There's no denying Melyssa Ford is an icon in the urban modeling genre. Yet the below photo of Melyssa in Scott Hebert's port has nary a comment beneath it on Model Mayhem. There was a time you couldn't release a photo of Melyssa Ford without a herd of fanboys and jealous women swarming it with comments and passing it around. Which leads to the question: is Ms. Ford still relevant?

Tags: Melyssa Ford

Look for Bria in the next issue of Hips on Deck coming up. Here's a little preview shot. Also check for Bria in the Memorial Day issue of SHOW Magazine coming soon...

Tags: Bria Myles

These videos may not have sound, but they are none the less for it. These are two different takes of Olivia in the same video. Each has its respective merits. (Still no Facebook page or Twitter for Olivia, but stay tuned)
Video 1
Video 2

Tags: Olivia

All artsy stuff aside, here are the originals in their full resolution, including one side shot not included: Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3, Bonus Pic. Reach Sobella on Facebook here and let her know what you think in the comments section directly below this post.

Tags: Sobella

Arley Elizabeth is a rarity - a curvy Asian model (or Pacific Islander, depending on your perspective [she's Filipino]). You don't see many of those on the net or in real life. About a year ago I contacted Arley about shooting for the blog. While very polite, she is in that camp of models that will not shoot unless paid. Although I can understand that perspective in certain, limited situations, in many cases I think it's short sighted. For one, photographers who have to pay models to shoot tend not to be the best out there, and over time that can be reflected in the models work. (I'll let you be the judge of that - Arley's portfolio is here) Secondly, if I didn't pay Carol Seleme, Alysha Young, or Bria Myles - models who have been featured in major magazines, music videos, and national TV commercials, etc., - why would I pay in this instance? Sometimes it's about more than a paycheck.

That being said, I featured Arley because I came back to her recently and I still think she's very impressive. This post kind of belongs in the Model Advice section, because it addresses a tricky aspect of the business. Maybe at some point Arley will post here herself and let us know her perspective on all this. I'd welcome it.

Tags: Arley Elizabeth

I posted Missy Mason aka Melissa Neverman two years ago when hardly anyone knew about her. Now she's super fit and starring in the new Gucci Man's "Im in Love with a White Girl" music video. Looks like she moving up the ranks. But keep in mind, if you type her name "Missy Mason" in Google, Indoplace is the first result

Tags: Missy Mason, Missy Neverman Mason

Here we've got one of my favorite model's debut video at Indosplace - Carol Seleme doing some subtle/sexy dance moves on a break from working on her painting. A lot of people never caught this clip, so I've created a link to the very high quality version as well as a Youtube version (I'd suggest the HD version - the Youtube one is meh)...

Reach Carol on Twitter here and check out her new artwork here.

Credits (on 1st pic) - Model: Carol Seleme | Make-Up: Tai Young-Jackson | Hair: Joshjarie | Photography: Indosplace.com

Tags: Carol Seleme, Carol Seleme Daniel

Here Regina shows off her modeling chops with just a subtle look that makes the picture. Regina graduated from USC and works in the medical field.

Tags: Regina Ragni

It's Shirley's turn! Check out her "media test" video talking about her trip to the Winter Music Conference 2012 in Miami. NOTE: Shirley has promised an additional video, slightly more revealing in the next day (e.g., she's gonna stand up in that outfit) - I'll link it to the 2nd pic, leave comments with any suggestions... (Shirley has no Twitter or Facebook for now, but you guys may be able to convince her.)

Click first image below for video...

Tags: Shirley

Alysha Young has been busy these days touring for Ubisoft's Just Dance 3, which was released for the XBox Kinect earlier this year. By way of a little background, I first worked with Alysha (who I met through Bria Myles) when I shot her for J'Adore magazine a couple years ago. Alysha has always been more of a commercial than an urban model, with both a dance agency and a modeling agency repping her. She is also part of Aqualillies, a water ballet company that is featured in this month's issue of Vogue magazine.

Credits - Model: Alysha Young | Make-Up: Tai Young-Jackson | Hair: Tara Copeland | Photography: Indosplace.com

Tags: Alysha Young, Aqualillies

Three hidden Mal Malloy easter eggs. Hints include .... Santini and Hunter... (one is in a recent comment in a non-Mal thread, but about Mal)...

Tags: Mal Malloy

It would appear that Olivia's quest for world domination continues... (quitte successfully I might add)

Tags: Olivia

Super thighs novelist Sabrina Hunter.

Tags: Sabrina Hunter

As promised, here we have native New Yorker Sobella's media test video, and I have to say, she is very appealing. There's a subtle modesty to her gestures - the little shoulder shrug, hand movements - that is quite alluring. Anyway, she did a couple takes so I've posted two here. Be sure to leave comments and let Sobella know what you think... (My suggestion is full screen, 480p on the vertical video )





Alternate Cut:

Tags: Sobella

"I've seen you on the beach and I've seen you on TV."
-Rio, Duran Duran

By: Falene Nurse

Sometimes a song lyric so perfectly captures a person's spirit you could be easily fooled into thinking the musician wrote the track about them specifically. In this case that's impossible, as Duran Duran penned the 80s hit when Rio hadn't even been born. Yet at times it's hard not to imagine Simeon Le Bon wasn't describing a day in the life of Los Angeles model and artist, Rio Lund today.

By day she attends casting calls, covered up in free-spirited bohemian chic, rocking a natural do. By night she releases her inner pin-up, donning red lipstick, a Bettie Page wig and over a dozen body tattoos. Rio's one of the few girls I know that has managed the trifecta effect of modeling, success in the commercial, fashion and urban markets. At a statuesque 5ft10 with a 34-24-39 frame Rio can't help but stand out in a crowd, so it's not surprising she's done over 20 commercials (including Nike, Coke and Target), dozens of music videos, print campaigns and magazine covers - with no sign of slowing dow any time soon. What might surprise you is that if that weren't enough, she's also a professional and sought after tattoo artist/piercer here in Hollywood. I chatted with Rio to see how she juggles these two very different careers.



Q: Are you originally from LA?
RIO: Yes, born and raised mamma (said with a grin)

Q: You are a tattoo artist, model and a pin-up. That's unusual?
RIO: I suppose you could say that I'm a bit of a chameleon.

Q: Do you have a preference to work?
RIO: When it all comes down to it I am a true artist at heart, whatever I happen to be doing. I also really love trying new things.

Q: When did you start modeling?
RIO: I began modeling at aged 16.

Q: Were you interested in art first or modeling?
RIO: My interests in art started in the 2nd grade, so… there you go.

Q: When did you realize, I can make a living as a model?
RIO: My big break came when I started to get the big bucks, booking multiple commercials and print work. That only happened though when I finally clicked with the right agency. I had been with other top agencies prior to that, but wasn't booking so much.

(Rio has an adorable habit of using her hands when describing words "big bucks" and "clicked." For a model she is completely unaware of herself, very expressive and unrestricted. She's happiest if she can pull a face that will get a laugh out of you.)

Q: Did you always have your own unique style?
RIO: Yes my own, weird, eclectic thing going on, even when it wasn't cool. Cee Lo and Outkast's style wasn't around when I was growing up, I'm not saying I went out in capes and feathers (lol.) But even as a teenager I never really cared what anyone thought, or what the trend was.

Q: How do you manage to crossover the different genres?
RIO: For me modeling is just like playing dress up. You can become who ever you want to be. All the different categories I've modeled, were something that I specifically wanted to venture into at a given time. Just to see if I could do it. Being challenged is good.

Q: You are very tall and curvy, do you think that helps you balance between "fashion" and "urban?"
RIO: I used to do fashion a lot when I was younger, until I was FIRED. Yes from this one agency for having, and I quote " a BIG butt and hips." Which quite frankly - I like (laughing hard.) The main types of modeling I do now are commercial/commercial print (with all my tattoos covered up), pin up/tattoo and urban. I don't do too much runway anymore since to me the requirements are ridiculous! You practically have to be either 12 years old, or anorexic! I stick to what keeps me happy, healthy and alive.

Q: You can pass for a lot of different cultures, Latino, Spanish, African, Mediterranean, what's your background?
RIO: My moms from Morocco, my dad is Norwegian, and there's a bit of Spanish on both sides.

Q: Tell me about your tattoo training?
RIO: A dear friend of mine Lou Bone(R.I.P.) got me into tattooing/piercing, he also pushed me to try modeling. As he was already an established tattoo artist he encouraged me into working at his shop. I recently looked in an old journal of mine from when I was 10 and it said, "I'm going to become a tattoo artist one day." Didn't mention the modeling. That's what I wrote, even then (she smiles a little to herself.) My mentor was an amazing human being with a contagious laugh. Typical artist though, so his moods were often up and down, but he could create anything - you know. Unfortunately he passed away tragically, but I have his portrait tattooed on my inner arm. Close to my heart.

Q: What shop do you work at now?
RIO: Young Guns Studio on Hollywood Blvd.

Q: The 2 portraits on your back are beautiful, who are they?
RIO: Both of my grandma's as young women, they were beautiful people.

Q: On the few days that you get to yourself, what do you do to relax?
RIO: Surf, dance, yoga, gardening, playing with my dog. I dabble in a lot of hobbies. I also try to love life as much as possible, every day. Also did I mention I'm fire dancing now?

Tags: Rio Lund, Falene Nurse

This is Olivia's first video on the net...ever! Exciting stuff, and it's happening right here at Indosplace. Anyway, I asked Olivia, Sobella, and Shirley to all make a video under a minute talking about any subject they wanted and showing you can be sexy without giving away the farm. Looks like Olivia is first up to bat, and Sobella should be later this week and Shirley slightly after that.

Be sure to leave comments and Olivia know what you think. (Click image to be taken to video, or watch via Daily Motion link below [quality not quite as good]) Butter of 69 is the song...




Olivia - Sewing a Curve by Putney-Swope

Tags: Olivia

This one is a classic. A V H - 1 documentary on video vixens at the apex of the genre, from a few years ago, and the best I've seen. Just about every perspective is represented here, and represented well for the most part. Perhaps my only gripe is that Karrine Stephans is the center piece of this show.

Notwithstanding that, this one should be mandatory viewing for any woman considering doing this. The points made are all still valid considerations today.

This probably won't stay up long, but it's very difficult to find, so I'd suggest using something like Download Helper to save it to disc.


Documentary on Video Vixens by Putney-Swope

Tags: Karrine Stephans, Melyssa Ford, Esther Baxter

That used to be the slogan for Virginia Slims cigarettes back in the day, and it seems apropos here. Jernie was first featured on Indosplace in '09 and, my, how her photos have changed (for the better). See her web feature on KING's website for more pics.

Tags: Jernie

The video would appear to be the embodiment of the phrase "eye candy"... Reach Rosa Acosta on Twitter here. T.I.T.S. Brand here.

ROSA ACOSTA X ESTEVAN ORIOL X TITS 2012 from Estevan Oriol on Vimeo.

Tags: Rosa Acosta

In a happy coincidence that couldn't have been planned out better if I tried, Sobella and Shirley actually met up at the gym a second time and took a couple exclusive candids for y'all. Man these two... clawd ha mercy, lol... Leave a comment and let them know what you think.

Tags: Shirley, Sobella

Koi has officially relocated from Houston to Los Angeles. Show her your support on Twitter and Facebook.

Tags: Miss Koi, Koi

Most people haven't heard of Dena Cali. She's a commercial model/actress who you have probably seen in television commercials and print ads, but just didn't know her name. Check her out in the Keyshia Cole/P Diddy collab "Last Night." She also has a very successful line of black hair products.

The video below is a good example of how an aspiring urban model can present herself with class and still come across alluring and cute. Just watch Dena in the first few minutes - shes a pro through and through.

Tags: Dena Cali

I'm scheduled to shoot with one of these models next month - can you guess who?

Olivia - A 23-year-old Ohioan with serious curves and a dance/theater background. She's a former NKU student with a great attitude (42" hips don't hurt either)




Shirley - A 25-year-old college student from Harlem who hopes to be a top Public Relations professional after graduation. She hopes to hit the pages of KING magazine before the year is out...




Sobella - Innocent looks with devilish curves seems to be the theme with this CUNY graduate. This isn't her first time on Indosplace and with any luck we'll shoot this summer...

Tags: Olivia, Shirley, Sobella

Getting ready for book number 2! Photos courtesy of photographer Bryan Anderson. Reach Sabrina on Twitter here.

Tags: Sabrina Hunter

Rosée Divine is the latest curvy white model (nicknamed PAWG) to enter the urban market. Originally from France, you cannot deny this girl has an incredible body. With over 11,000 followers on Twiteer, message boards denizens are already comparing her to the likes of Mal Malloy and London Andrews, declaring her the top PAWG in the game... I'm not so sure about that, especially as it concerns besting Mal. But take a look at the footage below and you be the judge. (Don't give this short shrift fellas)

ilooksexynaked.com Rosee Divine Photo Shoot @ Matrix Cuts Midtown NYC (Official Video) from mrlocario on Vimeo.

Tags: Rosee Divine, Rosée Divine

Me In My Place is my last hope this type of blogging can be done with any respectability. However, where is the equivelant of MIMP in the urban genre? Anyway, this model Emily is definitely one of my favorites so far on the site. She proves you don't need a gigantic backside to make an impact when the entire package is nice. She's a real cutie and comments indicate she's not just my favorite.

Tags: Emily, Me In My Place

Why didn't I just help her tie that darn necklace, lol... Reach the beautiful and curvy Sabrina on Twitter here.

Tags: Sabrina Hunter

It's always been the case with urban modeling that the ones who are best suited to do it - the ones who would really make a difference - often have to be chased down and begged to even consider it. Meanwhile, the ones who have no business wanting to model are the first in line to give it a try. This was true even back in the "good old days." But now with social media and the lowering of the barriers to entry to urban modeling, it is especially true.

I get about a half dozen requests from women every month asking about being featured on the site. The woman pictured to the left is one of the few that was actually qualified to do this (overqualified really). Unfortunately, she started to have misgivings about the genre before we could ever get around to shooting. She's a college grad with a good job and she questioned what effect this would have on her career. (All hope isn't lost - she's still considering it.)

I won't lie - Indosplace is on the endangered websites list for 2012. And this is one of the reasons: the lack of qualified modeling applicants.

Add'l pic added 1/8/12...

Tags: Bria Myles

Carol Seleme, who kinda sorta made her big debut here at Indosplace in January of this year, continues to rack up the tear sheets. This month, she appears in the latest issue of Lowrider Girls magazine. Nice!

Tags: Carol Seleme Daniel, Carol Seleme

Melyssa looking good as usual here. Reach her on Twitter here

Tags: Melyssa Ford

Note: The photo is not a video screen cap from the EE (like this), just a pic Mal took. Reach Mal on Twitter here.

Tags: Mal Malloy

Looks like the venerable top vixen Bria Myles has returned to form and gotten a little curvier for the winter. These are very recent photos by Jankula Images and retouched by Indosplace (minimally, trust). Hair is by Joshjarie. Large versions: Bria Front Shot - Bria Back Shot.



A couple add'l shots...

