Russell Tanoue

The beginnings of “Russell Tanoue, fashion photographer” clicked long before the McKinley local boy ever really knew how to work a camera.
“I used to put tinfoil on a florescent lamp, put it on my dad’s pants rack that had wheels and roll it along as I took pictures with my mom’s little 110-pocket camera,” remembers Tanoue of his early teen years.
Even more amazing was his “model” at the time, a young Kelly Hu, who now enjoys international recognition as an actress.
Hu and Tanoue grew up together. “I remember her in a red plaid skirt and winter coat, posing as I took pictures,” says Tanoue, who is one of five children. “It’s so weird that she’s an actress and I’m a photographer today.”

Ironic indeed, as Tanoue would first embark on an eight-year career as a professional dancer before returning to his childhood play-fantasy of picture taking and —with no technical training—make a name for himself in the realm of fashion photography.
His innate talent and finesse have earned him, among other things, the coveted role of MidWeek’s sizzling swimsuit issue photographer three years in a row.
“The MidWeek shoots are always very challenging,” says Tanoue. “This year I had to fit, cast and shoot all in the same day.”
Even under the pressure of a tight time schedule — not to mention the fact that he couldn’t get the suits wet — Tanoue’s ingenuity and eye for the artistic prevailed.
“We shot at the Hawaii Prince Hotel (and in addition to the outdoor scenes) I made use of every bit of our suite,” laughs Tanoue. “I shot a girl in the shower, on the bed with a lamp and in front of the sliding glass door. And that was all done at night.”

This year’s suits were picked based on what’s new and what’s currently in stock, says Tanoue. “This year it’s less beachy-local and more fashion.”
Whether it’s a saucy, lace-up bikini by J LO or a flirty but sophisticated one-piece by Ralph Lauren, Tanoue behind the lens takes only seconds to perceive the right lighting, composition and body angle of each model to create a snapshot worth more than a second glance.
It sounds like the dream job, right? After all, Tanoue has been working with Hawaii’s most beautiful people on a daily basis for nearly 15 years. To him, however, it’s a job that’s anything but glamorous.

“Most of my days normally start around 11 a.m., but don’t end until 5 a.m. the next morning,” says Tanoue.
Take for example the two days before Tanoue sat down for his MidWeek interview at Stuart Anderson’s, Ward Warehouse. “I just came back from Kauai,” he explained, ruffling his shoulder length hair and taking a sip of his glass of water (no ice).
“I had two hours of sleep in two days,” he continued. “I was shooting 10 aspiring models and had to do their hair, make-up and photograph them all myself!”
In the next month, Tanoue will host his annual VIP birthday bash at the Ocean Club and then jet off to Chicago and Las Vegas to do a couple shoots — the Chicago one to update 20 different models’ portfolios in just six days.
He has also been selected to shoot The Men of Playgirl 2003 calendar — a project that is pending a new location after being put on hold following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks — and has been declared the official photographer for The Men of Playgirl, Chippendales and Soap Opera Star Tours.

Tanoue, however, uses his talents for more than just running his photography business. He also is a makeup artist, handles the personal management of 10 or so models and has coached several girls to success in local pageants, including Juliet Lighter, Miss Hawaii USA 2002; Denby Dung, Miss Hawaii 2001; Jennifer Abreu, Miss Waikiki 2002; Monique Hsia, Mrs. Hawaii International 2001, and Emi Tottori, Miss Island Oahu 2002, whom Tanoue coached for this year’s Miss Hawaii Pageant, won the congeniality and talent awards.
What has kept Tanoue in such high demand for more than a decade can be described only as something intangible in his photographs. While he is a master at noticing every hair out of place, every flaw on a model’s body, Tanoue says what he’s really looking for in each session is something that goes much deeper.
“Whenever I photograph someone, I really click with them from the inside,” says Tanoue. “I never work from just what I see on the outside. Beauty is really the unseen. I’ve always had the ability to feel energy and to tell whether a person is dark or light.
“If a person comes to me with a lot of attitude, I find a way to open them up and reach their true self. How can I connect with someone who’s being something they’re not?”
In his business, Tanoue says he deals with different people every day, and there can be a lot of superficiality.
Wanting to use his talent to create something good and to give back to a world that has blessed him in so many ways, Tanoue developed Project Shine just over a year ago. His attorney is currently working on turning it into a foundation.
Project Shine offers an hour-long makeover plus a photo shoot to a person who is battling cancer or other terminal illness.

His first recipient was a woman named Deborah Ardolf, who was suffering from fibro myaglia, an incurable autoimmune disease.
“When Deborah saw her pictures, she said that what she looked like in the photo was how she really feels, that’s how she remembers herself and her spirit,” says Tanoue.
To people who are dying, nothing material matters, says Tanoue. “They are battling every day. And to help them forget about their pain for just a few hours, to bring out their true spirit and to capture that on film, will be something they can look back on and hopefully find inspiration from.
“My project is one of the reasons I can handle this industry. It’s all about the truth and making a difference where it matters. The rewards are priceless.”
Eventually, he would like to see his project be as big, if not bigger than Oprah’s Angel Network.

“Everyone should use their talents in a positive way to touch people’s lives,” says Tanoue. “I really respect Oprah for all that she’s done and choosing in life to use her talents in that way.”
Currently, Tanoue helps raise money for his project by hosting The Piranha Room at the Ocean Club the last Saturday of every month.
“The fishes come down — the whole place looks different,” he says. “The walls are different colors and I have like 32 posters of my photographs hanging from the ceiling. "We also give away photo sessions.”
It’s hard to believe that this energetic go-getter (who refuses to disclose his age, saying only that he “has a very young heart”) has had success in so many areas where he’s had no real training.

He became a dancer by chance, after a woman approached him and his dance partner at an intermediate school dance and asked them to be on a Hawaiian Moving Company dance contest. Tanoue won, and the following eight years he spent as a professional dancer allowed him to perform all over the United States and Canada.
During that time, he would do makeup and take pictures of the dancers. Somewhere along the line, one of his pictures ended up in a local modeling agency.
“They asked, ‘Who shot these?’ and then the next thing you know it, people were calling me and I had to turn it into a business,” says Tanoue.
In his early days, Tanoue wasted a lot of money and film through trial and error and a lot of pictures that came out all black, he says. But looking back, he says, you really need to allow yourself to take risks and make mistakes.
“It might be a passion, but what holds people back is they think, ‘I don’t have the proper technique or training,’ but you’d be amazed when you allow yourself to take that risk and do it because you love it.”

Whether it’s a fashion shoot or in his personal life, Tanoue’s philosophy is to have a message, make a positive difference and live each moment of every day: “I always say, ‘I’m only as good as my last job.’”