Jeffrey Ho, Johnson Chong, Ka Kui and Kelvin Wong of HK Flashion
For a small fee, HKIEd students Jeffrey Ho, Johnson Chong, Ka Kui and Kelvin Wong—collectively known as HK Flashion— take Polaroid portraits for passersby in Causeway Bay and Mong Kok. Their aim is to brush up on their photography skills while helping Hongkongers preserve their special moments. The group talk to Siu Sun about their hobby.
HK Magazine: How did you guys come up with this idea?
HK Flashion: In Putonghua, “2013” sounds like “love you for life.” We wanted to spread this idea by taking photos of people in different places, to capture their loving moments and letting them keep their happy memories. We also want to take photos for a living, so we thought this would be a good opportunity for us to practice our skills.
HK: Why use black and white Polaroids?
HKF: Because we can’t afford pricy cameras and film—we’re just students. So we tried using Polaroids, which are more affordable, and the results turned out to be pretty good.
HK: Who is the most remarkable customer you’ve ever met?
HKF: There was this old gentleman in a wheelchair who was celebrating his 90th birthday. He stood up, walked to us and said he wanted to take a photo with his daughter. We respect the elderly very much, so we decided to let him skip the queue, and we didn’t charge him. He was very happy when he saw the photos.
HK: So, I’m camera shy: what should I do?
HKF: We will show you some photos of others that you can use as reference. We can also take some photos on digital cameras first when you are queuing up, so you can get used to facing the camera. If those still don’t help, we will ask you to just have a casual chat with friends or look away, so we can capture a natural moment.
HK: Will you say anything if I pose really stupidly?
HKF: We won’t say anything. Every one has their own style. Not to mention we’ve seen countless even more bizarre postures. If you’re happy posing that way, we’ll be happy taking the photo for you.
HK: What would you say to me if I looked really ugly in the photo?
HKF: We won’t say anything either. But we’ll try to take another for you for free, because after all, we want everyone to be happy—that’s our goal.