Tags: Bria Myles

After viewing Amber Rose's undeniably stunning Smirnoff ad this weekend (over and over), it's hard not to be a little impressed. Just based on what I know about minimums for these types of commercials, Ms. Rose had to get at least $10,000 for this 30 second clip, even if it was a buy out. But more importantly, wasn't Amber just a no-name stripper 3-4 years ago!? It's hard to argue the come up here. She's also been in some impressive magazines (Vibe, KING, Urban Ink, Smooth, etc.) and is amassing quite the oeuvre of photo shoots. While she'll never be the archetype (because that title belongs indelibly to Melyssa Ford), it's starting to be hard to deny that in the last 5 years or so, Amber Rose is the video vixen success story to beat.

Tags: Amber Rose

Model Egypt Selinda appears in two urban magazines this month: the new men's mag Aeon and Smooth. I have to say, I was impressed with her photos and this little video clip of her (watch the upper thighs as she backs up toward the cyc). This woman has a beautiful face and body. It will be interesting to see what path she takes in the business... All the best to her.

Also, Ms. Selinda is Latina and Egyptian.

Tags: Egypt Selinda

As some of you know, I did a feature on model Brittney Leigh Glaze in July 2011 that got a very good reception. Since that time, Brittney has managed to become a Top 10 Maxim Hometown Hottie and be featured in the latest issue of Maxim as well their 2012 Calendar. Not too shabby... Well, I'm counting on her to be selected as number one. Brittney did a brief interview with me for this blog post to update us on her latest adventures.

How did you initially get involved with the Maxim Hometown Hotties competition?

I intitially got involved by applying for the contest as a joke thinking there was no way of me getting top ten!

How many competitors were there in total that the final 10 were chosen from?

There were thousands of entrys then they narrowed it down to top 100 then down to top 10.

Has being affiliated with Maxim changed anything in terms of your modeling career?

It has changed some. People have noticed me a little more and in my hometown I'm a local celeberity. I've also received a lot more job oppurtunities...

That's gotta be nice. How do you feel about your chances of being chosen as number one?

Well I got to hang out with the top ten hotties for a week. All of them are gorgeous and very awesome chicks so it's gonna be tough to pick a #1...

I did a feature on you in July 2011 that received a lot of attention. My blog generally features curvier models and has a largely ethnic fan base. Have you found that being more voluptuous broadens your appeal, in terms of your fan base?

In this industry they either LOVE my curves or HATE them. I like who I am. What you see is what you get. You'll never see me starving myself for work.

Wow, you don't hear that type of resolve and self confidence much in this industry. I bet you will be even more embraced because of loving who you are and not changing it.

What major projects do you have coming up in the future?

I have a few ad campaigns I'm doing.. Maxim of course..A few catalogs..Traveling for promo's and hopefully winning Maxim's top hottie!

Hahaha - I see you snuck in an answer to my previous question there at the end. Congratulations on all your success!

--> Be sure to vote Brittney into the number one spot HERE (voting ends December 5, 2011)

Tags: Brittney Leigh, Brittney Glaze, Brittney Leigh Glaze

I've always liked Tahiry. In fact, she was one of my first blog posts here. She keeps her pics at a certain level of quality and she hasn't "gone Hollywood" and lost her curves. Here's wishing her the best in 2012 from Indosplace.

Tags: Tahiry Jose, Tahiry

As most of you know by now, Mal Malloy got a new camera. An HD camera (Canon Powershot Elph 300 HS to be specific). Of course than means Volume 2 is presently in the works. This is the official suggestion box post for the DVD. This post might also contain a link to an Easter Egg video, for nostalgia's sake, lol. Since that's kinda gone out of vogue, I'm keeping it very easy. Hint: It's related to a Carol Seleme post (changed since the location was revealed); there's also an add'l EE added (hint: related to model whose nickname initials are "N.N."...)

Tags: Mal Malloy, Watchmalshrink

These photos of Daphne Duvernay (don't even try finding her on Google) by fotog Marc Baptiste had a big impact on me back in the 90s. This one of the first times I had ever seen a black women shot with the Sports Illustrated aesthetic. Also, Daphne looks like she could be your girlfriend, not a "jump off." In the beginning with urban modeling, this is how it was. Black women were more so idealized and cast in the true girl-next-door tradition. As you know, it's a completely different story now.

Notice that these photos hold up over time and still look a lot better than what we are seeing nowadays in the urban market. Also noteworthy is the fact that Daphne is not sporting a weave. Later on, I had the privilege of shooting Daphne's sister, Natalie Duvernay. I'll see if I can dig up a photo or two of her. The resemlance is surprising.

Tags: Daphne Duvernay

This was one of my favorite spreads from this issue of KING magazine. As some of you know, Vanessa Veasley gave a great interview previously on my blog in which she prognosticated about the future of urban modeling, stating (in response to whether urban modeling was dead): "There is no industry. There are urban models, urban mags, urban music, and events, but we have totally lost the small industrious nature of it we were slowly cultivating in the early '00s. ¶ I don't think it will ever recover. Models are being replaced by strippers who don't need the money and beautiful, insecure women who shoot mags only to validate themselves. Any dude with a camera is now a photographer; any dude that can code has an online magazine. Music videos have no budgets and no one watches them anyway. It's a circus." I always thought that was a pretty dead on assessment of the current state of affairs in "the business." Gotta love it: beauty and brains.

Tags: Vanessa Veasley

Two words: "surprisingly good." That's how I would describe this most recent pictorial of Bria Myles in KING Magazine. These images reminded me of urban modeling circa 2005, when things were still on the upswing in the business. I predict these photos will become quite popular, floating around the net for some time to come and popping up on party fliers and the like. As final note, it's important to remember, as RG observed, that Bria has appeared on the cover of KING twice now. The first time was in early 2007 when we first started working together. I'm glad I got a chance to work with one of the best who ever did it... (All of these images are on the server in larger format @ www.indosplace/assets/... (name of file but add "lg" instead of "sm" to the very end))

Tags: Bria Myles

I used to really like Naya back when she was on The Bernie Mac Show and still had some body fat. The "Glee" version of her is still cute, but not sexy IMO. I'm posting these more so for this cover than anything else. I thought this was a really good cover - it reminded me of the old days when mags were still thriving.

Tags: Naya Rivera, Glee, FHM

One of the best images I've ever seen of Christi K... Interesting factoid: Christi doesn't have many images floating around out there on the net - hence the "elusive."

Props to photographer Ryan Astamendi. Click to enlarge. (Retouching by Indosplace)

Tags: Christi K, Christiane K, Ryan Astamendi

As many of you know, Sabrina Hunter is a model who is also a successful writer now. She briefly dabbled in urban modeling in 2005 and then returned to the scene to take some exclusive pictorials for my blog. Our photo shoots were a success and she wound up on Media Take Out and many other blogs several times due in part to them (she also would have been in Smooth magazine were it not for a strict no-thongs policy on her part (kudos)). But Sabrina always had a game plan in mind when taking photos. She was doing it to gain notoriety before going public with her novel, Skeletons in the Closet. Her plan worked quite well and illustrates perfectly how urban modeling can be used to a woman's advantage. It is just another tool to focus the public spotlight on an aspiring model. What you do with that spotlight once you get it is up to you. (Click to enlarge)

Tags: Sabrina Hunter, Skeletons in the Closet

Bria Myles and I have gotten some good shots. When I first started this blog, it might has well have been called the Bria Myles/Koi blog, because that's all I really had to post. Unfortunately, a lot of those earlier posts didn't get their just dues, so I'm reposted these because I'm sure many never saw them.

Tags: Bria Myles

Since nearly the beginning of my blog three years ago, "Natasha" from the United Kingdom has been a regular contributor in the comments and one of the voices I listen to most. Earier this year, by methods which escape memory, I somehow happened upon Natasha's profile on Facebook. Much to my surprise, I discoved that this Pisces cutie could be a model on Indosplce herself. She's got quite the figure and a cute face. Anyway, I caught up with her and asked her a couple questions about her thoughts and experience on Indosplace...

You said in a Sabrina Hunter post that you had "lost faith" in the site (agreeing with RN 100) - I wanted you to talk some about that and your feelings about what the site represents for aspiring urban models or curvy women in general, and also what you don't like about the recent direction (being candid)...

Ok well, as far as losing faith in the site, I haven't lost faith at all! That's why I keep coming back although on some occasions I'll take a break if the models don't interest me. Really and truly, I guess my opinion probably hardly matters because I'm a woman and I understand that your blog probably is directed at male readers more. Sometimes I do wonder where the black models are but at the end of the day if there isn't much great black urban models out there what would be the point of featuring them? If you showcased just anyone or the typical urban model you would probably lose what makes your blog stand out from the others.

One thing I do love abut your blog is the fact that most posts have some form of intellect posted with it. You always prompt a discussion or debate and I love debates! I also like the fact that even though you may not show as much black models anymore, you do find some very unique and pretty amazing non-black women such as Mal Malloy and Brittany Leigh and you take a chance with models whether people find them attractive or not and its always good to see fresh faces whether or no they're appealing to us.

Also, what your feeling is about the current state of the urban market in general, and how things differ in the UK from here...

As far as the urban modelling industry in general I do think its been in quite a pitiful state recently. I think the Game sort of contributed to the downfall of the urban model's reputation and of course as music sales suffered so did these models' earnings. Of course there are still urban models about but their value has been cheapened quite a bit. In the UK, I don't think urban models ever had any real value in the first place! The urban music scene in the UK has just recently been brought to the masses and the UK is still quite a conservative society compared to the USA. If American urban models are ever seen as 'video hos' then you can be sure that most urban models in the UK are probably seen as worse.

Who some of your favorite posters are on the site (only 2 or 3), as well as favorite models...

I'm really not sure who my favourite posters on the site are. I quite like most of the regular posters but I particularly like people like Real N****, not because I necessarily agree with their blunt comments but because they state what they really feel without a care because it gives you another perspective. For instance, as a lady I wouldn't want to be tarnished with the 'hater' reputation so I tend to either ignore the articles/models I don't like or type 'hmmm...'

My favourite models... I would have to say Bria Myles first and foremost because she brought me to this site and she looks absolutely adorable and has an amazing figure. Mal Malloy makes me laugh - her personality really shines through in all her videos and she pulls the best faces! I can see why she is so popular with an attitude like hers and not to mention her goddess body. There are other women I find stunning like Katherine Monslave but if she wasn't fixed at the top of the screen I would've forgotten her - as I do with most of these models. I like the ones with great personalities.

How does having a curvy figure affects your dating choices and options. Pros and cons to guys liking your curvy backside, etc.

On having a curvy figure, it had been difficult for me to come to terms with at first. It was never down to food, its ingrained in my genetics. In South Africa (which is where my roots are) 99% of the women are like this and my baby pictures always show an oversized nappy! However, growing up in England, where its not the norm, had me planning liposuction as soon as I knew what it was! But of course, as I grew older and started getting compliments from boys and men, I started to learn to love it. Which is why no matter who I date I hold black men in high regard because they really made me feel good about my body.

If there are cons to having quite a prominent bottom its the fact that men see you as a sexual object. I think men tend to approach you with sex being the very first thing on their minds before much else. It became so bad at one point that I once had to say to a guy who had stopped me: "Be honest, you just want to backshot it." He burst into laughter but I knew it's because I was right!

Whereas before I used to flaunt it nowadays apart from when I'm going out in the evening I try to cover up more. No matter how much men say they love big butts I would always prefer to be looked at as facially beautiful rather than body-beautiful.

Tags: Natasha

Today I got a nice little promo package in the mail from Laura Dore as a thanks for covering her on the blog. The package was really impressive and included all of her SHOW issues, her calendar and most importantly, her DVD. (Note to aspiring vixens: this is how you promote!) With the state of affairs in urban modeling, it's hard to take anything at face value anymore and I wondered to what extent Laura's fantastic proportion were the real deal and to what degree Photoshop played a part. You can imagine my horror as I watched the DVD and realized that those insane proportions in the hip-to-waist region are completely real! Hence, yikes (twice) Laura also comes off very likable and down to earth. Her comments about her hair and what it takes to get it that way are hilarous.

This is great little DVD. Not too long and packed with great footage of Laura, who is extremely impressive.

Tags: Laura Dore

Nothing makes me happier than seeing models I've shot go on to bigger and better things. Congrats to Carol Seleme for getting in next month's issue of Super Street Bike magazine (the same publisher of the venerable Low Rider magazine). Reach Carol on Twitter here. Bonus shot.

Tags: Carol Seleme Daniel, Super Street Bike Magazine

A well deserved tribute to one of the greats, Bria Myles, by one of the greats, KING Magazine... Kudos to editor Sean Malcolm for remembering the models that helped define the genre in his cover choices. Hit Bria up on Twitter here. (This post will be updated with further pics once I get around to scanning)

Tags: Bria Myles, King Magazine

"Video Girl" got a lot of things right - acting, cinematography, and direction are all notable. I always say we need to see more movies about African Americans just living life and doing things everyday people do. This is one of those movies. It tells the story of Lori Walker, strongly played by Megan Good, who moves from her small town to Los Angeles to pursue music video modeling. You can tell that the people involved with making this movie knew the business, because they got the nuances right, like the atmosphere of a music video set. Lorie's submergence into the world of music videos also felt true to real life, as did the interaction between the key players. Good brought her considerable acting experience to bear in this movie, taking it up several notches.

There needs to be a separate mention for cinematographer John Barr, who was camera operator on Capote and Frost/Nixon. This guy knows what he's doing, and he gave the movie a professional, self assured look that is rarely seen in independent African American films. People may not notice small things like the lighting on the golf course music video scene, but as a photographer I certainly did. Bravo John.

Melyssa Ford has a nice part as a bad influence on Lorie. Esther Baxter also has a small part in the movie, as do Suelyn and Angel Lola Luv. All of the supporting cast is fairly good, and particularly La'Myia Good as Lorie's sister (La'Myia is Meagan's real life sis) and Haylie Duff (Hilary's older sister) as Lorie's "friend." (Haylie is uncredited in the movie for reasons unknown to me.)

The first half of the movie is enjoyable in a low key way. If you don't already like Meagn Good, you probaby will after this movie: she apparently has no bad camera angles. The problem comes with the third act of the film, as Lorie succumbs to the fast life in Los Angeles. This part of the movie feels overwrought and drawn out. Additionally, Lorie's sudden cocaine abuse problem feels cliche and dated. (It probably should have been an oxy or vicodin addiction.) But the main issue is that we aren't shown any of the real problems an aspiring video vixen might encounter (e.g., being a single parent, homelessness, rape) in a meaningful way. Success actually comes pretty easily for Lorie, except that "Shark," the music video director who takes her under his wing, becomes overly possessive. There's some back story about issues at home leading to Lorie's unraveling, but it also seems cut and paste.

Despite this, "Video Girl" is still a pretty likable movie. It's not everyday you see a quality black, indie like this, and I suspect that as word gets around, this will become a favorite in the community. Kudos to all involved.

Tags: Meagan Good, John Barr, Ty Hodges, Melyssa Ford, Esther Baxter, Datari Turner

I've mentioned the blog Me In My Place before here, so you can check that post for the overview. Long and short - professional photographer for Esquire magazine anonymously doing pet project shooting everyday women (and occasionally models) in their place of residence. Generally speaking, I love the photography, but the models are usually not so curvy. But Xian Mikol Quon is kinda different. Cute face, and fairly "thick"...

