I posted 125 of the photos I took at the Model Showcase Event on Flickr. It was my first time putting any photos on Flickr but it seemed like a good place to put them and potentially provide additional exposure for Asian Sirens since I include the link in my Flickr profile.
The collage photo above include some reduced size samples. The models from left to right, top to bottom are: Tina Lee who won first prize in the contest, Rina Marie, Alice Bradley, Anastasia, Tia Kai, Luana Lani, and Nikki Kay.
It was great to see some familiar faces but I was pleasantly surprised by a number of Asian models I had never seen or heard of before.
Rina Marie (on the left) is a Japanese model who caught my eye. She was very willing to pose for photographers at the event and poses very well IMHO. I hope to feature her on Asian Sirens in the future when I find out more about her and maybe arrange a photoshoot as well.
I thought Alice Bradley was one of the most beautiful models at the show. I don’t know much about her but according to the MSE website she has recently returned to modeling. She modeled back in 2002. I was very impressed near the end of the event when she went up on stage and struck some great poses. Unfortunately, her efforts were not rewarded with raffle tickets since they started counting the tickets while she was still up on stage. I made a point of making sure that she got my last raffle tickets but I doubt she got any tickets from others. Alice ended up in fourth place in the contest. I wonder how close she was to making the top 3?
Nikki Kay is a petite model that made a good impression on me. When I went to her table, she was genuinely friendly. She reminds me a bit of a young Miss Becky in terms of looks but she has her own style and is different in many ways.
As far as the rest of the MSE, I was glad to see models like Anastasia and Tia Kai of course. Tia Kai is on the cover of a new calendar so congratulations to her. It is not a major one but it is still good to see her on the cover. Anastasia left MSE early so she was not competing in the modeling contest. One of the first things I saw was this foot fetishist guy lying on the ground and Anastasia putting her bare feet on his face.
Luana Lani looked absolutely gorgeous in person! I have seen her at previous events but thought she was looking particularly good at this event.
It was good to see Mike Ray of imagesfromasia.com. I saw some of his most recent work and he comes up with some creative ideas for photoshoots with his models.
If you are interested, you can see all the winners of the MSE contest at MSE contest winners page.
Overall, it was one of the better Model Showcase Events I have attended but it seems like many of the models show up late and so do the attendees (including me).
As far as other photo coverage of the event, I have already seen some on Charisse’s MySpace page.
If anyone else comes across any other photo coverage, please go ahead and tell us about it in the comments. I don’t see any on purehotmodels.com yet but I don’t like all their floating ads. There is another website that probably has coverage up but they charge money to look at the photos.
I’ve been going through these photos to try and find a single model I really like, but sadly I couldn’t find any. Okay, so Nikki is kinda cute, and Alice isn’t bad, but nothing more. Is this really the best of the up and coming crop of Asian American models?
Lee, the Model Showcase Event is not a large event like the import car shows that feature the top import models. The biggest names in terms of Asian models at this particular show were probably Luana Lani and Flo Jalin. Who knows if any of the new models will make it big but I thought Alice Bradley at the very least has huge potential if she sticks with modeling. I like Nikki Kay too but it is tough for the petite models to make it big. Rina Marie has her own style which I like but is not typical for an import model.
From my perspective, I was pleased by the new models I saw that I mentioned as well as some prior favorites. They may not be the top models on the scene or have a chance of becoming one but that doesn’t matter to me. As you can see by my top 5 (posted in the comments), I didn’t include top Asian models (or formerly top) like Sung Hi Lee, Natasha Yi, etc.
Luana is definitely one of the bettter ones here, although I’ve never been a fan of Flo at all. I’m really starting to get the impression that the import market doesn’t want its models to be gorgeous. I mean, I could go out today and pick up a hundred prettier Asian girls than these. I’m sure there must be plenty of pretty Asian girls in CA too, but it seems they don’t want to be models, or at least not import models.
I also have to wonder if a lot of these girls looked better before getting that terrible facial surgery most of the Asian American models seem to have. My favourite one here (Nikki) is also the most natural looking, although even she looks kinda odd in her second pic.
Good job badboy! There are some good photo’s! 🙂
True! In my disappointment with the models themselves I neglected to compliment badboy on some of the great shots he got. I Look forward to your coverage of future events badboy – hopefully there’s a few more models I like next time! 😉
Looking at these photos again that Charisse looks pretty good in some shots, and she’s very petite too (which I like). Where can I see more photos of this one? She could be one model here I actually like, although I’ll reserve judgement until I see more pics.
Congratulations Bad Boy on an afternoon of effort much appreciated by all. But I do concur that – as I have just come back from jakarta – that if I were to spend the afternoon in the malls of Bangkok,Singapore,Jakarta I would be able to photograph more beautiful subjects !!
Hence am glad I dont live in America where this is the pool of talent available – mind you the incomparable Sung hi Lee is there so perhaps America does have its benefits after all
The model expo was definately a fun experience for everyone. All the models looked beautiful. The photos you took are hot, Badboy. Hope you don’t mind if I use one of the pictures for my myspace.
Overall, the show was great. Even though it was raining outside, it was still worth the 2 hour drive from San Diego. HeHe!
-Charisse Kailyn
Thanks badboy for a great photo collection, definitely appreciated!
Flickr.com is indeed a great platform to host and share photos. I use it for various purposes (also for event coverages).
