In the community of China Guangzhou fashion clothing photography, both professional fashion photographers and fashion item sellers often talk about the difference between Chinese models and foreign models.
Guangzhou has the highest demand for fashion models in China, especially for foreign models, because Guangzhou has the largest wholesale market for fashion items such as clothing, shoes, bags, jewelry and other fashion accessories. There are many professional and amateur Chinese models in the street with affordable pricing, but many fashion item sellers prefer to hire foreign models with much higher cost. The reasons? First, foreign models are normally taller with lighter skin and hair color. Second, foreign models are more sensitive to photography. They are more open and flexible when posing in front of the camera. Third, in most Chinese mind, clothing worn on foreign models must have better quality than those on Chinese models. So the sellers can easily set a higher price tag for their products.
With the rapid development of e-commerce in recent years, foreign fashion models are becoming more and more popular in China, especially in Guangzhou. Many professional fashion models are now paid over RMB1000 per hour in Guangzhou. In most cases, they are much better paid in China than in their local countries. On the contrary, professional fashion photographers in China are making much less compared to their shooting subjects. Their income has actually decreased due to the emerging digital photography.