Even though she was on Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, I couldn't find much about her online pictorially speaking, and esp. not any photos in swimwear or lingerie. But she wore it for MIMP.... That's how you know your blog is getting really popular: when you can get models to do what they haven't otherwise. Anyway, his stuff is always in good taste, so it's not really all that controversial...

Tags: Xian Mikol Quon, Me In My Place

These are new images of the beautiful Christiane Kroll taken by talented LA photographer Ryan Astamendi and retouched by me. Ryan has his own blog, which has more excellent images. I really like these pics. Christi's classic good looks are just going to get better with time. Click to enlarge - Bonus pic added 10/6/11...

Tags: Christi K, Christiane K, Ryan Astamendi

Carol has got a new Tumblr page and she's going to be adding new artwork and sexy pics and vids, so check it out here. Gratiutous pic added for Carol fans.

Tags: Carol Seleme Daniel

You hear this a lot, that once a woman’s photos are published online, they will be there forever. Nothing ever disappears from cyberspace, so the thinking goes. It sounds good and seems true, but I’m not sure it really is. Ever tried looking for photos of a model who appeared on the net 5-10 years ago? Unless they’ve experienced a sudden resurgence in popularity, you are unlikely to find anything. That's because while an image may have the potential to be around for years on the net, that rarely winds up being the case. Call it digital attrition, but somehow these photos seem to just disappear. Take the case of Canadian fitness model Jamie Keoppe. At one time, message boards were flooded with photos of Jamie. (Anyone who knows this model can attest to this fact. ) Now, her image results on Google are meager at best. The same can be said of Miss Cheeky, whose ECM galleries used to be a regular staple on message boards. But when I recently posted her, I could scarcely gather up a dozen photos.

Mind you, a lot has changed in five years, most of it in favor of the infinite preservation of digital images in cyberspace. Just five years ago, Facebook was in its infancy, as was Youtube. There was no Tumblr, Twitter or Blogger. All of these tools aid in pictures lingering around the net longer. But I still have a difficult time finding images of models who were hot just a year ago.

The internet is a very transient medium. Message boards and blogs disappear all the time, and the photos indexed on those sites with them. Photobucket accounts are suspended or abandoned. Tinypics get deleted, Facebook accounts terminated. Eventually, if the factors line up, all of the breadcrumbs leading to a model can vanish. It’s not as unusual as you might think. Try finding the below image of Bria Myles online. It was posted about 2 years ago on her website as a “Bonus Shot” for several weeks. During that time, it circulated message boards heavily, but now, “poof”, it’s gone.

Tags: Jaime Koeppe, Bria Myles

At one time, Jernie did an an exclusive interview for Indosplace. She looks nice here in these new Smooth magazine shots. Kudos to Smooth for publishing more often and regularly than any of the other urban mags at this point.

Tags: Jernie

On the board where I found these images, there was a delightful little comment accompanying them:

One of my faves. BUT...She tries to be too artsy with that old school burlesque type shit...She needs to put her ass in a thong and bend over...that's all the "art" we need from her.

While I somewhat understand where the poster is coming from, I think there's enough of the bend-over-in-a-thong stuff out there that if one model comes along and tries to infuse the industry with a little creativity, that can't be a bad thing.

Anyway, these shots of Laura Dore really struck my fancy, so I'm passing them along. Those huge white chocolate thighs in the back of this motocar would have caused mayhem to ensue.





Additional pic added thankts to the woman herself, Laura Doré, Or should I say Mistress Laura

Tags: Laura Dore

I'll just retype the comment I left on Dynasty Series (minus the typos

"And here Frank D shows that he understands the main premise behind quality eye candy – making people feel good. You come home from a long day at work and look at these beautiful photos, with the warm sun setting in the background and the aqua/turquoise theme in both the styling and make up, and you can’t help but be transported – if only for a few seconds – to a better place. BTW, Karina Lopez is AMAZING."

Tags: Karina Lopez

Click image to be taken to video blog by Alysha Young revealing how she got involved with Ubisoft and traveled the country to promote the "Just Dance" video game for the Wii and Xbox 360, in addition to being featured in a nationwide commercial... Photography: Indosplace.com

Tags: Alysha Young

Bria is slated to be on the cover (solo) of a pretty big magazine coming up soon... Here are two BTS shots.

Tags: Bria Myles

Since Leila Lopes, a 25 year old woman from Angola, was named Miss Universe on September 14, 2011, she has received some negative comments from fellow contestant, Laury Thilleman (Miss France). "We were all surprised by her win." I'm sure Ms. Thilleman can speak for each of her fellow contestants on this issue. *sigh* Ms. Thilleman also made a cryptic comment about Lopes personality: "I don’t know, something is missing in her temperament" What the heck? Who is Thilleman, Dr. Phil now?

Keep in mind, Lopes is only the second Black woman to win the crown since the pageant started in 1952. Allegations have also surface that false documents may have been used to help newly crowned Miss Universe Leila Lopes enter qualifying pageant, Miss Angola UK, but this also sounds like it might be nothing more than sour grapes...

Be interested to hear your thoughts Indochine Bloggers....

Tags: Leila Lopes

Click the collage image for her comeback video. Reach the somewhat elusive Ms. Cheeky on Twitter here

Tags: Miss Cheeky

I'm intrigued by the notion of timeless beauty. It's always fascinating when I find an old photo that I've taken and the model looks just as good to me today as she did when I originally took the pic. I suppose there are some basics of attractiveness - robust health, good skin, hair and teeth - that just stand the test of time. Actress Amy Hunter embodies all of those elements in this casual Polaroid taken in 1996. Probably best known as the hottie at the end of "Two Can Play at That Game," Amy would be as captivating today to men as she was when she took this test photo for a shoot. That's impressive.



Post updated 8/4 with additional pic:

Tags: Amy Hunter

Note: Please give a warm welcome to freelance copywriter, Falene Nurse, who authored this article specifically for Indosplace. She has worked as a writer in the advertising industry for about 7 years and is originally from the UK. Falene is also a model/actress with the Q Agency.

"I don't mind you taking pictures, it's the angle," the legging-clad reality star complains to the TMZ cameraman behind her. "What you are trying to shoot is so disrespectful!” Really? This from the same girl who's behind was graphically introduced to the masses via a sex-tape? Who only a few weeks ago chose to televise her derrière being x-rayed to prove its legitimacy and can be seen greased up (from that very angle) crawling on all fours in a recently released - I mean "leaked" - music video. So, pray tell, how can a Paparazzi trying to focus on the very thing her entire career has been based upon, suddenly be considered disrespectful? Therein lies the odd dichotomy that is Kim Kardashian. A young woman who has turned her backside into a million dollar industry, but doesn't want you to publicly focus on that fact.

Kim's by no means the first celeb to capture our attention with a gravity defying posterior. There was J-lo, Serena (the biggest and by far the best!), Rihanna, Niki Minaj and of course, the bootylicious Beyonce. These ladies also have other discernible qualities (musical talents and athletic prowess) that go far beyond their extraordinary gifted assets. However, we are living in the reality decade, where it's not uncommon to become famous from a sex tape, a scandal or for simply being you. I guess my question is: how did Kim become the first curvaceous icon accepted by the mainstream media and still the only one that's managed to literally turn her booty into a brand? If it's just about the aesthetics, what of the Melyssa Ford's of the world? Why not them? Well, the answer, albeit simple, might not be quite what you think. The immediate reaction might be to wonder if racial bias comes into play, or maybe fear of what other "Video Vixens" and "Urban Glamor Models" represent - a black man's sexual preference. But if you look closer, that can't possibly be the case. Firstly, Kim's shape is considered by both black men (and women) as an ideal. She also married two African Americans (um yeah, both times), and let's not forget her partner in crime from the first sex tape (Ray J). Furthermore, randomly ask the Betty White-alike at your local Starbucks who CoCo Austin is and she would think you were offering her a nice, hot beverage. Ask about Kim K and she probably watched the nuptials on E!

Make no mistake, Buffie, CoCo and Melyssa Ford aren't hurting financially by any means, but they haven't turned Kim's kind of profits either. Buffie's "bootynomics" has a following for those in pursuit of the perfect proportions and Mrs. Ice T continues to entertain on reality TV. Melyssa had some cross-over appeal in the early 2000s, with lad mags and hit shows like "Entourage.” Considered universally "sexy," she sadly could only target a limited audience, predominantly the male demographic, who historically don't buy women's perfume, lip-gloss, clothes or sneakers. Given this, should brands have taken the risk then and offered her the opportunity to advertise with them? They did not.

Similarly (and more recently) Amber Rose, a physical type unseen in most fashion editorials (even though she looks absolutely stunning in spreads for Tandem, Vibe and Elle), has been unable to replicate Kim K’s success. Amber sports designers like Armani and Karl Lagerfeld at fashion week. Yet for all the fashion world's admiration, no label has made her "the face" of their latest purse or fragrance campaign. And unfortunately, lying on Kanye's lap for his exclusive line of Louis Vuitton sneakers doesn't count.

It's estimated through her endorsements, appearances and TV show, Kim K has an estimated net worth of $35 million. According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Season 5 of E!s Keeping Up With the Kardashians averaged 3.5 million viewers a week." Kim's “Fairytale Wedding: A Kardashian Event” reaching rating's gold at an estimated 5 million viewers, with advertisers clambering for air time as if it were the Superbowl. Did the entire world conveniently forget how she shot to stardom (sex tape), or is Kris Jenner such a marketing maven that nobody cares? Well, not exactly. TMZ reported that kimksuperstar.com's traffic skyrocketed that weekend, but thanks to Kris and the rest of the clan America no longer seems to care about Kim’s scandalous past. Although the main focus of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," it's no longer just about Kim. Kris Jenner cleverly took her daughter's 15 minutes and turned the Kardashian name into a brand, quickly introducing us all to a supportive, united front that had Kim's back no matter what. A self-deprecating and endearing Hollywood family, that stuck up for their own. Whereas previous video vixens were associated "only" with sex (Karrine Steffans anyone?), when you think of Kim K you can't help but immediately to think about the Kardashian family.

Back in 2007, when socialites and wealthy children were either performing idiotic tasks on "The Simple Life" or boring us to tears on "The Hills,” The Kardashians offered something different - they were incredibly wholesome and likable. They represented the quirkiness and lack of filter of “The Osbournes” without all the swearing and rehab. They were… charming. Instead of boasting about the sex tape or having a nonchalant attitude like Paris, we watched Kim and her family try to move on or prevent its use. We all watched Kim break down in tears at the mere mention of that infamous tape and how she cried that she "wished everyone would just forget about it and leave it in the past." And how better to achieve that than by airing that very subject matter on episodic reality TV? It sounds contradictory and ridiculous, but it worked! I for one immediately took her side and found myself actually giving a damn.

Kim Kardashian may have dangerous curves, but you can argue that she's also absolutely adorable too, in a way that many others of a similar type haven't quite perfected. Kim has somehow managed to be both incredibly sexy and safe. In advertising that's like discovering The Holy Grail. For all her sexploits, marriages, and nakedness, she seems non threatening and sweet. Genuine or not, when was the last time a celebrity Video Vixen was described as "sweet"? If you are going to sell the world on your body and looks alone, I suggest you look to the original curvy icons of yesteryear to see how to do it right. After all, Marilyn Monroe and Cindy Crawford weren’t "just" sex symbols – they were America's sweethearts too. Never underestimate the value of being likable.

Looking back, can you imagine how popular Melyssa Ford may have become if she had a quirky and slightly interfering family? If we learned that she actually had a degree in psychology and was an avid animal rights supporter? If she had a quick-witted sister that openly mocked her hyper-sexual poses and expressions on the sidelines of a photo shoot? It would have made her more of an everywoman. She could have been bigger than Tyra - and I don't just mean in her measurements.

Tags: Kim Kardashian

Carol Seleme Daniel shows off her more svelte figure in these new photos. While I am definitely a fan of the thicker Carol, there's no denying she looks damn good here. So here's a question for my bloggers - which do you prefer, thin or thicker Carol? And if the latter, how do you think her being more voluptuous would impact her ability to get quality, commercial gigs? Reach Carol on Twitter here.

Tags: Carol Seleme Daniel

I caught these new headshots of the gorgeous Andrea Bordeaux on Facebook and had to post them. As I suspected, she looks good with straight or curly hair. (Click for larger version)

Tags: Andrea Bordeaux

Credits: Styling - Daisy De Jesus | Make Up - Tai Young | Hair - JoshJarie Nelson | Photography - Indosplace

Tags: Christina Santini

I like these pics of Maliah a lot. The thighs look heavenly. As an aside, it is interesting that she is sleeping in most these photos. Y'alll do know there are fetish sites devoted solely to photos of women sleeping... just like these. Anyway, images compliments of Rita G Photography.

Tags: Maliah Michel

For some models, video can make a world of difference. Yoncee made a great impression with her photos, but the question is does she hold up in video? The answer is an emphatic "yes!" See Youtube video below to either start or end your Thursday on a high note. Attribution: Smooth Magazine.

Tags: Yoncee

Another shot of Christina for the Good Bully website, which is coming up soon. This will be a background image with text placed over it, as shown below...

Tags: Christina Santini, Good Bully

Alysha has been on tour with Ubisoft promoting the upcoming Just Dance 3 on the XBOX. They've been flying her places like San Diego for Comic Con and Florida to be on Good Morning America. Right now she's in the Dominican Republic catching rays and getting some much needed R&R. All in all, not a bad summer, huh? We're suppose to have a shoot coming up soon, so I'm looking forward to that. I always liked this shot (look at those eyes!)

Tags: Alysha

The blog title is in reference to one of Eric Roberts first films, when people thought he was going to a marquee actor, and long before his sister Julia hit the scene. But it's also in reference to an ad campain Christiane was part of for Coca Cola. Pretty nice. Anyway, the story behind this is that I used this photo to illustrate a point for a new shoot, and I realized what great shot it is. Reach Christi on Facebook here.

Tags: Christiane K

EDIT 3: Pre-order re-opened between now and August 7, due to demand. The US Version is SOLD OUT (and the Int'l version is about 40 units away from being sold out as well)...

This will be the official Mal Malloy DVD complilation blog post, where people can post comments about their-experiences with the ordering process, thoughts on the disc, etc. The details about the disc are on the ordering page. A couple brief highlights:

• Two versions - US Version and Int'l Version. The Int'l Version has two extra clips to compensate for the additional wait and expense to get it;

• Just under 3 GB of Easter Egg files and new clips;

• Initial production run will be 300 discs - 150 for US (s/o), 150 for Int'l. Not sure if there will be a subsequent run, depends on demand;

• The actual discs will start shipping between August 12-15th. That means if you order a disc now, you get the benefit of knowing you have one, but will have to wait until the 10-12th for it to ship. If you order on the Aug. 14th, theoretically your disc will ship out the next day, but you risk that there may not be any left.

• I will be sending out a couple test discs to make sure they work on all systems. No artwork, just a disc the files, no frills. If you are interested in being part of this beta group, make a note when placing order specifying your computer system (Mac/PC, what system software running). You will still get an official version, but just an early release as a tester.

