78-year-old man's stylish photoshoot goes viral
A series of stylish photos of an elderly man in Wuhan, Hubei Province went viral on social media recently, with the heart-warming story behind his fashion shots touching the hearts of many Chinese netizens.
In the photos, Ma Junru, 78, is dressed in an edgy style and poses just like a professional model.
But in reality he's just an ordinary old man that you wouldn't pay too much attention to if you saw him on the street.
The photos were taken by his 26-year-old photographer granddaughter, Ma Mengjie, who even admits herself that she was surprised how the photos turned out.
Ma said she has taken wedding photos for many elderly couples to make up for not taking any, for whatever reason, when they got married. During her time taking such photos she would always think of her grandpa, and she finally decided to take a set of artistic photos of him.
Ma said she had lost her grandma when she was still at primary school. Since then, her grandpa began to stay with her and her parents and always skimps on food and clothing. On top of that, he didn't know anything about fashion.
Ma rented two sets of clothing for her grandpa's shoot, taking nearly 400 photos of which just 19 were selected. She would present them to her grandpa after developing the photos.
She said she initially worried her grandpa wouldn't agree to take the photos, but the elderly man cooperated well during the whole process after understanding her idea, even though he says he's not good at posing in front of the camera.
"Through the shoot, I found though my grandpa didn't say anything, in his heart he's eager to interact with those of us from the younger generation."
The granddaughter's love for her grandpa, as evidenced in her photos, has melted the hearts of many.
"It's important to cherish all the people who you love, and who love you," one netizen said.