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

Tags: Alysha Young

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

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

On the better photo shoots, before you actually hit the location, the stylist will hold a fitting just to be sure the swimsuits look just right. These are candid photos of Bria Myles and Alysha Young from such a fitting with M&A Style.

Tags: Alysha Young, Bria Myles

For all you who hate Photoshop, click to enlarge and see those goosebumps. Reach Alysha here

Credits: Hair - JoshJarie Gibbs | Make-Up - Tai Young-Jackson | Styling - M&A Style | Photography: Indosplace.com.

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Just six models I've photographed and featured on this blog that I think have brought something unique to the game. (Click to enlarge)

Tags: Koi, Bria Myles, Megan Fusako Gaines, Sabrina Hunter, Larissa Bordere, Alysha Young

Alysha is one new model I think has incredible potential, and not exclusively in urban modeling. In fact, I would bet that Alysha will actually make the transition into acting. I look forward to working with her again. (Click to enlarge)

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This whole shoot is posted at BlackJackSkanz.com, but it seemed like a good idea to have it here as well, since I took these shots. Props to J'Adore magazine and Editor-In-Chief Taneish Leslie. Models: Bria Myles, Alysha Young, and Suelyn Medeiros.

A part two to this shoot is under consideration for the March 2010 issue of J'Adore. What three models do you think would make good candidates for that shoot? (Click to enlarge)

Tags: Alysha Young, Bria Myles, Suelyn Medeiros

Loving Alysha's expression on this one... (Click to enlarge)

Tags: Alysha Young, Suelyn Medeiros

Reach Alysha on Facebook here and Suelyn on Twitter here.

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Love these pics... (Click to enlarge)

Shout out Alysha on Facebook here. You can reach Bria on Twitter here.

Tags: Bria Myles, Alysha Young

Photographer’s Corner: One thing about shooting into the sunlight - autofocus usually stops working so well. That’s what makes these types of shots particularly challenging. Gotta get your manual focus on. Give Alysha a shout out on Facebook here. (Click to enlarge)

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Photographer’s Corner: This picture of Alysha was taken midday with strong overhead sunlight. To give it an even, natural lighting both a silk and scrim were used. These pics may look simple, but controlling light outdoors is tougher than it appears. I had three assistants, and even with that at times it seemed like we were shorthanded.

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I promised more of Alysha - this is one the photos I took of her for J'Adore Magazine's latest issue. She is featured as the Creme De La Creme in the issue. She was a great model. When the sun started to set and everybody else was packing up, she was still going strong without a complaint. Now that's professionalism. (DVD Extra: there was small editorial battle as to which model would get to have the “surfboard shot.” It was tight but Bria got it; however, Alysha got her own feature so everybody won.) (Click to enlarge)

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I was fortunate enough to shoot a swimsuit layout in the latest issue of J'Adore magazine - the Sports Issue, which will be on newsstands in the next week or so. I have to give a big shout out to the editor Taneish Leslie for giving me this opportunity.

The idea behind this editorial was to bring that clean, natural aesthetic you see so often in Sport's Illustrated to a layout of video vixens. No baby oil, no thongs, no artificial lighting. Just beauty and sunlight. (I never felt the urban magazines had really done justice to the traditional beach shoot (see, KING’s botched Dollicia cover).)

In the coming days I’ll be posting high res photos from this shoot, including outtakes that didn’t make it into the mag. Thanks to Bria, Alysha and Suelyn for some great modeling.

Tags: Bria Myles, Suelyn Medeiros, Alysha Young

I shot Alysha recently for a magazine editorial and this girl is the real deal. Good head on her shoulders, no tattoos, in college. Between set ups during the shoot all she did was sit over in the corner and read a book. She's skeptical of the urban industry, so I'm not sure how much more we'll see of her, but we could certainly use more quality models like this in the game.

Tags: Alysha Young