Cover artwork by Winter Artwork (click image to go to ordering page)

Tags: Mal Malloy

The Good Bully project is an example of what can go wrong on outdoor shoots. The day started off completely sunny, but when we drove to the Venice Canals, a cloud cover set in. It looked very much like the photos on this page. It literally went from sunny in our starting point, to looking like rain 5 miles west of that. We started shooting, but I just couldn't get the look I had promised the client because there was no sun in the sky. So I had to make an executive decision and we turned around and went back to where we started from to get some shots with sun. You can't fake sun easily in post. And while there are advantage to the overcast look, if you want sun, there is no substitute really. Fortunately, there were a few areas I had been looking at for a while and people were nice and let us get on with our shoot without interruption. All in all, a good day.

Credits: Styling - Daisy De Jesus | Make Up - Tai Young | Hair - JoshJarie Nelson | Photography - Indosplace

Tags: Christina, Good Bully, Christina Santini

Indosplace favorite, Carol Seleme Daniel, at a recent fashion event. Check out the video at 1080p: after the intro with Carol, go to the 6 min mark. There's a certain panache about her presence that was only hinted at in the photos. She's starting to become more self possessed of her sexy.

Tags: Carol Seleme Daniel

As some of you know, I've been talking about a new Mal Malloy compilation DVD coming out for a while. Recently, Mal posted on her Facebook that she will be releasing some new stuff, which will be on the DVD. In the meantime, for all the people who endured the Easter Egg hunts, here's a free new video of Mal at the thickest I've ever seen her. Just click the link above the image for the video. More news on DVD to come... (Bonus image, also taken within the week) New video added 7/25 (click image for video)

LINK TO VIDEO

Tags: Mal Malloy

Good Bully is a design firm on the East Coast that has created logos and CD covers for Wale and Mike Posner. He's launching a new line of clothing and I was privileged to have the opportunity to initiate the campaign, photographically speaking.

Christina is a hot new model on the scene with BRAND Agency. In a mere six months, she has done a Boost Mobile campaign and a Chase Bank ad. She was a pleasure to work with - exceptionally easy going and professional.

Credits: Styling - Daisy De Jesus | Make Up - Tai Young | Hair - JoshJarie Nelson | Photography - Indosplace

More images to come... (bonus image) New photo 7/22:

Tags: Christina, Christina Santini, Good Bully

For the past month or so, Melanie and I have been trying to coordinate a shoot and I can't say enough good things about her. She's humble, professional, and very intelligent. Combine this with natural good looks and it's a sure bet Melanie will go far. She's a shining example of what urban models* could be if they really took things seriously and stopped just relying on sex appeal to get by. Melanie is also a staff writer for the blog Lovelyish.com.

*Melanie is not an urban model, but I'm just sayin'...

Tags: Melanie Yvette

Video is below photos... There is a great artistic representation of Miss Koi in this dress at the bottom. Reach that talented young artist here...

Tags: Miss Koi, Koi

I came upon Brittney Leigh Glaze's photos last week and I was really impressed with the consistency and volume of professional work she has done. But I was also intrigued by the fact that she's curvy. I think Brittney demonstrates that there is a fine line models can walk where they stay true to their natural shape, but book pro jobs because they maintain fitness.

Brittney is extremely photogenic and brings a certain uniqueness to all her photos, irrespective of who shot her. At any rate, I thought my regular bloggers would enjoy this feature. She also responded positively to my request to feature her, and that's a thumbs up from me (Tim Pethel, shot Brittney in green dress. All other photo credits where indicated)

Tags: Brittney Leigh

One of the long time members here recently asked me about the official run of original KING Magazine (not the recently ressurrected version which is all T&A and no editorial content). For the record - and even I didn't realize this until tonight - there was a Preview Issue of KING that debuted in August 2002. Then the regular run began sometime in Winter 2002 and lasted until April 2009, when it was officially announced that KING was closing down its doors. One of the issues in contention is whether the urban mags really ever had quality ads in them (which eventually decreased over time as the pictorials became raunchier) or whether that is just an "urban legend." My oppoent - oops, I mean blog member - appears ready to cast aside this quote from a 2007 Village Voice article: "[T]itles exclusively devoted to the subject (urban modeling) are a relatively new phenomenon, and national advertisers don't yet seem convinced of their power to persuade. While King features spots from Newport cigarettes, Harley-Davidson, and Budweiser, BlackMen relies partly on porn titles like The Big Ass Party 2 and Booties on Duty 3. Smooth resorts to penis-enlargement pill"

At any rate, I'll let RG assert his position on this matter, but I'm not even sure I disagree with him. BTW, these are new scans (not sure I've ever seen this inside page scan of Leila on the net)

Tags: Leila Arcieri

One of the first and only new images to be seen from this industry favorite for quite awhile. Visit Bria on Twitter here and see this image on Jankula Images here.

Tags: Bria Myles

Yoncee is the urban model of the moment I see. Nicely done! Reach her on Twitter here

Tags: Yoncee

Nicole just recently opened a Model Mayhem profile, but I have been interested in her ever since seeing her work with photographer Ayo Andrsn. There is a certain interesting quality to this Nicole, like an intelligence in the eyes. Anyway, I really like what she's done so far and wish her the best. (Look at the lighting in that last photo!)

Tags: Nicole Mejia

One of my favorite recent swimsuit calendars. The photo of Anna is the best of how to combine natrual light with artificial lighting. (Scans by me!)

Tags: Anya Monzikova, Claudia Jordan

Hit Melyssa up on Twitter here

Tags: Melyssa Ford

You guys remember actress/model Andrea Bordeaux, right? She did that great interview for my blog about getting into the business. Well, today she sent me a link to this new CBS produced web series she is in called "Stay At Home Dad." This is an episode called "The Stare Master," which I feel, on some level, I can relate to. Ha! Anyway, check Andrea out being subtly sexy in this episode. Clip is below graphic and candid shot...


Additional BTS pic added 6/22 thanks to Andrea:

Tags: Andrea Bordeaux

I've never posted her on the blog before, but I liked these shots in the new SHOW. I finally got the descreening issue worked out (it's a setting in the scanning software), so these scans are better than the Kim Kardashian batch - right click and open in new window to see at full size. Reach Jessica on Twitter here (not that she needs any extra followers at 71,000, lol)

Tags: Jessica Burciaga

Today someone on a message board asked why Sabrina Hunter won’t do any straight-on back shots. My answer: we’re lucky women like Sabrina are even willing to do this at all anymore, let alone give up back shots. What we are witnessing now is literally the manifestation of the saying, “you reap what you sow.” The industry, a shadow of what it was 10 years ago, is downright disreputable. So it’s no wonder it no longer attracts quality women, or that the ones who remain aren't willing to stake as much on it.

People are quick to forget, so I’ll just give a quick reminder. Ten years ago – let’s call it “the Melyssa Ford era” – we had quality celebrities like Gabrielle Union, Regina Hall, Jennifer Freeman and Tyra on the cover of KING magazine, in swimsuits no less! Melyssa Ford hosted an entertainment news show similar to Access Hollywood on BET. It was the golden era of urban modeling, when it still had a specter of respectability and was not so far removed in public perception from its white counterpart of glamour modeling (e.g., Maxim, Sport’s Illustrated, etc.). During that period up-and-coming actresses, college students, and women with proper jobs were all willing to don a bikini (maybe even a thong) because to tell someone you were an urban model was not so bad.

Cut to 10 years later. Virtually no notable actresses do this anymore. Instead, what we have are mainly strippers with lots of tattoos and bad Photoshop repeatedly featured in the same rags. There are no more female grad students (see Candace Smith) willing to try this on a lark, or even college students. At best, the business has been reduced to street-smart hustlers* willing to parlay magazine spreads into hosting opportunities.

So given this change in climate, is it any wonder that the few respectable women still willing to dip their toe in this cesspool won’t give it their all and do thong shots? Context and stakes are what women gauge these things by. Who else is doing this? Is anyone I respect doing it? What can I gain by doing this? Both context and stakes are in the toilet for urban modeling. The context is strippers and the stakes are nothing. You reap what you sow. We the consumers didn’t demand more. We let this thing come off the rails and rode the Buffie trend into the ground. So now a woman with a college degree who looks like Melyssa Ford won’t come anywhere near this, and you can’t blame her.

*See V. Veasley's quote: "So yeah, the spoils then go to the hustlers..."

Tags: Sabrina Hunter, Tyra Banks, Gabrielle Union

New pic added 6/18:

Tags: Sabrina Hunter

So it turns out one of the cooler things about having this new scanner is that I get to concentrate on the images that I think are really good... Even if it means buying a $15 copy of Australia's FHM. I checked the net, and these pics are not available in good quality anywhere, so this is truly an Indosplace exclusive. This isn't so much about Kim Kardashian, but the fact that I think these swimsuit images are the way it should be done.

However, one thing I have to note about Kim that I really like, is that when she was on her way up she was very open minded in her choices. She was in KING, J'Adore, Complex... many magazines that a lot of up-and-coming models would turn away because they don't believe those publications are high brow enough. It just goes to prove, those opportunities are what you make of them. Kim took them and turned them in $10,000 per Tweet.

Tags: Kim Kardashian

Well, it looks like this ex-Melrose Place 2.0 star is on an NBC show called Friend's With Benefits. But Friends has had a storied past. First, it was going to be a midseason replacement, but it never appeared on the NBC line-up. Then it sat in limbo for a while and only recently, in May, was it actually picked up. It's slated to air in early August 2011. Meanwhile, Jessica Lucas has been pretty quiet in terms of public appearances. No press junkets and magazine articles for her like when Melrose was on the air. I wonder why?

Tags: Jessica Lucas

There were a couple of things that directly contributed to my wanting to get involved with swimsuit photography. The 1991 (or '92) issue of Ebony Man Swimsuit Edition, with model Daphne Duvernay on the cover. Jet Magazine Beauty of the Week. And The 1990 Cindy Crawford Swimsuit Calendar photographed by Marco Glaviano. That list should probably be in reverse order, because this calendar had a really big impact on me. It was one of the first times I saw something that was truly tasteful and sexy at the same time, in print. To this day, I still think a lot of these images are better than what is being done in the urban market. (Just look at these images compared to the Smooth shots directly below)

I remember they interviewed Marco for Cindy's 1991 calendar on MTV and he said something to the effect of "People look down on swimsuit photography, but because of its simplicity it is more likely to look good years from now than fashion photography." I think he was right. (Scans from my copy of the calendar, which used to fetch about $100 on eBay)

Tags: Cindy Crawford

In light of Black Jack Skanz inexplicable disappearance, I'll pick up the slack some with magazine offerings. But be warned: I'm more grumpy than BJS about what I scan. As I used to the tell Black Jack, anytime you scan a model's photos and put them on the web, you're actually doing them a huge favor. With the gradual demise of print media, getting a feature in an urban magazine is not what it once was. It's almost like that saying about a tree falling in a remote forest somewhere... In other words, if it doesn't exist on the net it's like it never happened. Interestingly though, most of these models will not even so much as thank you or follow you on Twitter for making the effort. BJS didn't care about that - he was more of a gentleman than I am, lol. With that said, I will only be scanning models that: (1) are so hot they need to be seen at any cost, courtesy to me notwithstanding, and 2) hold up to the ridiculous retouched version of them presented in the magazine in their candids (bye bye BlackMen mag). Call me petty, but until BJS returns, that's how it's gonna be, lol. (All pics enlargeable by clicking. The best bet is to open each image in a new window)

SMOOTH MAG - YONCEE (add'l scans added 6/14/11)





KING MAG - ASHLEE



XXL MAG - ELEASE

Tags: Yoncee, Elease, Ashlee Ray

Still better than most doing it today. (Scan thanks to my new Canon 9000F.) More to come... Download link to higher res version.



Update 6/3 (September):

Tags: Melyssa Ford

I saw this cover of Women's Health in the supermarket today. It's great, fresh photography and actress Heather Morris looks good. What really struck me, though, is that this photo was right out in the open for all to see at the checkout stand. A woman in a bikini and not much else. This is hardly over-the-top in my view, but then again, I doubt we would see Bria Myles in a bikini on the cover of a national magazine like this either. So what is it, exactly, that makes this cover mainstream-acceptable where a similar photo of really curvy urban model would likely be unacceptable for this cover. I've got a couple ideas, but I'm interested to hear others...

Tags: Heather Morris

This is Carol Seleme Daniel's big time debut in Smooth Magazine, and it's an anniversary issue too! First, I gotta give props to Smooth Magazine editor Sandy for selecting Carol on my recommendation. This happened very easily thanks to her. I must say, even tho Yoncee's photos are nice, Carol's are without a doubt my favorite in the magazine. And that isn't based on any bias either. Check the the botton of the 3rd photo - there's a nice little credit for Indosplace

Follow Carol on Twitter here...

Tags: Carol Seleme Daniel

This video shows just how rare it is we see anything like this in the mainstream - a beautiful, black woman of darker complexion with REAL curves, showing them off on the Today show. The model is Melanie Yvette and she is an intern with Bobbie Thomas, who is a fashion editor for the TODAY show. I'm gonna post a back-up link to this clip because I'm sure this will be pulled from YouTube real soon, lol. Hit Melanie up on Twitter and let her know Indo sent ya

Tags: Melanie Yvette

I've spent most of my photographic "career" trying to cast curvy models in a more commercial, mainstream light. This might have been one of my more successful attempts. Additional Carol Seleme Daniel photo added 5/22.

Credits - Model: Christiane K & Carol Seleme Daniel | Make-Up: Tai Young-Jackson | Hair: Joshjarie Nelson | Photography: Indosplace.com

Tags: Carol Seleme Daniel, Christiane K, Christi K

UPDATE: Candid shot added 5/13

UPDATE: New shot added 5/15... Thumbnail pic added 5/17 is in full size on the Indosplace FB page...

FINAL UPDATE: New thumnail, which is probably the last of these for a while (maybe). It's the one and only Easter Egg from the set. Much bigger version *somewhere* on the site...
After a long sabbatical, Sabrina Hunter is back - and significantly more voluptuous. She moved to Texas last year (from Cali) and I guess it's true what they say about everything being bigger (and better) in Texas. When I asked Sabrina about her new curviness she's like, "Gotta compete..." LOL

More pics to come in the next few days...



Update as of 5/14....

Tags: Sabrina Hunter

There is a persistent idea that being associated with urban modeling will somehow derail an aspiring model or actresses from any legitimate opportunities. In rebuttal to that position I present to you case study number 58: Daphne Joy. Daphne has been on the cover of SHOW, Smooth, and BlackMen magazines. In short, she is an experienced urban model with plenty of sexy, yet tasteful shots (including back shots). This month, Daphne will make her debut in Pirates of the Caribbean 4: Stranger Tides. And she doesn't have some minor part: she plays one of the mermaids, who are critical to the story (see poster below). I'm sure there are thousands of "serious" actors out there who would've loved to have this part, but Daphne got it. Congrats to her.

Tags: Daphne Joy

Courtney Locks is a UCLA graduate and an aspiring actress. Unlike most of the models I post here, you will not find any other photos of this nature of Courtney on the web. In fact, you'll hardly find any mention of her online. She works at a local restuarant and is, for the moment, relatively unknown. However, I've been wanting to shoot with Courtney for a while, but we haven't been able to sync up our schedules. So my hairstylist, Tara Copeland, decided to take Courtney down to Dockweiler beach and shoot her herself. Courtney is still a little shy in front of the camera but I think that's kind of appealing. This much I can tell you - in real life this girl is a real eye catcher and she has quite the body on her. Don't be fooled by these front-only shots

Anyway, I'd be interested hear people's opinions on Courtney. Also, hit her up on Twitter if you like her - she's only got 20 followers, so I'm sure she'll appreciate it. (Click to enlarge)

Tags: Courtney Locks

Post Update: As of 5/2/11/, thanks to photorgapher Stryke, I now have exclusive hi res versions of these photos which are impossible to find on the net of Mizz D.R. Click images to enlarge.

