Snapping holiday portraits a dutiful tradition

Most families in Quzhou, Zhejiang province, were preparing for their Chinese New Year's Eve dinner around noon on Feb 4.

But not photographer Chen Tangkan, who arrived at Building No 8 in Nanhu Chunyuan Community in the downtown area armed with his camera, flashlight and tripod to photograph a family living there.

Chen, 30, has made free family portraits of Quzhou residents since 2012 in his spare time each Spring Festival.

Because he grew up in a family of police officers, Chen's Spring Festivals are simpler than most.

"I come from a police family," he said. "My grandfather was a policeman, and my father and younger brother are, too. I'm the one that chose to do something else."

Chen's father joined the Army when he was young and later transferred to the Quzhou police station to work in law enforcement. To ensure public safety and let young colleagues go home to reunite with family for Chinese New Year's Eve, his father always volunteered for duty on that evening. Chen and his mother visit the police station and have their family dinner there.

"Our dinner is usually very simple because my dad has to return to his duties promptly," Chen said. "Since I don't have any other activities, I thought it was a good idea to make free family portraits for residents."

The idea occurred to Chen when his grandmother died, and he regretted that he couldn't find a proper portrait of her. At first, he decided to offer the elderly free photos during Chinese New Year.

He received a lot of feedback after posting the plan online, with most people saying they would prefer to have a family photo taken.

Chen thought it would be meaningful to record happy moments for families that were rarely reunited.

"The biggest change I've observed at Chinese New Year is that people are more willing to share their family photos instantly on social media platforms," he said. "So I usually edit photos on the spot after I finish shooting, so they can receive their photos in just a few minutes."

Zhou Xiao's grandparents have been living for more than a decade in the Nanhu Chunyuan Community, which was built in the 1990s. This year, after Zhou heard of Chen's offer, they decided to have a family portrait taken.

"I knew about this plan about two years ago, but our family couldn't get together previously," she said. "This year we finally made it. So I invited Mr Chen to do a photo shoot of us."

Chen greeted the family and chatted with them as he took his equipment out of its bags. Then he selected the right camera mode, put the camera on the tripod and tried a few shots before adjusting the lighting and composition. The family moved tables and chairs to make room.

After everything was ready, Chen asked members of the family to sit or stand in place, and took a few shots to warm up before the official shoot began.

"Is the watermelon sweet? Yes, very good," Chen said. "Is the orange sweet? Good, two more. Then let's take some photos of two or three." His "photography talk" relaxed the family members, who changed their positions and looked more at ease. Eventually, they were laughing together.

After the shoot, Chen took out his laptop and edited the photos on-site. With the job completed, he took a sip of tea, gathered his equipment, said goodbye and headed for the next household.

Chen said he's not worried about whether the photo shoots occupy too much of his leisure time.

"It's nice when you've got a specialty, and it happens to offer an opportunity to do something meaningful for my community," he said. "As I learned from my dad, who has made his contribution year after year, there should always be someone on duty."