Japanese Fashion Model Photos At Hanauma Bay, Hawaii
November 27, 2005
Jen is a beautiful Asian fashion and swimsuit model who I found through ModelMayhem.
Her exotic look really compliments the raw beauty of Hawaii.
Her body is athletic because she is a surfer and she has a “not so typical” Japanese face so I was looking forward to capturing unique images which would spice up both of our portfolios.
Warm tones dominate this photo; taken behind the famous Hanauma Bay Crater, called Portlock. Jen’s strong beautiful legs look fantastic and because they are shot from below they create long lines which lead the viewer’s eye up into the picture to explore more.
I love the results of this photoshoot, the colors, textures, shapes of this incredible scenery allow for unlimited improvisation and incredible variety of photos that could not be achieved in a studio setting.
Jen’s gold mini skirt was a great wardrobe choice, it really compliments the warm colors of the lava rocks and her beautiful bronze skin tone.
Hawaii is a paradise for swimsuit and fashion model photographers who love to work with Asian models. I prefer to shoot with Asian models, perhaps because of my old school Communist Hungarian upbringing is so different from the culture of Hawaii and Asia, I find their beauty unmatched.
I really like this portrait with messy wet hair in the face. I asked Jen a few times to toss her hair in front of her face until I liked the pattern the strands were arranged in.
The model has a beautiful symmetric face, beautiful skin and hair, perfect for exotic photos.
It was a very bright sunny day so we retreated into the shade under a lava rock cliff where we found perfect lighting conditions without ugly shadows appearing on the model’s face which would ruin any beauty shot.
This explains how we achieved the diffused soft light and that huge catchlight (sparkles in the eyes).
I usually do not cut faces in half but for some reason I made an exception when it came to this photoshoot. I found it interesting how different the two halves looked due to the difference in the pattern of the wet hair even though the model has a symmetric face.
I actually ended up using this photo in an online promotional campaign for my FREE Fashion Industry Directory. For uses like posters, business cards, flyers, web graphics, etc. the half cropped face actually works quite well.
From the first time I looked this photo all I could think of was “Asian James Bond girl”. The mix of the confident pose with attitude, the model’s beauty and strength translate to a tough and mysterious exterior.
Jen is a fun girl and she brought a Halloween afro to the shoot with her! You may notice an unusual light source in the form of a reflector which cannot be found on any of my other photos!
I did have a friend come along for this shoot, the talented French model and travel photographer Viseux Christophe.
Having fill light by the way of a reflector was just a fun experiment which I had not used before or after this shoot. The look it creates is just not my cup of tea.
In this example I purposefully exaggerated the effect of the reflector:
Our experience with the giant big afro was fun, we took a few overly posed shots and called it a day.