As far as I can tell, these photos, taken by New York photographer Stryke, are the most professional shot popular urban model Mizz D.R. has ever taken.

Tags: Mizz D.R., Diana Escotto

Margarita Leviva first caught my attention in Adventureland (a pretty good movie, by the way), but she also stands out in The Lincoln Lawyer, as Regina Campo, a prostitute beaten within an inch of her life.

Margarita has the type of resume many aspiring actresses would die for. She's not over saturated, but she's been in some very high profile, independent minded projects. In short, her resume indicates she makes intelligent choices. And even though she plays a prostitute in The Lincoln Lawyer, she somehow manages to elevate the material and bring a modicum of dignity to her character. Like Marielle Jaffe, Margarita tends to look better in moving pictures than in her still photos. (P.S. She has a modest, but noticeable, little bubble on her too)

Tags: Margarita Leviva

Taken today, no Photoshop. Reach Daphne on Twitter here and click to enlarge.

Tags: Daphne Joy

Well, I guess people pestered the Me In My Place guy about shooting a model of color long enough that he finally did it - and the results are quite nice (what else would you expect from this guy). Tika Sumpter has a solid recurring role on The Game this season.

Tags: Tika Sumpter

Both of these models caught my attention recently, even though I really am against posting urban models with huge, distracting tattoos. Vanessa caught my interest because she has a commercial look and is well proportioned. However, her candid shots do not completey reconcile with these Dynasty Series shots. You guys take a look and be the judge.

With Porshatina, well... I think it's obvious what caught by eye. Girl is a brick house! There's a behind the scenes video for this shoot which indicates Photoshop is not as prevalent in her pix as you may initially think (aka this girl is just naturally curvy). Be interested to hear people's thoughts on both aspiring urban models.

Tags: Vanessa Nina

Rashida is another one of those actresses who is extremely engaging and very attractive onscreen, but it's tough to find photos that do her justice. She's also a Harvard grad who starred in a movie about Harvard, which is pretty cool. I liked this snippet from her interview, about the trajectory of a starlet:

"It starts with 'Who is Rashida Jones?' then it's 'Get me Rashida Jones,' then it's 'Get me a Rashida-Jones-type,' then it's 'Get me a young Rashida Jones,' and then, 'Who's Rashida Jones?'"

Tags: Rashida Jones

Candace Smith graduated from one of the top law schools in the US - Northwestern University School of Law - and passed the Ohio bar exam. As an actress she was one of "Barker's Beauties" on The Price is Right game show and went on to have roles on Fox's Method and Red, HBO's Entourage and NBC's Joey. In 2006, she also had a memorable role in the Broken Lizard comedy Beerfest (nudity)

So why hasn't Candace been able to break through the fourth wall? If would appear she's perfectly qualified. Is it simply a matter of the intense competition to become the next ingenue in Hollywood?

Tags: Candace Smith

When Marielle Jaffe first appears in "Scream 4," which is teeming with beauties, you will immediately notice her. She is one of those women that is effortlessly captivating. Marielle's fast rise to stardom underscores the difference between doing a little cheesecake in mainstream versus urban. Dollicia Bryan would probably kill (literally) for a key role in the Scream franchise, and she's been at this nearly 5 years. Meanwhile, Marielle hit the scene just 2 years ago, in Girls Gone Wild magazine no less - a venue many would consider more risqué than KING magazine. And yet she started off in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.

This is not to detract from Marielle's acting skills or likability onscreen, because she's good, but I've seen urban models who were comparable and didn't get these types of opportunities. Further, we just heard up-and-coming actress, Andrea Bordeaux, warn against this very type of sexy exposure for aspiring actresses. How are we to reconcile this with Ms. Jaffe's undoubtedly impressive career trajectory?

Tags: Marielle Jaffe

You can click on the image to enlarge it. The two main qualifications to be on this list: 1) I have to shoot with the model, and 2) they had to be in my top traffic searches (e.g., people are still looking for them on my blog). There are couple newcomers on the list, like Carol, and a couple that got bumped. They are listing in alphebetical order.

Tags: Alysha Young, Bria Myles, Carol Seleme Daniel, Miss Koi, Suelyn Medeiros, Sabrina Hunter

After posting a series of svelte beauties, I am back to model that could be considered the prototype urban model: Miss Koi. Koi epitomizes the cute face/big backside type model that urban modeling has always been based upon. But for some reason, I had some trepidation in posting this. Like somehow it's not a progression of what's been going on here lately. I'm not sure why - it's a perfectly nice photo. The only thing remotely "controversial" about it is Koi's extra curviness. What do you think fellow bloggers? I'd be interested to hear others take on this.

Tags: Miss Koi

Just some unseen footage that I thought was nice. Same rules at the others: download code is embedded as keyword in JPEG file. This is probably the longest of the clips, but most of it is just Carol painting... Hint: Relates to a post that concerns Melyssa Ford... Song in video: Blue Magnetic Ocean - Four A.D. (Image enlarges upon clicking )

Tags: Carol Seleme Daniel

Most of us know her as Tee Tee's unfaithful girlfriend, Allison, on BET's The Game. But it turns out Andy Allo is a budding musician and is building an impressive resume of commercial creds, including a Visa print ad, a Clean and Clear commercial and hosting responsibilities on G4's "Attack of the Show." Andy has that look - similar to Andrea and Alysha - that sells very well in commercials and print ads. For now she has one little swimsuit photo in her Facebook profile - I wonder how long that will last.

Tags: Andy Allo

Yoncee is a fresh new face on the scene who will be debuting in Smooth Magazine shortly. I'm looking forward to it. Bonus image.

Tags: Yoncee

The thing I liked about my shoot with Suelyn was the ability to get a certain amount of realism and intimacy that I hadn't seen in some of her other work. I think this image really exemplifies that.

Tags: Suelyn Medeiros

The third image from our "bubble gum" shoot. This, my friends, is the unrestrained power of beauty in its prime - you can't beat that. You can reach Carol on Twitter here.

Tags: Carol Seleme Daniel

Sabrina Hunter may be the one model I shoot with who does her own hair and make-up better than anyone else can do it. Looking forward to shooting with her again (hopefully) this May. Bonus shot.

Tags: Sabrina Hunter

For a woman in her early twenties, Andrea Bordeaux has a lot to show for it, with a nationwide Citibank commercial, a Sprite print ad, a role in Law & Order: SVU, and having recently joined SAG. In short, Andrea's act is very much together. For those aspiring models/actresses who are dubious of urban modeling as an entree, this is the interview for you. Everything you wanna know about becoming a legitimate commercial model and/or actress is in this extremely informative interview. Click image to be taken to interview.

Tags: Andrea Bordeaux

There's not much out there of her, so every bit counts, right? Reach Koi on Twitter here. (Click to enlarge.)

Tags: Koi, Miss Koi

Few female crooners can boast of gams like this. Wooowee!

Tags: Mya

I took this shot of Suelyn at Sycamore Cove beach in California. Check out her new pix on the set of Snoop's video on her Twitter. Oh, and one interesting factoid: like Carol Seleme Daniel, Suelyn is Brazilian.

Tags: Suelyn Medeiros

More than any other model last year, I would say Alysha helped me improve my photography.

Tags: Alysha Young

Well, this is the last of the Carol Easter Eggs. I've also included a HD version of the teaser, which is super easy to find. Also, since people are having a problem with the first EE, here's a major hint: it is under a Khrysti Hill post and the date corresponds to the number of letters in Carol's first and middle name. Also, to make up for the difficulty of the first EE, the last one is easy to find. It relates to the title of the art piece Carol completed for this video, which you can see on her art website. Same as EE 2 - download link is a keyword embedded in JPEG.

Tags: Carol Seleme Daniel

Carol's first Easter Egg is up. I'll be adding others later tonight. The first one is a kind of peaceful, meditative montage of Carol painting. It's in pretty high resolution at 960 x 540. A hint is that it is hidden in an ad under a blog post that relates in some way to Carol's first and middle name. Not quite an anagram, but something relating to the specifics of her name: Carol Seleme Daniel. Click the image below for the introductory video, explaining the painting.

UPDATE: Easter Egg number two has been added. The hint is that it is in an ad related to a Bria Myles post - that's a big hint. But there's something tricky to this one. When you find it, you will have to use an image editing program (e.g., Apple's Preview, Photoshop, Elements, etc.) to extract the "keyword" from the ad image. The keyword will be the download link. It's a little too easy for y'all to just rip the site for the word "sendspace" or "megaupload," lol. As for the music in the clip, what can I say: I like soundtracks, and specifically Thomas Newton Howard. This is a really good clip BTW.

Tags: Carol Seleme Daniel

Kara is the latest hottie to grace the pages of XXL's Eye Candy section. I don't really know much about her, except that these photos are better than average urban modeling stuff. Credit goes to BlackJackSkanz for these and this post.

Tags: Kara Allison

Notably, Maliah was shot by Howard Huang while many of the other models in this issue were shot by a different photographer. Click to enlarge.

Tags: Maliah Michel

Misty Copeland is the first female African American ballet dancer to reach soloist status with American Ballet Theatre in over two decades. If that's not enough, she's on tour with Prince, which is really bringing her into the national spotlight. This is a very poised young lady, as you will see from her interview with Tavis Smiley below. Hopefully, this is just another example of my bringing something different to mind when discussing a curvy, talented woman. We need more Misty's out there. (She has a great website by the way)

Watch the full episode. See more Tavis Smiley.

Tags: Misty Copeland

This is a test shot of Daphne Joy taken at a casting that I attended for a magazine shoot. She was cool enough to let me post it, but it just illustrates how the top girls don't really need Photoshop to look dope. She came in looking all demure, like a college student - clothes came off, and BAM! This what the casting director and I were assualted with, lol. (I normally wouldn't double up on a model this fast, but this photo seemed like it deserved its own blog entry.)

Tags: Daphne Joy

The new BlackMen 40 on 40 issue is chock full of hotties, but I have mixed feelings about it. I found myself rushing off to these women's Twitter and Model Mayhem pages to see what they really look like. To say there was heavy Photoshopping would be an understatement. Fortunately, I had already seen photos of Catrisa from SHOW that were unretouched so we know she's the real deal. On a somewhat unrelated note, I gotta give a shout out to BM editor Marcus for giving young black men trying to get into the photography game a legitimate opportunity. Unlike SHOW and Smooth, at least he varies his photographers some.

Tags: Catrisa Geane, Catrisa Turner

Tags: Carol Seleme Daniel

In Pirates of the Caribbean 4: Stranger Tides, coming up in May 2011, Daphne Joy plays one of five mermaids along with French actress Astrid Berges-Frisby. According to a recent article in Entertainment Weekly, the mermaids have a significant role in the upcoming film. She is also on the cover of the most recent issue of Smooth magazine and has a new website coming at daphnejoy.com. Daph and I have plans to shoot in the very near future, so look for her here at Indosplace. Bonus image here. (Click images to enlarge.)

Tags: Daphne Joy

If you're in the mood for a little nostalgia, you'll enjoy this high quality rip of Melyssa Ford's first DVD. I think this came out in 2004 and it was definitely Melyssa at her peak of thickness. I've included the original DVD Box Art for the true fans. Just click the image to see the video (Quicktime required)

Here's the direct link to the video: http://www.indosplace.com/assets/MelyssaFord2004DVD.mp4

That damn FlowPlayer I'm using for Carol's video has commandeered the javascript for everything pic and video on this page, lol.

Tags: Melyssa Ford

Tags: Christi K, Christiane K

While Porsha has dabbled in modeling - I believe she had a major feature in the The Source magazine once - she is mainly just a super fine socialite who used to run track in college. This girl has one of the all time best faces I've seen. The type that would make you trade off your desire for a big behind. Oh, and she graduated from a top 10 college - Univerity of Michigan. Post Updated with Source Magazine feature.





Porsha's Source Magazine Feature (click to enlarge - these are impossible to find on net):

Tags: Porsha Ellis

So Miss Koi is one model I still get a lot of hits on the blog for and a lot of requests. I guess women built like Koi with a cute face just don't come along that often. I still talk with Koi from time to time via email and I'm pleased to report that she's doing well and recently was offered a part in a motion picture called "As I Die Slowly." I don't know anything about the flick yet, but I do know she was offered a leading part and accepted it, so look out for it.



Additonal clip added:

Tags: Miss Koi, Koi

I met Otis College art student Carol Seleme Daniel in late January 2011. At the time, she had a pretty nice portfolio on Model Mayhem, but really hadn't received any major exposure. This was kind of surprising to me, because she seemed to be an accident waiting to happen (in a good way). So we set up a shoot in early February, and just as I expected, the moment her feature hit the blog it went viral and was picked up by several other popular urban blogs. As a result, I decided to submit the photos I had taken of her to the editor of Smooth magazine. Within 15 minutes of receiving the photos, the editor contacted me and said she wanted to do a major photo layout on Carol. That feature will debut in May, but a preview - the Rear View - was also dropped in the most recent issue of Smooth with Daphne Joy on the cover.

Of course, this wouldn't have happened if Carol hadn't been a great model who was willing to trust what I wanted to do with her. It's also a prime example of how the internet is a new and powerful channel for exposure for aspiring models.


Bonus shot... Credits - Model: Carol Seleme Daniel | Make-Up: Tai Young-Jackson | Hair: Joshjarie Nelson | Photography: Indosplace.com


Bonus shot added 3/7:

Tags: Carol Seleme Daniel

I really like this cover of ex-Real Worlder Jamie Chung. I was going to post these a week ago, but I was sure they would pop up all over the net. Apparently, I was wrong.

Tags: Jamie Chung

A funny thing has happened lately. I've gotten to a point that I hardly want to post anything on the blog unless I had something to do with its creation. I'll explain..

Urban modeling "news" can basically be broken down into three categories: 1) Twitter candid pics by well known to semi-well known urban models and pseudo celebrities, 2) "professional" urban model photos, consisting of the usual overly retouched, seamless backdrop, unoriginal stuff aspiring models and websites proudly trot out like it's something to celebrate (this includes scans from the popular urban magazine photos like BlackMen and SHOW), and 3) mass quantity, message-board anonymous booty posts (with or without faces attached). None of these categories interests me anymore.

Blogs like mine tend to post the "highlights" of the foregoing categories. Some of them, like Dynasty Series and my site, also feature original content. But producing shoots is time consuming and expensive. I don't think any of the urban blogs are bringing in PerezHilton.com money that can make doing these shoots consistently worthwhile. So that leaves us with having to recycle that other stuff. I don't wanna do that anymore.

I've basically outgrown urban modeling as it stands today and moved to a place where what appeals to me is so esoteric*, only a handful of people (the people who come here) can even appreciate it. In the coming days I'll be posting some new pics of Carol Seleme Daniel, a girl is as beautiful as she is creative and that really comes thru in her pix. Sabrina Hunter is also in town so hopefully I'll get a chance to shoot with her. But otherwise, you guys might have to buck up for some long dry spells, lol. Oh, and I like the pic of Maliah below, so that's not offered as an example of what's wrong.

