Meet Chen Man, the ‘Chinese Annie Leibovitz’
By VALERIYA SAFRONOVA
MAY 10, 2017
The next breakout star from China is not an actress or a pop idol, but rather a photographer. Signed in 2016 by Creative Artists Agency, home of Meryl Streep, Will Smith and Jennifer Lopez, Chen Man has already drawn comparisons to Mario Testino and Annie Leibovitz. Ms. Chen, known for her high-wattage clients and a dramatic, vivid style that melds contemporary Chinese imagery with historical symbols and spaces, was honored last Sunday in New York at the China Fashion Gala, an annual event co-hosted by the China Institute and the China Beauty Charity Fund. The gala benefits a design competition and a scholarship at the Fashion Institute of Technology, with an advisory board this year that included Valentino Garavani, Vivienne Tam, Christian Louboutin and Zang Toi.
Ms. Chen, 36, began her career in 2003 while working on her bachelor’s degree at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing with a series of rich, striking covers for Vision, a Chinese fashion magazine. She has photographed Rihanna, Victoria Beckham and Nicole Kidman for the Chinese versions of Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and Grazia, and works regularly with such Chinese stars as Fan Bingbing, Li Bingbing and Zhang Ziyi. For a glimpse into her background as a painter, how she compares to Ms. Leibovitz, and the place of Chinese art on a global stage, read on.
Q. How did you end up working as a photographer?
A. My parents sent to me to professional children’s painting classes since I was 3 years old. While other children went on holiday, I was always painting. I always stared at people. People were actually uncomfortable about that. I used to want to draw court portraits, like for the wanted posters. I’m still painting a lot.
The reason I majored in photography is that I trained too much as a painter, so when I went to college, I wanted to start something new. And I like to be in contact with real people, not just be indoors and not go out.
Because I drew people a lot in my childhood, I’m very attuned to details. When I shoot celebrities, I make them look better. So for most of the top-of-the-line celebrities, I became the top choice. If you Google “Who is the Chinese Annie Leibovitz?” you will find me.
Speaking of Annie Leibovitz, how would you compare her work to yours?
I have more of a fusion style. Annie Leibovitz shoots more reality, documentary. I like more drama. I went to a school for theater and worked as a graphic designer to earn extra money before going to Central Academy of Fine Arts. I’m a painter and a graphic designer as well as a photographer. I use a lot of postproduction.
I want to show what contemporary China is and what contemporary Chinese beauty is. I did several shoots for i-D magazine. I was a special editor on one issue, so I used models of different Chinese races for the covers. People think Chinese look the same, but we are kind of like the Americans. We have 56 different races.
A few years ago, I shot models with the type of face that was not popular in China at the time. We call it the Asian face. Not the girl with big eyes, white skin, not so sweet, but the real Asian woman. And I shot them in contemporary Chinese scenes, like the Great Wall, Shanghai Bund and Tiananmen Square.
Who are the celebrities you work with the most?
I shoot them all, all the time. I kind of came up with Fan Bingbing, Li Bingbing, Zhang Ziyi. And right now I’m shooting what we call the ‘fresh meat’ actors. I have shot Nicole Kidman, Victoria Beckham, Benedict Cumberbatch. The age range is wide. Sometimes I’m shooting four covers a day.
Especially Beyonce, who always looks so God-awful in it.
I know this is one of the very few industries where this narcissistic type of behaviour is actually encouraged, but yikes! 
