Catherine Yoon | ryanbyryanchua

Again, in no particular order, Ryan Chua’s Top Ten Photo Shoots of 2010.

5. Study Breaks – This was my first cover shoot and story shoot for a magazine! Study Breaks is a Texas-based college magazine. The editor, Jenny Baker, approached me to do a shoot for their “Guys Reveal All” spread in their October 2010 issue. I was more than happy to collaborate. We did the shoot at Hooters in Hollywood (right across the famous Chinese Mann Theater) with seven LA models. Our cover models are Jeremy Pascual with Catherine Yoon and Kathryn Trail. It was a very fun and interesting shoot. I let the models loose to recreate the male to female interactions in a bar & capture realistic moments for the spread. I started to regret that decision after some of the male models really did flirt with the female models, and it was impossible to get them to listen to directions. Nonetheless, one of the most fun experiences I’ve had in a photo shoot. My photography assistant for that shoot was Minda Wong.

4. Paula Newlands – Q: How many hot models are in Brazil? A: A BRAZILLION!! If there is one model I cannot say no to, it is Paula Newlands (NEXT Models LA), the amazing Brazilian model who always rock my photo shoots with her versatile looks and gracious beauty. She is very fun to work with and just works very well with me! We were joined by the talented makeup artist Christina Chen in our photo shoot. Click here for my previous blog entry.

3. Natalie Angela Swimwear – This was the moment I waited for – to finally shoot with Catherine Yoon, a model I met at a Models Inc. Agency party in Hollywood Hills several months before. Since our very first meeting, we’ve kept in touch and always talked about doing a shoot in LA. I managed to coordinate with designer Natalie Angela for a swimwear shoot and everything fell into place. We shot in the beautiful Venice Beach, which is one of my favorite beaches to shoot in LA. Of course, we were stuck in traffic but Catherine kept me entertained with her horror modeling stories. Click here for my previous blog entry for that day.

2. Dominique Ansari Swimwear – I have always wanted to do a photo shoot on a sailboat with models in bikinis (Yeah I know, very cliché). So one summer day, I messaged designer Dominique Ansari if she was interested in doing a shoot on a sailboat. She happened to have a swimwear collection that was almost ready, which was perfect timing because it gave me enough time to set up the shoot. We gathered in Sausalito, where we met our captain and his sailboat. For more, check out my previous blog entry. It was the most challenging photo shoot I’ve ever put myself in: very choppy waters, the fact that both the models and I could fall into the ocean, and sea sickness for some. Nevertheless, it was a very memorable photo shoot and I would do it all over again. I had an incredible team: Sascha Okamoto, Rebecca Schlafer, Katy Hankins (models), Julianne Chai and Zehra Ahsan (makeup), Noelle Lynn and Erik Foldhazi (hair), Angelica Garde (stylist), Phillip Wang and Mike Polce (photography assistants), and Dominique Ansari (designer).

1. Corinne Doherty Swimsuit Shoot – Blonde Bombshell. Secluded Beach. Swimwear Shoot. Corinne Doherty. Enough said. Corinne and I did this shoot for the Umbrella Girls Swimwear Calendar. One of our images made it as the back cover of the calendar. Check out my previous blog post.

Honorable Mention: Natalia Dominguez & Bruno – How could you not forget a photo shoot that involves a four-legged boxer / male model? Bruno was a very obedient male model (for the most part) and Natalia did an amazing job with both the modeling and styling for her own photo shoot. Brandon Leong was in the sidelines giving Bruno orders to pretty much “sit” or “stay” or “look that way”. Keke was our hair and makeup artist.

Check out this video to see how “easy” Natalia made it look.

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End note: It was a very interesting year. Lots of wonderful memories, met many amazing people and made lots of cool friends. Each photo shoot for me was a learning experience and there’s definitely plenty of room to grow in 2011. I hope you enjoyed my post!