P.S. How many more posts like this can I do, lol? *Only by urban modeling standards...

Tags: Maliah Michel

Tags: Khrysti Hill

I've been meaning to address the Ashley Graham issue for a while now, and how her Lane Bryant commercial was censored while similar Victoria Secrets commercials get aired all the time on network televsion. For me, the specific question comes down to this: why is a voluptuous woman verboten in American culture? Why is it that magazines and TV sponsors can appreciate Kate Moss walking across a beach in a thong, but are petrified of Ms. Graham in the same scenario? Is it really about repulsion to a curvy body, or does it go deeper, to trying to maintain the status quo and not let the public form a real appreciation of zaftig women for fear that might set the new standard? And why was mainstream America more accepting of Rubenesque figures in the 40s, but not today? There doesn't seem to be any clear answers to any of this, but this article provides an interesting and insightful discussion...



Plus Size vs. Size Zero: America's Skewed Body Image

Tags: Ashley Graham

I made an error in judgment today. I saw these covers of Rachel Bilson and Mila Kunis and thought "Oh, these are cool - I'll buy these and scan 'em for my blog." After all, these are somewhat esoteric magazines that you can't buy just anywhere. But what I didn't count on was the insatiable appetite the media has for anything these actresses do. These covers are already scanned and on the net in high quality! Now if this was a feature on Regina King in Essence or Zulay Henao in Open Your Eyes, it might never hit the web in a high quality (or low quality). It's just the way it is. Anyway, these are still great photos of two smokin' hotties.

Tags: Rachel Bilson, Mila Kunis

First of all, thanks to Blakk over at BlackJackScans for these scans.

This Smooth spread is by far Sydney's best pictorial representation, so I hope she thanked them, lol. Follow Sydney Lauren on Twitter or Facebook.

Tags: Sydney Lauren

Those eyes exhibit a twinkle of sexy mischief if you ask me

Credits - Model: Christiane K | Make-Up: Tai Young-Jackson | Hair: Joshjarie Nelson | Photography: Indosplace.com

Tags: Christiane K

Credits - Model: Christiane K & Carol Seleme Daniel | Make-Up: Tai Young-Jackson | Hair: Joshjarie Nelson | Photography: Indosplace.com

Tags: Christiane K, Carol Seleme Daniel

First off, the image zoom function is back in business. So now, when you click any image that has been reduced at least 60% of it's original size, the original larger file will pop up in Fancy Zoom. That feature has been sorely missing for a while, so I'm glad it's back.Secondly, due to the discovery of a few interesting new features in my web design program, I will be able to implement some very nice effects that I couldn't before. (Notice how there are dual columns in this blog entry?) There are defintely some nice new changes coming, although they will probably be gradually implemented, so look out for them.

I'm trying out a new blog format and I'm interested to hear people's thoughts on it. The main reason for this change is that I need greater width for blog content so that I can post large sized photos. That little bouncy button to the left of the blog entry - called a "badge" - may go because deleting it gives me extra width. There's a price to pay for this new format: the search feature is gone. I could add a new page just for searches, depending on how important it is, so let me know...

Credits - Model: Christiane K & Carol Seleme Daniel | Make-Up: Tai Young-Jackson | Hair: Joshjarie Nelson | Photography: Indosplace.com

Tags: Carol Seleme Daniel, Christiane K

I recommend all photographers shoot at least once between the hours of 4 and 6 pm. The "golden hour," as it's called, produces some of the most dramatic and beautiful results. As an added bonus, pictures taken in this light require minimal retouching. Reach Regina on Twitter here. (Click for larger version)

Tags: Regina Ragni

Round two Reach Carol Seleme Daniel online here. Reach Christiane K here. (Last two pics enlargeable)

Credits - Model: Christiane K & Carol Seleme Daniel | Make-Up: Tai Young-Jackson | Hair: Joshjarie Nelson | Photography: Indosplace.com



Bonus Pics:

Tags: Carol Seleme Daniel, Christiane K

I discovered a really cool website because of this budding cosmetologist/hottie/hair stylist, Jess Grace. Black Girl With Long Hair is a website devoted entirely to black women who wear their hair naturally. They did a feature on Jess, who has a very cool Youtube Channel where she teaches girls interesting ways to wear their hair naturally. I defy you to watch this video and not find her absolutely adorable.
For those of you wondering what the rest of Jess looks like, there are very few body shots of her out there that I could find. (I don't really think that's part of her mission.) But what I did see was promising. Check here.

Tags: Jessaye Grace, JGrace221

This model/actress caught my interest. Check out her blog. Her Model Mayhem page is here. Be interested to hear others opinions on Andrea.

Tags: Andrea Bordeaux

The daughter of a foreign diplomat, Christiane K was born in Denmark, spent several years in Spain, and is fluent in three languages. She can also put a man down in 5 seconds flat with one of those iPhone cases.... Well, that's not really true. Nonetheless, this international beauty will kick your butt if you try to relegate her to the position of arm candy. "The feminist in me has been surfacing a lot more since I moved to Los Angeles," says Christi. "It’s a shame that girls feel they have to flirt or act like groupies in order to get places and meet the right people...I had one guy invite me along for a night out with some people and he tried to tell me what to wear - to make sure it was sexy enough. I was offended."

This Danish beauty may have strong opinions, but she also has an open mind and is currently dating an African American man. Christiane is represented by the Alvarado Rey Agency and will be prominently featured in an upcoming Coca Cola campain, so look out for her. Also, stay tuned for more pics of her from my shoot in Venice. (Click first image below to see full sized version)

Credits - Model: Christiane K | Make-Up: Tai Young-Jackson | Hair: Joshjarie Nelson | Photography: Indosplace.com


Bonus shot:

Tags: Christi K, Christiane K

I was starting to think art school cuties like Audry in Dan Clowes' "Art School Confidential" were just a figment of his imagination. That is, until I met Carol Seleme Daniel - an art student at Otis School of Design in Los Angeles. Carol is one of those rare women who looks even better in person than she does in her photos. We shot in Venice a few days ago, and there are lots of good shots to come, so stay tuned. Meanwhile, if you want to check out her art portfolio, you can see that here. P.S. Carol checks the blog so she may join the discussion here once it gets going.

Credits - Model: Carol Seleme Daniel | Make-Up: Tai Young-Jackson | Hair: Joshjarie Nelson | Photography: Indosplace.com

Tags: Carol Seleme Daniel

I've got an ax to grind with Vanessa Veasley It's not that I don't like her personally - I don't really know her - but I don't like how she ostensibly worked the system by being an editor at SHOW while also being featured on several covers.

According to Vanessa, that's inaccurate. A recent exchange between us on the infamous BlakkJackSkanz message board went a little something like this:

Within minutes of her post, I got an email from her that read: "Instead of making up lies and assumptions about me on your and other websites why not just interview me? Might be fun! Lol" Busted! Touche Ms. Veasley. What you're about to read is the result Vanessa's good sportmanship and invitation to interview her.

Tags: Vanessa Veasley

This is one of the NSFW posts, but I guarantee if you like 'em thick you will not regret clicking this image below. BTW, Tatiana comes to us courtesy of a new site called Thicker.

Tags: Tatiana from Sweden

The BBC 3 recently aired this documentary, "Music, Money & Hip Hop Honeys" and I managed to catch it the other night on Youtube (get it while you can, because it will likely be taken down soon). I remember when one of the producers for this special reached out to Bria Myles. It's unfortunate she was unavailable, because it's quite good. Initially, I was a little skeptical of Nel Hedeyat, who is not-so-secretly judging her subjects while at the same time parading around, as cute as a button, and in a very subtle and intelligent way, making herself the subject the same type of male fantasizing that she is documenting. But by the end, she gives one the most broadly encompassing persectives I've ever seen on the subject, and even becomes a video vixen herself, even if only briefly. This is far more comprehensive than say, Sarah Hubinger's take on having a big butt, in her book "Jiggles."

One thing this special sheds light on is that, as much as we may say urban modeling is dead, there are success stotries of it here in the US that are driving young women in the UK to still want to do this. For instance, Angel Lola Luv is still seen as big deal to them. Also, there's no denying the success of Amber Rose and Kim Kardashian. In fact, Amber made more money than Melyssa Ford ever did. Maybe this industry isn't completely dead after all...

A couple of scenes of note:

"Rosine" at 12:40 is probably the most voluptuous of the vixens featured...


The segment on Elisha Jade's bad experience with a perv photographer is definitely interesting...


Finally, perhaps the most charming segment is when Nel gets all flattered and giggly when agent Mike Styles tells her she's "sexy" and could be a video vixen. I don't know if Nel was acting or not, but that sure was an enjoyable scene. (At 49:00)

Nel's meeting with intellectual Toni Blackman is also an eye opener - you don't expect her to say what she does. She tells Nel she could learn a thing or two about expressing her sexuality and being free from video vixens.

Tags: Nel Hedayat

Sonia is the perfect personification of beauty and brains. Talk about having a back up plan - she's a sophomore at Harvard majoring in economics and minoring in human evolutionary biology. Of her appearance as a "rookie" in SI, she states: "My classmates at Harvard will flip when they see this--especially the nerds. And at Harvard that's everyone, myself included. I'm usually in jeans, a chunky sweater, a ponytail and glasses, with my head buried in a book. The people who know me would have to seriously use their imaginations to picture me as any kind of model." My guess is that she has underestimated her male friends' imaginations.

Tags: Sonia Dara

Nice new shot of Elisha Jade.

Tags: Elisha Jade

I posted this cover of UK's Front Magazine because I like the cover design - it's got a nice little creative touch with the model pulling back the backdrop to reveal the contents. Also, great use of fonts. But most importantly, I think this retouching is a lot closer to where we need to be in the urban game. Note that you can still see skin texture on Rosie's thigh (I included a higher res scan for inspection - just click image) in the photo.

Tags: Rosie Jones, Front Magazine

Catrisa Turner is making a mark for herself in the urban game. And just like her beauty, her accomplishments sneak up on you. In a short period she has been featured in a Gucci Mane video ("Lemonade"), the 2010 Seagram's Gin Calendar, for which she had signing duties, and was recently featured on the cover of Sweets magazine. This 23 year old Virgo is definitley the real deal.

Tags: Catrisa Turner, Catrisa Geane

This is just a preview clip. The entire vid in .flv format easter egged here - in HD format. (Hint: Alysha)

Tags: Temeca Freeman

Tags: Jahaira Maravilla

The first model is Kathleen Edge. The second is an internet model named Bryci.

P.S. I was being faceteous in my blog title - obviously black and white photography is timeless, but it did suffer a slight setback with dawn of the DSLR and digital photography.

Tags: Kathleen Edge

Melany Doucette is a very hot chica. The first time I saw her pics on the net I went on like a 2 hour hunt to find every photo I could. I've posted three of my favorites here, taken by Paul Cobo. But I invite you to find more. She is one of those rare combinations of a truly alluring and sexy face and a dynamite body. If she was about 10 pounds heavier, heaven help me, lol. (By the way, I searched high and low to find the very best version of these pics on the net - there are a lot of low grade versions of her photos on places like LazyGirls.)

Melanie has been in BlackMen magazine, but not SHOW or Smooth.

Tags: Melany Doucette

We criticize SHOW around here for their often cartoonish looking airbrushing and staid set ups, but in many instances SHOW's images are the best available of certain models. In other words, if it weren't for SHOW's professional sheen, some of these women couldn't really say that had come close to commercial level modeling. That isn't quite the case with Temeca Freeman, but these are some of her best pics. (There's an extremely easy Easter Egg within this very post - right click is your friend )

Tags: Temeca Freeman

This is video of Tina B. at a photo shoot with Inergee Studios. I think Tina is an important model to showcase because she's a natural. No tatts, no implants, no excessive piercings or Photoshop - just 100% pure brick house. You don't see that much anymore and the line has increasingly blurred between the real and the fake. I featured her on my blog a year ago before she got popular and I'm glad I did.

The video was shot by the homie Affinity Ratios, who is quite the photographer in his own right. Nice work.

Tags: Tina B, Ms. Ice, Affinity Ratios, Inergee Studios

The 2004 Melyssa Ford Calendar represents an undeniable sweet spot for urban modeling. Shot by Garth Aikens in Melyssa's heyday, this calendar set the bar for eye candy at the time. Interestingly, due to a dispute with her manager at the time, Jeff Robinson, distribution of this calendar was very shoddy and many people who ordered it never saw their copy. (I got mine off eBay early on - at one time, these calendars were going for up to $100 on eBay.)

Another interesting factoid about this calendar is that photos from it never hit the internet in high quality. As proof, just try to find either of these pictures at this quality level anywhere on the net. The reason for that is that, due to the unusual size of the images in the calendar, this is not an easy scan job - the photo has to be scanned in three parts and stitched together. There about 6 photos from the 2004 Melyssa Ford calendar that are truly scan worthy and over the next month, I will post them in hi res just like this one. Enjoy!

(Click the images to be taken to super hi res version)

UPDATE: Additional pic added...

Tags: Melyssa Ford

I like Jenna's experssion on the first shot. Reach Jenna Shea on Twitter here.

Tags: Jenna Shea

Continuing in my series of proving that Indosplace is not above some good old fashioned T&A occasionally, I bring you "Precious" from SHOW's casting section.

This is where SHOW showcases models that are too cute to go undocumented, but not quite cute enough to make it in their magazine. But the real bonus to the Castings Section is that it is one of the last places you can see completely unretouched photos of models. (Apparently, Precious came back and they retouched her the 2nd time around. I've included one of those shots (white sheets).)

The unfortunate thing about the Casting Section is that there is no contact info. or anything for the model, so even if someone did wanna give them an opportunity, how would it happen?

(Click image to be taken to gallery page...)

Tags: Precious

Click to expand these NSFW, extremely sexy pics of Mesha taken by Frank aka Hot Sauce





Read More...

Tags: Mesha Seville

Meagan Tandy plays Denzel Washington's daughter in the new thriller "Unstoppable." With pics like this, I would say she is unstoppable.

Tags: Meagan Tandy

My favorite model

Credits - Model: Alysha Young | Make-Up: Tai Young-Jackson | Hair: Tara Copeland | Photography: Indosplace.com

Tags: Alysha Young, Alysha

For a long time, I was trying to track down this issue of Venice magazine just for this photo of Gabrielle Union. Surprisingly, it's not quite as good as I remember it being, but it's still nice to finally get my mitts on it (thank you eBay).

Tags: Gabrielle Union

For the life of me, I'll never understand why models take these photos and put them on the net and then hide their identities from the world. Kathie used to have a Model Mayhem profile, but she pulled it for reasons unknown. Of course, the photographer doesn't list her name or credit in his MM port. Meanwhile, her photo has received over 1,000 comments on Tumblr. *sigh*

Tags: Kathie Pham

An all natural Khrysti Hill for ya, and one butt shot, lol.

Tags: Khrysti Hill

XXL Magazine has always been a cut above when it comes to their eye candy photography. They eschew the overdone retouched look of the urban market for a more natural, softer image. And they don't use the usual urban photographers either, which is probably why they can achieve this look. Amy Postle shot these, and if you look at her portfolio you'll see all the tale tell signs of a working commercial photographer: heavy use of natural light, bright colors, photorealistic retouching, etc.

