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Diane Yang is one of the few Asian ladies Mike has photographed, not that he prefers models of any certain ethnicity. Although he’d love to have her in front of his camera again, Diane, still looking as lovely as she did in these photos from 2002, seems to be settled down into a domestic life and has left modeling behind. Says Mike on shooting Diane:

Diane and I really got along especially great, even though I only shot her one time. She always said she wanted to come back. We had planned it. But she was busy a lot then when single. She was a dance instructor in Brooklyn …I don’t think she had a car, and,at the time, in the early 2000s, I did not have access to a place in NYC we could shoot at. So, it never happened, though we kept in touch and talked about it still.

In 2002, I was creating a calendar where the proceeds of the calendar sales was to go to the wives of fallen firefighters of 9-11. The promoters of the calendar and myself chose 12 different models to shoot, one for each month. We did a one day shoot of each of the 12 models, who were all from the boroughs of NYC. Diane was Miss February, I think.

“Ball Hip”

I liked Diane immediately. She was AMAZING to look at, statuesque, and unusually shapely for a Asian girl. She was packing beautifully-shaped, long, dancer’s legs as she was indeed a dance instructor. She had a beautiful face, smile and a ready laugh. But, as physically gorgeous as Diane Yang was, and still is, her personality shined even brighter. She was just an absolute pleasure to work with. I love that spirit …not only because such girls are frictionless to work with, but the camera catches that joie de vivre.

It’s rare on first shoot that a model is fully trusting of the photographer, for understandable reasons. There are nefarious guys with cameras out there, and the model doesn’t know if you ARE one of those, so they are naturally cautious, reserved. They play it safe, don’t allow themselves to act “too sexy” and be a little on-guard. Diane was not like that in the least; she jumped in like a pro right off the bat ….fully trusting.

What I want from a model can be a little scary for some. It’s because I’m not just shooting pretty pictures. I tend to think in terms of “characters” or dramatic “situations.” It’s not unheard for instance, that within an hour’s time, I can have a model dressed as a baby doll, a vixen, a superhero, and a tied-up damsel in distress. (Laughs) I think I did all those with Diane.

“Baby Diane”

Whatever the character, as soon as Diane was in costume, she understood what I needed from her. She “became” that character, knew to act timid or innocent, strident or proud as the costume required. Most models are great at posing flirty and smiling nicely, and of course I make sure to cover those traditional ideas and poses. But I often need a model to play a “part.” Really good picture models have “acting chops” like that. I request different facial expressions other than smiles, possibly showing anger, surprise, sadness, pouting. Emoting can really make a picture come alive. Diane could do that great.


“Play Devil”	“Big Fan”

Born and raised in Australia, Jessamyn Rose says her classical dance background is an asset to her when she poses for photo shoots and that she enjoys transforming herself into different looks and characters. Qualities that make her an ideal James Girl. She’s modeled for Mike on two separate occasions, much to the satisfaction of both parties, so future shoots are a definite possibility. Mike on Jessamyn:

Hailing from the land down under, Jessamyn Rose, though a little girl, instantly made a very BIG impression on me. Her body, beautifully configured and the color of porcelain, makes the perfect plinth for her utterly gorgeous head, resplendent with full, blazing, naturally-wavy red hair, flashing green eyes, and full, plump lips. So, not only a perfect body, but the face of a china doll! One would be hard-pressed to DESIGN a better model.

Add to that visual package that she is a pure delight, with a ready laugh, great work ethic, and ALSO possesses a near-endless catalog of great model poses and you basically have every pin-up photographer’s dream come true.

“String Theory”

I just love everything about Jess. If you told me she was the only model I had to work with for the remainder of my life, I’d be fine with that. Time with her passes like a rocket.

Most of my models will tell you I work fast, hard, and for a long time. I am quite the taskmaster. During both shoots we had together Jess was plagued by a dietary problem that affected her stamina, but she powered through like a champ, maybe even outperforming the average model. She is just an amazingly professional and very giving person.

“Ghost”

“Sybarite”

Rei (that’s it, she works sans surname) is another lady from down under who’s graced Mike’s lens. His favorite parts of Rei are her legs and her mind. Says Mike:

Rei is my Yin-Yang dream come to life, that perfect mixture of nice and naughty. I hate to be this objectifying, but there is actually a “physical” dividing line between Rei’s naughty and nice parts … a DMZ if you will … at her waist.

The top half of Rei is super-cute and sweet looking. She seems almost like a pixie, or anime character. So pixieish in fact, that on her second shoot, when she arrived with her hair cut short, I actually shot her as a brunette Tinkerbell. A very innocent-looking top half.

From her waist down, Rei is utterly wicked; her legs and ass look as if designed by the devil himself to inspire lust! Rei is the owner of big, long, meaty, voluptuously shaped legs, almost a third oversized for the rest of her body. Add a derriere to make Beyonce jealous. I could make a career of just shooting her lower half.

“Red Hot”

But (despite her great body) the most amazing thing about Rei is her brain. For all her cuteness and sexual appeal, she’s an amazingly intelligent woman with a whip-sharp sense of humor. She speaks her mind too. I think because she shoots a lot with female photographers, she’s alert to misogyny that periodically creeps into pinup photography done by males. I’m not talking nudity, she’s smart enough to realize there is artful nudity and in fact has done GREAT nudes. But she gently puts the brakes on poses she finds too raunchy.

She’s sometimes challenging to me, but I welcome it from her. I live with a very wise woman. I realized long ago the value of listening to the well-considered female perspective.

I love hosting Rei, and I miss her. Our off-shoot hours are so fun, and valuable. For one, I have someone to mark up the articles I write, as she’s a professional proofreader. Unfortunately, she’s a half globe away from me, in the sunny climes of Australia. So, I can only shoot her when she comes to the USA on other business. I hope that’s soon.


“Jungle Rei”	“Gold Goddess”

Another big thanks to Mike James of Azimuth Designs as well as Mala and Tina for their comments.

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About the author

Chris Charles

Editor-in-Chief at Idol Features | chris@idolfeatures.com | More Articles

Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Chris flirted with the music business there and in Nashville before joining the U.S. Army and serving in South Korea. He remained in Asia for several years afterwards, teaching English, traveling, and covering the regional entertainment scenes. A former Xanga blogger ("Xangan"), Chris is still in a mindset between Seoul and San Francisco. Besides Idol Features, you can also catch his writings in the print edition of the monthly magazine, Effective.