Thursday October 8, 2009

Professional photographer Young-Sun draws a bevy of models

By WONG SAI WAN

HE has a job that every hot blooded male would die for and a phonebook all of them would give their right hand for.

Teh Young-Sun is probably the most popular professional photographer with most models in Penang, if not the whole country.

Beautiful young women makes a beeline for Young-Sun’s studio at Nagore Road in Penang if they want their portfolio updated.

The girls will strike any pose for him in any kind of clothes – from bridal gowns to bikinis.

Some have even posed nude for him and he has even put three of such works on exhibition at the Penang Art Gallery at Dewan Sri Pinang. The three prints are being sold for RM28,000 each.

The best part of Young-Sun’s job is that he does it with the full blessing of his wife Moonly Koay.

“I trust him completely. It’s his job,” says Moonly when asked if she feels threatened with her husband being constantly surrounded by beautiful women in various stage of undress.

In fact, most of the girls who pose for 37-year-old Young-Sun have become close friends of Moonly.

Like a family: Teh (on the floor, foreground) with his models.

“I have posed so often for him that we have become close friends especially me and Moonly,” says Diana Lim, who is one of Young-Sun’s favourite subjects for his lens.

“We have full confidence in him and he can do anything with us – with his camera,” says Diana.

At a shoot of Diana for The Daily Chilli, Young-Sun not only put her through the paces with various pose, she allowed him to button and unbutton her clothes as though it was the most natural thing to do.

At one stage, Young-Sun was even adjusting her bikini top and bottom as though she was just a mannequin.

Up and coming actress Amy Natasha says Young-Sun is so professional that all the girls trust him.

“We all know that he will get us looking at our best,” she adds.

Young-Sun is a self-taught photographer and is actually a marine engineer by training.

After working in Singapore for a couple of years as an engineer, he decided to pursue his childhood dream of being a professional photographer.

He even took on a job as a lecturer in IT to support his photography dreams.

This was where he met Moonly who was his student.

Young-Sun says that he will never take advantage of any of the models who pose for him.

“We are all professionals and all I want is to show them off in the best possible way in my pictures,” Young-Sun told The Daily Chilli, The Star’s new online portal.

Shooting nudes is what Young-Sun really wants to do.

“In Malaysia, there is still a stigma on nude art because it is seen as perverted or erotic but as you can see from the photos, there is nothing perverted about it,” says Young-Sun.

“The images of a nude body are an opportunity to appreciate the full beauty, glory and grace of the human form.

“If you feel erotic when looking at them, then that’s you, not the art.”

His dream is to roam the world and shoot nudes and to exhibit them.

Till then, Young-Sun has to content with photographing some of the country’s most beautiful women.

Now that’s a tough life.

(Young-Sun can be contacted at eyedear@gmail.com and his work online can be seen at www.eyedear.my)

● This report is brought to you by Daily Chilli