Patricia Lam Fung: Posing Genius

Continuing with my recent theme of photographers and models, here is a wonderful pictorial of Lam Fung from Screenland No. 25 (October 1961). The original article is available here.

BTW, I couldn't help noticing Patricia's nice biceps!

A Study of Posing with a Ball

Patricia Lam Fung, who has become a free star only recently, is one of the stars who are most skillful in posing before the camera. Photographers all appreciate her being their model, especially the famous Mr. Yung Yung, who has worked with Pat many times before and was responsible for photographing the pictures on these pages.

Since this was not the first time Mr. Yung Yung had photographed Pat in a swimming costume, Pat suggested that she pose with a swimming ball for some variety, and Yung agreed. When Yung was ready with his gadgets, he glanced at Pat who was standing before him, already changed into a bathing suit and holding a swimming ball, then asked suddenly:

"How many different poses do you think you can come up with that ball by yourself? I know you don't like to be told how to pose." Pat shrugged and replied, "It's hard to say, maybe just two or three. We will have to get the ball rolling and then see."

"All right," Yung agreed, "and I have an idea too. How about us doing it as fast as we can? You pose and I will snap it immediately. That way, we can have some photographs which will look as natural as possible."

Pat smiled. "So be it. For I know you too, speed being what you always demand."

So she made a pose and his camera clicked and he rolled the film without a pause, but not before Pat had made another new pose....

So they went quickly and smoothly, as you have never seen. And Pat proved again that she really was a posing genius, her every pose being so wonderful and yet made so swiftly, seemingly effortless and requiring no concentration at all. An outsider would actually think that she was shooting some movie films. For all you could see was Pat writhing like a serpent on the grass, now opening her eyes, now bent at her middle, now straightened, now squatting, now sitting, all with fluid and continuous motion.

In exactly fifteen minutes' time, twenty-two poses were shot and Yung was exhausted. He stopped Pat, gasping, "That's enough for the time being. I really can't go on anymore. My legs are giving out!"

So Pat stopped with a smile, and I, the bystander, remarked that it was like a race of endurance between model and photographer.