"If we're going to do it, we've got to do it right," he said. "Grandma loves bright colors like red because it looks vibrant and joyous."

In this small philanthropic photo booth, Wu took funeral portraits not just for his grandmother, but also for more than a dozen other elderly villagers, ranging in age from their 50s to their 80s.

"Some of them were surprisingly young," Wu said. "They explained that they wanted their funeral portraits to capture a younger and more vibrant version of themselves."

Wu was also impressed by how the elders were either excited about the photo shoot or casual, as if it were just another daily task checked off their to-do list.

"The topic of death is not as taboo to them as it is to me. As time goes by, the elders have said enough goodbyes to the point that they're accustomed to it and eventually peacefully accept it," Wu said.