realistic images have catapulted her to international fame. In fact, her resume reads like a fashion influencer's dream.
The Beijing Central Academy of Fine Arts graduate has worked with some of the world's top names, from fashion bibles Vogue and Harper's Bazaar and storied fashion houses Louis Vuitton and Chanel, to celebrities from the East and the West including Jing Boran, Faye Wong, Nicole Kidman and David Beckham. Her talent has also been sought out by Aston Martin, Mercedes-Benz and Huawei, to name a few.
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Recently, she partnered with Piaget, playing the dual role of a member of its Extraordinary Women community as well as the photographer for the campaign. She describes it as a great experience, and praises the other nine women that include Jessica Chastain, Constance Wu, Cynthia Erivo and Kong Hyo-Jin for their illuminating presence. "Each has her own individual aura of elegance," she says.
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Tatler Malaysia sits down with the visual artist, herself a picture of sublime elegance at 40, to probe deeper into her art.
Why are you passionate about photography?
To me, photography is sharing that split second with an individual, an object, a scene, a moment of eternal togetherness. Eternity doesn't exist physically but the moment I pick up my camera to shoot, I aspire to freeze that perfect moment for eternity.
Have you always wanted to do fashion photography?
My dad used to paint big advertisements. At that time, there was no printing or photography—everything had to be purely hand-painted. So I first learned to paint, then I did graphic design, and then dabbled in the multimedia field, before finally picking up photography.