Halie is 23, 5'5", and her measurements are 36-24-41. Wow. Oh yeah, she was one the last standing on Chad Ochocinco’s VH1 reality show, The Ultimate Catch.

Tags: Halie, Halie305

I hate to double up like this on Melyssa Ford, and I'll probably get flack for it (the obsession continues, right? lol), but honestly, I'm having problems finding stuff to post these days. I think I've kinda painted myself into a corner being all principled about what I think urban modeling should be, lol. I mean, there's stuff like Jazzie Belle's new shots for Gorgeous Magazine, all retouched to death with her wearing blue contacts (*sigh*), but I'm just not posting stuff like that any more. I guess this could lead to fewer posts over time, but I'm gonna try to just stick to stuff that I'm really excited about and that I think is good for this small niche market (steps off soap box)... (P.S. This does not mean no more voluptuous women and booty shots - just only the really good ones )

Tags: Melyssa Ford

For many years I've been using Model Mayhem as my primary online portfolio. Not very professional I suppose, but convenient. Anyway, I finally got a website up this weekend. Nothing too fancy - just a simple showcase so that people who visit get an idea of what type of pictures I produce. If any of you have time, take a look and let me know you thoughts. It should look something like what you see below. Constructive feedback welcomed.

Tags: Indochine Photographics

One of the regular contributors on my blog read that I no longer had this issue of KING Magazine from July/August 2004 and was kind enough to send it me. I hadn't seen this actual magazine in several years. The pages with Melyssa Ford in it are in pristine condition, so I decided to share back with my blog and scan this page.

Looking at this picture, it reminded why I have this blog to begin with (and yes, sometimes I have to remind myself why I keep this effort going). Unfortunately, you can't see all the details from this scan, but this picture doesn't have the same type of cartoonish retouching you see these days. That's 90% real Melyssa Ford, and that's just crazy. Where did these type of models disappear to? To me, this image represents what urban modeling used to be about, and needs to return to. Fine women with unusually curvaceous bodies and pretty faces. No tatts, no piercings - just unadorned beauty. (Click to enlarge)

Tags: Melyssa Ford

UPDATE: Photo added 11/28 - click to enlarge.

An outtake from our shoot together. I always like Miss Koi's photos. (Click to enlarge)

Credits - Model: Koi | Make-Up: Tai Young-Jackson | Photography: Indosplace.com

Tags: Miss Koi, Koi

UPDATE: New pic added as of 11/26. (1st Image can be clicked to enlarge)


Not the best from the shoot, but still kinda sexy. Besides, Sabrina's juicy legs seem appropriate for Thanksgiving.

Tags: Sabrina Hunter

The interesting thing about my shoot with Regina and Alysha is that they both knocked it out of the park. This shot again shows the amazing low light abilities of the Canon 5D Mark II. I believe I shot this at ISO 1200, and as you can see, there's very little noise. The even lighting on Regina's face was achieve by having my make up artist do double duty and hold up a scrim to diffuse the sunlight. Not bad, eh?

Credits - Model: Regina Ragni | Make-Up: Tai Young-Jackson | Hair: Tara Copeland | Photography: Indosplace.com

Tags: Regina Ragni

Cut off jean shorts seem to be making a comeback here at Indosplace. First Bria, then Alysha and now Mal.

This is a test video Mal did to show me a certain outfit she was considering for a video. It was impromptu and I think that may even make it cuter (e.g., Mal wrinkling up her nose and saying "this looks stupid!") In other words, she never planned for this to be an EE, but it turns out to make good one.

It is hi def (1280 x 720) and in its original .wmv format, so the quality is a little better than even the prior vids, which were converted to .mov in some instances. There are 4 .RAR parts but there is also a single link to the entire video in high quality (admittedly, that link is hard to find). As for hints, one of the .RAR parts is in an ad that relates to David Boring. Also, don't forget to check sections like "Cool Stuff." Also, 2009 was a pretty good year, lol. (Updated with new, easier link [soon to be deleted] )

Tags: Mal Malloy

Update: A new image was added in the dead of the night on 11/18, lol.

Another image that proves that if you've got a gorgeous model and good hair and make-up, you can pull off a great shot anywhere. This picture was taken in a parking structure: that emblem to the left of Alysha is the Roman numeral 3 (because that's the parking level we were on). (Click on image for larger version)

Credits - Model: Alysha Young | Make-Up: Tai Young-Jackson | Hair: Tara Copeland | Photography: Indosplace.com



Added image:

Tags: Alysha Young

Elisha Jade is my favorite urban model hailing from the UK. Without a doubt, if this girl was in Cali I would be shooting with her. She recently opened up a new website that takes an interesting approach to selling images. Each set is sold separately for download, as opposed to a monthly fee. I haven't downloaded any sets yet but she gave me a couple sample images and what I saw looks great. Check her out: www.iloveleesh.com.

Tags: Elisha Jade

Choose your vote wisely... (Click image to enlarge)



Poll closed - see comments below for poll results (no. 2 won).

Tags: Mal Malloy

A new test shot I took with Bria today. Hit her up on Twitter if you like.

Tags: Bria Myles

Tonight I picked up Taschen Book's "Urban Girls," which is a hard bound "art book" collection of the photography of Howard Huang. Huang specializes in urban model photography for magazines like BlackMen. I'll just say this right off the top: I like Huang's work. I like his use of color and his lighting. While there is much about Huang's photography that, on the surface, looks like SHOW magazine's stuff, it's more intricate and better thought out in my opinion.

Bria Myles is on the cover of this book, which is also sold in stores like Barnes & Noble. The paper stock is quite heavy and the printing is top notch. It really is a beautiful tome which is as pleasing to the touch as the eyes. You'll also find high quality reproductions and outtakes from shoots with some of your favorite models, like the ones featured below of Maliah and Jessikah. Overall, I'd give this book a high recommend. It's a good look for urban modeling. (Click photos to enlarge)

Tags: Bria Myles, Maliah Michel, Jesikah Maximus

I recently discovered plus-size model Natalie Laughlin on the internet and was surprised that a model this curvy was able to break through to the mainstream. She since retired, but she obviously made a mark on the industry. (Click photos to enlarge)

Tags: Natalie Laughlin

What a year this girl has had. Bravo to Maliah - check her out on Twitter here. (Despite my admiration for Maliah, she *is* really missing out by not shooting with yours truly, lol)

Tags: Maliah Michel

This photo of Sabrina Hunter, taken in a somewhat industrial area of Los Angeles, proves that if you have an attractive model, a nice camera (Canon 5D Mark II), and a good make-up artist ( Tai Young-Jackson) you can get a good shot just about anywhere. If you like it and her, hit Sabrina up on her Twitter.

Tags: Sabrina Hunter

This girl, Jolina, caught my eye in the new issue of Smooth. Unfortunately, her website is rather generic and not all that impressive. I would love to see some candid shots of her, without all the retouching. She certainly appears to have a lot potential. (Oh, and 4th Mal EE is posted - 3 .rar parts; be sure to check model advice and look at the comments for hints)

Tags: Jolina

One photo from the new KING magazine featuring Melyssa Ford that I hadn't seen anywhere on the net. Many people commented that the picture on the cover of KING did not look like Melyssa - well, this definitely does. This is classic Melyssa Ford. (Click to enlarge)

Tags: Melyssa Ford

UPDATE: The 4th and final EE is up. Three RAR parts. Be sure to check Model Advice and comments for tips. Good luck.

UPDATE: The 3rd Easter Egg is up. Five RAR parts, no small version. Hint: at least two links are in this month, one concerns model Jossie, at least one is in Model Advice.

Normally, I wouldn't create a whole new post for something like this, but I know a lot of people are waiting for this Mal Malloy video so I wanted to make sure no one missed it. Same rules as before, same hints as before (see below post). There are only three RAR files this time (easier) and one very small version of the movie. I also used a different host, so hopefully there will be fewer intermittent outages.

Tags: Mal Malloy, Watchmalshrink

For Halloween, Mal Malloy will be talking about her favorite scary movies and showing off her sexy new Halloween costume as an army nurse. Worth noting is that Mal has a new HD webcam, so the quality of these videos will be significantly higher than in the past. I'm also making the Easter Eggs much easier this time around. No password protected files. The EE vids will be uploaded shortly, likely tomorrow evening. The first is a large version of the Mal pic on the right (it's in the month of Sept. and it's easy - think precious stones)

UPDATE: Mal's movie review has been added as well as an Easter Egg(s). To avoid confusion (and frustration), please read this carefully. For the most past, the EEs are hidden in ads. If you have an adblocker, that will cause problems. The 1st EE is honestly one of the best Mal videos I've ever seen. It is pretty high res and is in .mv4 Quicktime format. It is broken into 4 RAR files that are spread around - remember to look at other areas of the site, not just "Video Vixens." There is also one .3GP small version of this EE in its entirety that is hidden as an EE in very low res - but it gives you an idea of what you'll see. Good luck! Hints will be added to comments and Twitter page. The first hint is that blog favs (e.g., Bria) should be checked.

Meanwhile, click photo for link to preview video (download link here for super hi res version)



Mal Movie Review (Direct download link to hi res video here- VLC or Quicktime necessary ):

Tags: Mal Malloy, Watchmalshrink

If you watch television at all, it's been pretty hard to miss Alysha in the latest commercial for the Ubisoft's Just Dance 2 game for the Wii, along with Kim Kardashian and some other celebs. I think Alysha is proof that having a real career in modeling/acting is not mutually exclusive with occasionally doing projects in urban modeling. (Click collage image to be taken to Just Dance 2 commercial)


Credits - Make-Up: Tai Young-Jackson | Hair: Tara Copeland | Photography: Indosplace.com

Tags: Alysha Young

Victoria Koblenko is the actress in the Philips sponsored "Nigel & Victoria" viral campaign for their electronic products. The webisodes about the awkward Philips rep who has a crush on the Victoria, who is ostensibly playing herself, have their own allure. More than anything, Victoria - who is probably a little thicker than she would've been if these commercials been on prime time television - has indefatigable stores of charm; she's a real Nordic beauty.



The most interesting product is this battery back for the iPhone that transmits additional power to the unit via suction cups, thereby extending the battery life by 2x.

Tags: Victoria Koblenko

Let me make a few positive comments. I like that KING has been loyal to Melyssa and vice versa. You see this type of loyalty between mainstream outlets like Esquire magazine and Jennifer Aniston all the time, where she will get repeated covers. It's nice to see it in the urban genre as well. Also, kudos to KING for putting out a high rez version of their covers. It preserves their branding. They know it's going to get scanned anyway, so they might as well have the best representation out their of it they can: theirs! Finally, whatever else I've said about Melyssa, I have never contended that she represented anything other than the game at its best, and right now we need leadership, damn it! Nice work KING. (See the rest of the pics on KING's website.)

(Melyssa is kind of giving off an Essence Atkins vibe in this photo, no?)

Tags: Melyssa Ford

Check her out on Youtube here and join here on Twitter here.

Tags: Courtney Black

This photo was chosen by Alysha Young herself, unlike many of the other photos here which were chosen by me. What does her selection say about how she views herself? How does it compare to my selections? Please discuss*.

* J/K. That was my best imitation of some of my English essay questions in college.

Tags: Alysha Young

Another image from my shoot a week ago with Regina and Alysha.
Credits - Make-Up: Tai Young-Jackson | Hair: Tara Copeland | Photography: Indosplace.com

Tags: Regina Ragni

Second Update: This post updated as of October 3rd with third, and final EE video. There are now 5 EE videos in total associated with this post. Again, you will need an unzip utility that can handle a password. Hints as to where this vid is will be left on my Twitter page later tomorrow or the next day. A preview pic is posted in the comments.

First Update: This post updated as of October 2 with additional videos. Hints as to where vids are: one has to do with a commercial model featured on this blog whose last name rhymes with Sally, and the other has to do with an alt band with a female lead singer, also posted on this blog. Finally, you will need an unzip utility that can handle a password.

After a prolonged absence, Mal Malloy is back getting ready to do some new videos. This is a "test" video she took last night, getting ready to do the blue swimsuit. We ultimately decided on a different location, but it's kinda fun to watch this tryout vid. There are two "hidden" videos, one similar to the first and the other more incendiary where she hoists herself up to the counter and you get a real sense of the size of her backside as it plops down.

Anyway, good luck and remember this is just a test (some Mal is better than none, right?) Click image for link to video...

Tags: Mal Malloy, Watchmalshrink

This is a look I had been wanting to do for a long time, and you can only get it at one time of the year. Again, trying to bring something a little different to the urban genre.
Credits - Make-Up: Tai Young-Jackson | Hair: Tara Copeland | Photography: Indosplace.com

Tags: Alysha Young

I had a great time working with Regina. She truly embodies the phrase "beauty and brains," and is currently enrolled at a prestigious University in Southern California. I like this photo because, in addition to Regina's allure, it shows off what a great hair and make-up team I was working with. Reach Regina on Twitter here
Credits - Make-Up: Tai Young-Jackson | Hair: Tara Copeland | Photography: Indosplace.com

Tags: Regina Ragni

This is the Parisian cafe look. I don't wanna make any offhanded proclamations, but I'm pretty sure I'm done with straight booty type shoots (not that I ever did much of that to begin with). Guess I'm getting old, lol.

Credits - Make-Up: Tai Young-Jackson | Hair: Tara Copeland | Photography: Indosplace.com

Tags: Alysha Young

So this is the first of my releases from my recent shoot with model/actress Alysha Young. This girl is definitely on her way up... She recently shot a commercial for the Wii gaming system and will soon to have her own blog to update everyone on what she's doing.

Credits - Make-Up: Tai Young-Jackson | Hair: Tara Copeland | Photography: Indosplace.com

Tags: Alysha Young

New pics coming soon of my shoot over the weekend with gorgeous Alysha Young and Regina. This is merely a camera phone pic taken by one of the crew. Shout out to my make-up artist, Tai Young-Jackson, for these candid pics.

Tags: Alysha Young, Regina Ragni

Check out Miss Koi this preview from the short, "The Marrying Kind," which she shot just a few weekends ago. (She's at the 0:50 mark)

Tags: Miss Koi

Diamond is one of those models I've had my eye on for a while, but I was reserving judgment until I saw video of her and could verify her shape. Enter SHOW Magazine. The video below proves this girl is the genuine article. I'm impressed. (Mal Malloy backshot here)

Untitled from PURPLE CITY CEO on Vimeo.

Tags: Diamond

This is the type of model/photo the industry needs to breathe some life back into it.

Tags: Tahiry Jose

Can you guess where she is? Visit Suelyn on Twitter here. (P.S. There is not one iota of retouching to Suelyn in this photo. Now that's amazing.)

Tags: Suelyn Medeiros

Apparently no Photoshop is necessary with this woman. Geez! As close to physical perfection as I've seen in a while. (Click to enlarge images - video is below photos)

BRITTANY DAILEY X ESTEVAN ORIOL X TITS from Estevan Oriol on Vimeo.

Tags: Brittany Dailey

Kim looked very, very nice at the 2010 MTV Music Video Awards. (Click photo for video - no audio).

Tags: Kim Kardashian

This girl has got "the look" if I've ever seen it.

Tags: Halie

Miami Heat Dancer Ashley Allen: what a stunning example of youthful vitality. (P.S. It's not always about the ass. But it usually is, lol) I implore you to watch the video to see what I mean.

