Creative designer imbeds ‘dreamy effect’ in photos
Print Edition
AFTER image processing software was invented, every light effect within imagination could be realized. Minhang amateur photographer Sun Yongjun, however, was not content with such computer skills.
The 40-year-old, a designer by profession, developed his own photography suites to create various shaped faculae, or bright spots, in the background of a defocused image. The result is a dreamy effect.
Sun calls it the “magic spots suite” and obtained a patent last year for the invention.
“The idea came two years ago, when I was studying photography with my daughter, who also loves photography very much,” said Sun.
As part of their course, Sun and his daughter learned about making an aperture to create different bokeh effects, a Japanese term that refers to the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in the out-of-focus parts. Sun was deeply impressed.
Students in the class were asked to carve triangular, tree-shaped or heart-shaped holes on black paper cards and cover the lenses with the carved cards. Under certain lighting conditions, faculae with patterns would appear on the pictures.
“Children were fascinated by the technology, and I was quite interested too,” said Sun. “So I got to thinking how I could improve the technique.”
Sun harked to his experience as a designer, where he often uses mechanical gravers. He believed that with the gravers, he could make much more accurate and regular shapes for apertures.
Another thing he considered was material. Black paper cards worked, but they were disposable and not so environmentally friendly. After countless experiments, Sun finally decided to use a composite waterproof material to make apertures.
“The material is very flexible and soft, so it can be used repeatedly,” he said.
Sun named the products “magic spots suite 1.0.” The first trials were conducted by his daughter and classmates in the photography course. Sun made a suite for every one of them and asked for feedback.
“They showed me that my thoughts were correct and the experiments were worth it,” said Sun. “The children loved using them very much, and that gave me confidence.”
Next, Sun made a bold move. He quit his job to devote all his energy to further improvement of the apertures.
“At that time, I observed an invention contest,” he said. “The participants brought fresh, sometimes very simple ideas. They showed me that even very small ideas can have large prospects, so I thought maybe the apertures had a future as well.”
In March 2013, Sun opened an online store called the Jindian Photography Workshop. It has become one of the most popular photography-related sites on taobao.com, China’s leading e-commerce platform.
“In the first two months after the store opened, I was selling about 2,000 magic spot suites per month,” said Sun. “That has now increased to about 5,000 a month.”
The recent Christmas season brought booming business to the store. A new suite, featuring eight holiday-themed apertures, such as Christmas trees, candy canes and snowflakes, boosted monthly sales to 10,000 sets.
The site has attracted buyers from all over the world — photography buffs as far away as Russia and Argentina. Even Sony bought suites as prizes for customers participating in a company photography contest.
Sun continues to work on improving his products. He said a new generation using better materials, easier methods and prettier patterns will be released soon.
“I don’t really have any competitors online, but that doesn’t mean I will rest on my laurels,” he said. “I won’t stop trying to make my products better.”
His rigorous attitude is also reflected in the way he runs his online shop. Sun asks every customer about camera model because the suites don’t fit all types of lenses. Some customers still buy the suites even after being cautioned that they might not get the effects they want.
“When I come across with such buyers, I assure them that refunds are available,” said Sun. “People who buy things from me are all photography lovers, and I think it’s more important to make friends than to make money.”
That attitude, obviously, wins him a lot of friends. He is praised by customers for his honesty. A buyer on taobao.com, whose screen name is jeffcyc, said Sun is the most responsible seller he has ever encountered on the website.
“He double-checked with me on lens information repeatedly before sending the products,” the buyer said. “The products were carefully and safely packaged. The apertures are very nice, and so is the purchase experience.”
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