100 Portraits, 100 Untold Stories

27th July 2017

100 Portraits, 100 Untold Stories

Huawei reveals the untold stories of New Zealanders with photography campaign

A unique new campaign has revealed the untold stories of New Zealanders using the art of photography, with a series of striking portrait photographs and captivating background stories.

100 Portraits: Revealing Untold Stories was initiated by innovative smartphone maker Huawei, and aims to provide insight into the wider society of the world in which we live, as well as challenge New Zealanders to consider people’s stories beyond face value.

Huawei engaged three talented photographers, Stu Robertson, Michael Farr and Simon Woolf, to capture beautiful portrait images using the world-first Leica dual lens camera on its latest flagship smartphones, the Huawei P10 and Huawei P10 Plus. The images have been published alongside their corresponding stories via the 100 Portraits campaign website, http://campaign.consumer.huawei.com/sp/nz, and are available to view now.

The campaign gives New Zealanders from all walks of life a chance to tell their story - from Olympians and youth workers, to drug addicts and musicians - by answering questions designed to gain insight into their lives, including whether they are happy, whether they feel part of society, what inspires them, and how many times they have failed.

Subjects fall into three categories: The heroes, those who are integral to society yet are often taken for granted; the fighters, who fight for success against all odds; and the outcasts, who are often the recipients of unfair judgement without consideration for their story.

The results are profound and inspiring. Of the 100 people photographed, all reveal they are happy, despite often trying circumstances and a variety of situations. The campaign also challenges the accepted definition of ‘society’ – many participants felt they belonged to their own personal part of society, which doesn’t necessarily fit into what is deemed as general society.

As well as uncovering the stories of 100 individuals,100 Portraits aims to redefine the art of modern portrait photography, which has arguably been forgotten in favour of the selfie. In an increasingly digital world and the age of social media, Huawei wants to encourage millennials, and all smartphone users, to look beyond the screen to consider the outside world and consider people’s stories.

“Campaigns such as 100 Portraits give us the chance to capture and understand the stories of people you may not usually engage with,“ says Stu Robertson, Huawei 100 Portraits photographer. “Portrait photography is an incredible medium that is known for its ability to capture and convey emotion. It’s entirely possible to capture moving, brilliant imagery using a smartphone alone – Huawei’s Leica camera is a huge step forward in allowing everyday people to do so.”

The project is another example of Huawei’s commitment to the New Zealand market. The Chinese company aims to provide tailored products that benefit local consumers - as well as being the first smartphone to offer a Leica dual back camera and Leica front camera, the Huawei P10 and Huawei P10 Plus smartphones are the world’s first to offer te reo Māori as a standard operating language.

In addition, in March this year Huawei announced it will invest up to $400 million toward research and development in New Zealand over the next five years, with plans to work with local partners to build a New Zealand Cloud Data Centre, open an Innovation Lab in both Christchurch and the Victoria University of Wellington this year, and extend the Future University Student Programme to 100 ICT students.

“New Zealand is a very important market for Huawei and it is important that we continue to build a strong relationship here,” says Louie Hu, Service and PR Manager Huawei New Zealand Consumer Business Group. “We value and want to understand the people here and believe every Kiwi has a story to tell. With 100 Portraits, we aim to use our exceptional camera to highlight the stories of 100 incredible people.”

Huawei launched its P10 Series smartphones earlier this year. The P10 is available now from all major network providers and major electronics retailers, priced at NZ$999, and the P10 Plus is available now from 2degrees, Vodafone and major electronics retailers, priced at NZ$1,199.

To view the 100 Portraits images, visit http://campaign.consumer.huawei.com/sp/nz

ENDS

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