Tags: Ashley Allen

A shot of Bria Myles hosting Bikini Swim here in Los Angeles on September 4, 2010.

Tags: Bria Myles

I am truly sorry Terrance had to be in this picture, but cropping him out would have resulted in the loss of Rosci's glistening thigh. No bueno. I always liked Rosci, despite some of negative gossip surrounding. Here is a girl that - without showing very much (or having much ass) - had a lot of dudes fiending so bad they were tuning into BET to get their fix. I admire any model that can work what she has to her advantage. (Click to enlarge)

Tags: Rosci

These lovely scans come to us courtesy of my fellow blogger BlackJackSkanz. In fact, I invite you to visit his blog to see the other three images from this set that I didn't post from this set. (Click to enlarge)

Reach Maliah on Twitter here

Tags: Maliah Michel

And I mean the only reason! I'm all for gore and gratuitous nudity, but this orgy of blood and sex exceeded even my boundaries. Kelly Brook is an interesting case study. It appears this UK beauty (born "Kelly Ann Parsons") has been around for a while and is just now getting her big break. Here is a woman who has literally dozens of photos out there, and yet not a single one that really captures the gorgeousness she radiates in "Piranha 3D." That's a shame.

You can reach Kelly online at here official website here.

Tags: Kelly Brook

Man, I hate to support this money grubbing vamp, but these recent pics of Amber Rose are nice, lol. Reach Amber on Twitter here (Click image to enlarge)

Tags: Amber Rose

Along the way to Bria's rise to notoriety, there have been several talented people who have helped put her in the spotlight. One such person is artist Bryan D. Davis, who not only did the wonderful caricature of Bria in the "Bio" section of her website, but also this great drawing based on her Obama promotion photo. Check him out models. He could help you too. (Click to enlarge)

Tags: Bria Myles

I've always thought this girl had an interesting look. She's a blog favorite (not this blog, but on the net in general)

Tags: Shay Maria

EDIT: This post has been updated as of 8/10/10 at 7:30 pm.
EDIT: Another EE has been added as of 8/11/10 at 3:30 am (it's 3 in total for this post if you include the playful one)
EDIT: Yet another EE has been added as of 8/13/10 at 12:40 am (4 in total now)

Okay, so there's some good news and some better news. The first video posted, with no sound, is still there below. All you gotta do is click it to view. The Easter Egg Videos (for now only one is up) are spread around in various places. No clues-no making it easy. But there's a reason for that. Mal and I just couldn't seem to find the right balance between titillation and tastefulness, resulting in this vid(s) leaning more in the direction the former than she really wanted. So for those who find them, bravo! You'll certainly enjoy them. Again, Mal kindly asks that until she makes up her mind what she's doing with all this, you don't spread them to Daily Motion, Youtube, etc.

Which leads me to sunny point number two: you may only have to endure one or two more of the Indo-Mal obstacle courses because she is seriously considering ditching me and opening her own pay site. So how about that!

Preview of 4th EE, added 8/13 - this is the very first video Mal proposed as an EE, which was eventually rejected lol . Hint: the location is proximate to this very post (click to enlarge pic):



Here's a preview shots of (one of) the EE vids... Further updates later...



Click the image for video.

Tags: Mal Malloy

You can never underestimate this woman where visual stimulation is concerned. Just when you think she's gotten irreversibly scrawny in an attempt to fit into the Hollywood ideal of beauty, she comes out looking thick and scrumptious, reminding you of the Melyssa Ford of yore. (Click to enlarge)

Tags: Melyssa Ford

Mya Harrison is just teeming with circularity. From the shape of her face to her eyes to that ass. This woman is just made up of a bunch of circles, which is always a good thing for a female. It's those box shapes and angularity they wanna avoid. (Click to enlarge - these are super big)

Tags: Mya

Ever since her website opened anew and she started dropping DVDs, Maliah has been slowly creeping into the position of number one urban model. (Her recent affiliation with Drake didn't hurt matters.) With this new issue of Smooth, her position may be cemented as top banana for 2010. Maliah has always been one of my favorites and I certainly think she deserves the top spot over someone like Rosa. While the urban mags are hardly selling like they used to, I would go so far as to say this one may become a collector's item in another year or so. My only complaint with Maliah is her pushing the stripper agenda - not the best look for the genre or representation for young girls looking to do this. (Click to enlarge pics)




Edit: Two-pager added...

Tags: Maliah Michel

This cover, by photographer Mark Seliger, is an instant classic.

Tags: Katy Perry

Tahiry. Nuff said. (Click to enlarge)

Tags: Tahiry Jose

These are some of the images that stood out to me from the new issue of KING, which I picked up today. Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad issue by any means, but I still think these editors need to take a little more initiative to start choosing marquee models for these magazines instead of "who's hot now" chicks (excepting Dollicia in this issue). The urban eye candy genre needs a new top model to attract advertising dollars and new talent to the game. It needs a new Melyssa Ford prototype - a Jayne Kennedy for today.

That's why I was interested in rebuilding Sabrina Hunter's image. She has the smarts and maturity to take the lead and handle the type of opportunities that came Melyssa's way. These club chicks with their tramp-stamps and booty shaking cam phone videos cannot handle a Sprint commercial. They're not flaship material and most importantly, they don't make other quality girls aspire to be in the industry. Just food for thought. (Click to enlarge - the last mode is Skye Marshall)

Tags: Dollicia Bryan, Skye Marshall, Sakara Ross

Alysha is such a pleasant model to work with. Photography by Indosplace.com. (Click to enlarge images)

Tags: Alysha Young

This is half of the FB Legacy (Fubu's Relaunch Brand) and Hip-Hop Weekly "Flawless Beauties" calendar. Bria Myles and Tahiry are in it, as well as Sophia Marie and a few others, including Chanice, who hasn't done anything in a while, and Tammy Torres. (Click to enlarge bottom photo)

Tags: Bria Myles, Tahiry Jose

Jenna Shea is in Black Lingerie #12 and featured on the cover. There's nothing better than watching a model slowly improve, and Jenna has definitely done that. This is possibly her best set with SHOW yet. (Click to enlarge.)

Tags: Jenna Shea

I hadn't seen these. And every single Khrysti pic you can find is worth downloading IMO. Reach Khrysti on Twitter here (Click to enlarge)

Tags: Khrysti Hill

Despite considerable user error (focus) in this set, I still like the look of some of these Suelyn pics. Reach Suelyn on Twitter here (Click to enlarge)

Tags: Suelyn Medeiros

I hate that new plot line with Dania and Turtle on "Entourage." And she plays bitchy a little too well, if you catch my drift, lol.

Tags: Dania Ramirez

This is the type of pic I'd like to put my name on. Credit for this post got to: http://fuckyeahsexychicks.tumblr.com/ - one of my favorites. Check Autumn Reeser out on Twitter

Tags: Autumn Reeser

Here's a model I can support being on the cover of a magazine. Well done. Reach Dollicia on Twitter here

Tags: Dollicia Bryan

Commercial/catalog type shot of Alysha and Suelyn in Malibu California taken by your friendly neighborhood blogger. (Click for larger version without type)

Tags: Alysha Young, Suelyn Medeiros

Pics like this make me wonder if my photography makes any difference at all in showcasing this girl's beauty. You can reach Sabrina on Twitter here.

Tags: Sabrina Hunter

Okay, so the video of Ali Milan answers some burning questions about her figure. I would say that for the most part, she's straight! And this girl has one of the cutest faces around - I love models that look like cartoons. Oh, and for the record, the videos do look slightly better on SHOW's website, so you should check them out if you really like a model and wanna see her in hi def.

(Click image to see video - Quicktime required)

Tags: Ali Milan

She was pretty popular, so I thought a little video might shed some light on this beauty. Click image for movie. (You will need Quicktime)

Tags: Erica F.

Tags: Miss Koi, Koi

Without a doubt Mal Malloy is one of the most notable women I've posted on my blog. I could recount the reasons she became so popular so fast, but we've all dissected the Mal Malloy phenomenon ad nauseum. Instead I thought I'd just post a little reminder of why she's one of the greats.
A note about the red dress pic - Mal has picked up about 10 lbs since she first debuted here (to some of our delight!) That pic reflects that weight gain. Unfortunately, there aren't many pics of her at her new weight. Hopefully we'll get some video soon though. Reach her on Facebook here (it's her real Facebook).

Tags: Mal Malloy

I post Ali Milan's photos with the caveat that I've always been a little suspicious of her pics. And I'm not alone: in many of her posts on message boards there is speculation about plastic surgery and Photoshop assistance. It's clear that some of her earlier stuff was heavily retouched with regard to "enhancing" her curves. Notwithstanding that, she's still got a very appealing look and she's undeniably sexy. Of interest is the fact that her Myspace, Model Mayhem, and Twitter page seem to have up and disappeared recently. There's a lot of that these days in the urban industry. Maybe she'll post something in the comments section and let us know why she disappeared.

Click the image to be taken to the gallery page. Credit: Showgirlz Exclusive.

Tags: Ali Milan

Continuing in my pattern of dabbling in commercial actresses, I bring you Simone Cook. Do a little search for Nationwide Insurance's "Vanishing Deductible" commercial and you'll find that Simone has a quite a following. The only problem is, no one knew her name. Thanks to a few of my homies on ASR, that little mystery has been solved (there's no mystery they can't solve, lol)

Tags: Simone Cook

Michelle Van Der Water got a lot of attention for the below Palm Pre commercial. She's a hottie extraordinaire. I saw the comment below on a message board and found it...interesting. Curious to hear other's thoughts on it.

i like girls like this physically, but i never like their attitudes. she goes to lounges and sips on martinis and on weekends attends art exhibitions. she will only date guys same complexion as her or lighter.she is too career-oriented and usually hangs around white people, as the token 'black girl'. all token black girls have that hair style. every single one. it is the hairstyle that ad companies use for black women in their advertisements. you'll never see a black woman in an ad without this hairstyle. it is because she is the girl who hangs with whites, so whites feel more comfortable watching the ad and it still has ethnic diversity. (on another note, the girl will always be the 'light skinned' black girl, never dark 'ghetto/african skin')

Tags: Michelle Van Der Water

Trying something new and different: galleries. Click the image to be taken to the gallery page. Credit: Showgirlz Exclusive.

Tags: Erica F.

UPDATE: This blog post has been updated. Alysha sat down today to talk in detail about how she landed this job, for all those aspiring models who want to know...

--How did the Walmart ad campaign come about for you (e.g., starting from how you got with the agency that booked you for the job, providing one of your agents booked you)...

I got the Walmart ad through my agency, the Daniel Hoff Agency. Getting an agent is necessary and I got mine through submitting headshots and resumes to all agents that looked like we could benefit each other. You can get a list of all the agencies and what talent they are currently looking for at Samuel French Bookstore. After I sent out my packages I heard back from less then 1/4 of the agents. I went in to do a test read of a script, got a call back offering me representaion.

--Was this job a buy-out, do you get residuals, etc.?

The job was a buyout I got about $2,000 for internet and print usage during Summer 2010. If Walmart decides they want to use the images longer than the summer then they have to pay me again. Also, there's an exclusivity clause - while this ad is out I can't do a similar ad campaign for stores like Target or K-mart.

--How long ago did you actually shoot for this ad, to give people some idea of how long projects like this can take to come into fruition...

I shot this campaign in the beginning of April 2010. They had me "on hold" for a week, meaning I was told to keep my availibility open just in case they wanted me (ahhhhh the suspense, lol)

--When you shot for it, did you have any idea of how you would be featured in the ads, if at all?

After I shot for the ad I had no idea where it would actually be used. They don't tell you. All I knew was it could be used for print and online, whatever that means. No one tells you the actual relese date. I didn't even know it was out until you told me . Sometimes I never get to see the final result, it's only in the Midwest. Sometimes they don't even use you... at all .

--What advice would give to aspiring models out there who wanna dip their foot into urban modeling but not foreclose opportunities to do an ad like this?

My advice is to know exactly where you want to end up in the industry and be selective with your work. If you want to be super sexy and that's the work you book, it'll probally open more doors to be super sexy, but there's the risk you will be pigeonholed to that. You have to remember your overall objective and stick with a plan that will keep you versatile. Don't get "caught up." KEEP FOCUS.

Congrats to Alysha! (Click to enlarge.)

Tags: Alysha Young

The Big Butt Book ($59.99, Taschen Books) is the fourth in a series of "art books" from Taschen celebrating the human form in all its glory, profiling some of the highest-profile examples and overloading on archival images from throughout the history of erotic art and nudie mags. Here, Taschen's Sexy Books Editor Dian Hanson follows up on The Big Book of Breasts and The Big Book of Legs. **Bria Myles makes an appearance in the book.**

This is actually a good look because this book will be around forever in stores and even some libraries, while the magazines Bria has done will have long faded out. This series of art books by Taschen is very well respected.

As Bria's lawyer, my only question is: can you sell an art book like this using other people's photos without their permission? (Rhetorical question, lol)

Tags: Bria Myles, Dian Hanson

Finally, what appears to be a worthy entrant into the game of urban modeling: Miss Tammy, or as she's known on Model Mayhem, Tamara Lightning.

Update 3: Tamara appears to have up and disappeared from the net altogether, which is not uncommon for aspiring urban models. Her Model Mayhem page and Twitter are gone.

Tags: Miss Tammy, Tamara Lightning, Tammy Lightning

So this picture by photographer Scott Hebert caught my eye because it is showcasing that rarest of rarities: a playful show of affection between a black man and woman that is not crass or debasing. Eva Pigford just looks fantastic here, and the way Lance Gross's hands are framing her tiny waist shows off just what an amazing figure she has. Personally, I think this is a hot photo.

Tags: Eva Pigford

Edit: Model is Erika R has now been identified thanks to member "kb3al".

Tags: Erika R

Despite the crispy artificial lighting used in an outdoor setting, Laura looks rather captivating here. These are magazine quality photos used for the galleries on her pay website. Not bad.

Tags: Laura Dore

I promise this blog won't become a Maxim wannabe. Actresses like Scarlett Johansson get enough press everywhere else. But I have to say, I'm smitten with her. I mean, have you seen Iron Man 2!? Talk about stealing a scene (poor Gwyneth).

But the thing is, I've always liked Scarlett, going back to Ghost World in 1999, so this isn't some fad-ish, trendy reverence. This is good old fashioned, died-in-the-wool obsession, lol. And she has such a cool vibe about her and no lame plastic surgeries. I would hate to find out she has a bad attitude and treats people crummy.

Tags: Scarlett Johansson

UFC Hottie Arianny Celeste is featured on the cover of last month's Maxim and is photographed by Jeff Olson. This soft, natural look continues to elude the urban genre. Even my pics for J'Adore are not quite as soft and easy on the eyes as this. Hmmm... I guess it's back to the old drawing board.

Tags: Arianny Celeste

Actually that's a cheap electric stove. Mine unfortunately, lol.
Credits: Photography - Indosplace.com | Make-Up: Tai Young | Model: Bria Myles

Tags: Bria Myles

I try to post women that look good, irrespective of whether I like the particular model or not, which I don't in this case (how can you be the [one-time] editor of a major urban magazine, and a model in it at the same time? Isn't that a conflict of interest?) Nevertheless, these are some nice pics of Vanessa Veasley.

Props to Dynasty Series for these.

Tags: Vanessa Veasley