Unfortunately, I must admit that Lee and Chalky are right. A lot of ‘models’ at the expo don’t have the look that is needed to be succesfull as a model. There are only a few exceptions (Flo is definitely one of them as she has proved it in the past).
Lee, I think Charisse answered your question!
She was also featured recently by Robin on Asian Sirens but you may have not recognized her since the photo he used as the main one was an older pic.
Charisse, it is fine to use one of the pictures on MySpace. It would be great if you could link back to this entry if possible.
It was great seeing you at the show. I particularly liked your second outfit with the fishnets. You were a trooper since I read your blog entry on your MySpace page that the fishnets were not comfortable.
Marco, thanks for your comments. Flickr seems good although the free account has its limitations but I suppose I can just take the time and sign up for more free accounts or just pay the $24.95 a year that Yahoo charges for the premium version.
As far as the models, from my perspective, it was nice to see different types of models and made the event more enjoyable for me.
I don’t agree with chalky and Lee though. It takes more to be a model than just being beautiful. Models need to be comfortable in front of the camera often scantily clad or nude and be able to pose well (not to mention have a natural smile and other expressions on command).
Yeah, but isn’t the most important thing looks? A girl can be not so pretty in real life, but be very photogenic so that on film (or should I say pixels? ;-)) she looks fantastic? :-\
Actually, I have seen some Playboy models who did not look as good as their pictures in real life. I even noticed the same thing on a Victoria Secret show on TV where one model who looked great in her photos looked very plain on the show without the airbrushing, etc. In fact, many supermodels admit that they were not popular with guys in high school (they were not asked out on dates).
I remember this one photographer saying that he took it as a challenge to make every model he photographs look beautiful in the photos he takes of them. Glamour photographers who are hired by non models to take sexy photos of them face the same challenge.
Looks are definitely a factor but not as significant as one would think. For example, one of the most popular models is Maisumi Max even though I wouldn’t say her look fits the usual stereotype of popular import models by any means.
There are so many girls who want to be models these days that they should have ALL the requirements to be successful (looks and modelling ability). IMHO – as much as I hate her personally – Masuimi has both, even she is ‘unconventional’.
Regarding Charise, that pic Robin used was apparently before her latest round of facial surgery. And after looking at more pics I can’t say the results have been entirely positive, although she clearly does have modelling ability. Oh well…
Lee….Charisse, is a close friend of mine here in San Diego and I assure you she has never had any facial surgery. Her pretty face is all natural. 🙂
Then why do her features look so much more prominent in recent photos? Is it just the difference between touched up studio photos and casual snapshots? If so the touch-ups to her early studio photos must be pretty extensive.
For an example of what I mean, check out her second pic at Modelgraphy – I find it very hard to believ a Filipina was born with a nose like this (and it looks more ‘pointed’ than her early pics too).
Lee, I assure you I never had any facial surgery. As for my NOSE, I’m a make-up artist. I contoured it with a dark eyeshadow so it would look more slim. It’s a trick make-up artists use. But trust me, no facial surgery here! Hope that answered your question.
-Charisse Kailyn
Hi Charisse – thanks for the response! Your early shots look more natural – I presume you didn’t use these sorts of tricks then? Anyway, IMHO you should keep it that way – the sort of make-up you use now makes you look ‘plasticy’ and obscures your natural Asian beauty. Be proud of your heritage!
Actually Charisse, do you have any recent pics without this sort of makeup? That would be interesting to see…
Lee, lots of recent pics of Cha here:
http://www.myspace.com/charissekailyn
She’s beautifully petite at 4’11” (150cm) wow!!
PS: I had a chance to meet Cha’s boyfriend last week when I was fixing their computer. He’s a really nice guy who treats her very well. That is always nice to see these days! 🙂
All the recent pics here look like her face is post-surgery. I’d like to see some shots where her features look as soft as they did in her early shots.
Like you I love her ‘petiteness’ though! 😉
Lee, Charisse herself said she did not have any facial surgery. How could they be post-surgery?
I said: “look like post surgery”. I’d like to see recent shots without the makeup she says gives her this look – I think she looks much better without it.
Lee,
As for your comment: “I find it very hard to believ [sic] a Filipina was born with a nose like this”
Have you ever been to the Philippines? The people are a mix of many races. You are probably referring to the common wide nose common in people with more Malay and Polynesian blood, but what about those of other mixed blood. The Philippines is another melting pot of Chinese, Spanish, Malay, Polynesian, northern European, African, etc, etc.
There are a TON of different looks in the Philippines population.
True, but Charisse herself looks a lot more ‘classically Filipina’ in her early photos. She says it’s makeup, which I find fascinating. But she hasn’t yet produced a recent photo without this makeup so I can get a clearer idea of this.
Jeesuz, are we still seriously trying to figure out if I had plastic surgery on my nose or not? LoL! I’m not FULL FILIPINA.. My mom is actually half white. So there.. Problem solved.. and mostly part of it is just make-up.
-Charisse Kailyn
Hi Charisse. I’m still intrigued by how much you can modify your look with makeup. Can you point us to a recent pic without this makeup for comparison?
Lee, give it a rest! 😉
(or just surf the web for this picture)
You can’t blame a guy for trying. 😉
Luana Lani is the absolute most gorgeous Asian model! More pictures please!
More girls from Pacific Beauty too!