Who: Max and Rachel What: Max answers a want ad for a photographer and gets more than she expected When: Recent Where: Rachel's Status: Complete Rating: PG-13 for nudity
Rachel had put out a want ad. With Mark spending more time on whatever it was he was doing on the side that Rachel was in no way in denial about, she needed some more help with camera work. Especially if Mark kept insisting they tape things together. It was a pretty vague ad, too.
Looking for someone 18+ to photograph and videotape a model for a popular website. Will pay!
She could have probably mentioned more details about the website, including the URL, but she didn’t want to invite any creeps.
Not that she always minded creeps. Rachel Amber did have questionable taste in men.
Max didn't have any taste in men that she was aware of, though she thought she managed to capture their faces well enough when that was required. She hoped, though, that she didn't have to photograph men that day. The ad wasn't at all clear on the details, but she needed the experience and the cash could help with her film fund.
So she nervously knocked on the door that looked like it belonged to a regular apartment building instead of a photo studio.
That probably had something to do with the fact that it was. Who operated model photoshoots out of buildings like this? Max didn't seem to care, or didn't find it of note. Perhaps she should have. Instead, she fidgeted with her camera strap while she waited for someone to get the door.
Luckily, this actually was a photoshoot, of sorts. With an entire bedroom dedicated to drugs photography. Okay so it was both things.
Anyway, Rachel answered the door to see a mousy girl about her height. She tilted her head, giving her a considering smile and the kind of once over that made tougher girls blush.
"I'm going to guess and say you're here about my want ad? I'm Rachel, come in."
The apartment itself was clean, though not neat, with band posters framed on the wall, a shelf of books, a bong on the coffee table and a couple t-shirts thrown over the back of the couch, "We do some stuff in the bedroom but actual shoots in the studio."
"Wellll..." Max trailed off, trying to think about cold winds on her cheeks or snow falling or jumping into the icy cold ocean waters of Seattle. Anything at all to keep her face from feeling as red as it probably was. She fidgeted with the strap on her camera again before stepping inside the apartment, which was definitely not neat.
It reminded her of Chloe's old bedroom, all those years ago, and that was strange. Max wasn't sure why she'd been feeling so nostalgic lately. It wasn't as if she'd traveled back to Oregon or would ever get the chance to see Chloe again. After her long silence, she probably should have been using the term 'friend' more loosely.
In any case, her eye spotted the bong on the coffee table, and she glanced back over to Rachel, trying to see if she was stoned. Max didn't want to do a photoshoot while the other party wasn't in their right mind. "Some stuff in the bedroom... that's... the kind of ad I answered. Okay. I can handle that."
"I'm hoping you can handle that, cutie." Rachel was clear eyed. She hadn't used the bong and had only had a joint early that morning. She smiled at this adorable little deer and closed the door. She led her into the studio bedroom, which was set up a bit more like a traditional studio. It was where she did glamor shots and some ... other shots. "So what's your name?"
"You probably could have been a little more clear, though," Max said as she followed Rachel into the bedroom. She relaxed visibly when she noticed the more studio-appropriate layout, and set her bag down on a nearby table. Max wasn't sure what kind of photography she'd be doing, so she had brought along some extra cameras she'd checked out of the school as well as her trusty instant camera. "I'm Max. I'm still a student, but I brought along some examples of my work."
That's right, Max. Focus on the work. That was definitely better than focusing on the fact that the hot blonde who'd answered the door had just called her 'cutie'. Or that it seemed reasonable to assume she'd have to take some photos of that girl that would fall into the category of 'very artsy'.
She inwardly cursed herself for being such a dork.
"Ooh, lemme see!" Rachel could tell that Max was a little insecure, which was something she could work with. She was much more comfortable in this kind of position, if she was honest with herself. Pulling out Max's portfolio, she started to thumb through it with genuine interest.
"I really like your style. You've got a thing for old analogue, don't you...I think we can work with that..." Actually, Rachel thought she could use Max for her Drama class productions too.
Maybe she should have Max take some shots of her, though she thought she'd have to have her warm up with regular head and glam shots before she took any clothing off.
"I can't help it... I know the world is marching ever onward towards the digital age, but analog just..." Max shrugged her shoulders as she tried to find the right words. "More character. Digital is too clean, too perfect. But for this, you'll probably need at least a few digital shots. I brought a good camera for that just in case."
Max wished she'd been wearing her hoodie. It wasn't cold enough for it anymore, and she desperately wanted something to be doing with her hands. Instead of worrying at the edges of her sleeves, she tucked her hands into the strap of her instant camera, and started looking around the makeshift studio. "There's some good light in here. We should get a few shots before the sun sets. If that’s okay… It’s your shoot."
"Don't see why we can't do a combination," Rachel suggested. "Do you take composition classes? Maybe we can make a physical art book to sell. I'd pay you a percentage of every one sold, too."
She moved onto the set, "Do you want me to just pose? Or do you have directions for me?" Rachel tilted her head and all but batted her eyelashes, "I like taking directions, sometimes."
"I took one of those last semester," Max admitted, while pulling her instant camera off of her shoulder. She almost dropped it on the floor when Rachel started fluttering her eyelashes. Wowzer. Was Rachel flirting with her? That was silly, someone like that was definitely out of her league.
Until a half hour ago, Max hadn't even been sure she was interested in anything at all. Life suddenly seemed like it was moving hella fast. She needed to stop freaking out so much or she was never going to survive this shoot. "I ... uhm ... Selling books could be interesting. I can digitize any Polaroids I take. So... wait! Hold that pose!"
Rachel had turned at just the right angle to catch the light perfectly. Max lined up the shot and snapped.
This action will have consequences
There we go, Rachel thought. Max was adorably dorky, but when she was taking pictures she was in her element. It was such a sudden shift.
Rachel turned again, smiling at Max. This part she was good at, though. Finding a pose, giving the camera whatever look she thought it need. Smokey, innocent, bombshell smile. Rachel could do it all. "If all your shots are that good, we could take the world by storm, Max."
Snap, Snap, and Snap, went the camera, and Max waved each film in the air for a few seconds before carefully setting the images aside. Watching the world through the distance of her viewfinder was so much more comfortable that she almost forgot Rachel was actually there in the room until she spoke.
"Well I should probably finish school first, I did get a scholarship." She replied, before snapping a few more shots. "Kneel closer to the ground, we can take advantage of this sunbeam."
Rachel went down on her knees, leaning back so her hands where on her ankles and she was looking at the camera with a simultaneously innocent and entirely enticing expression. Then she did the kind of looking into the distance version of that shot.
She really needed a fan in here for her hair, but Rachel was having a lot of fun.
The fan would have added something unrealistic to the shoot, but Max had another idea. She laid out a few more snapshots she'd taken, then held up a finger. "Hold that for a second, if you can."
She rushed over to the window and let in the natural breeze, then ran back to take a few more snapshots. "You're a natural at this... You seem to always know just what shot is going to look good. I think I'm lucky that you even let me in here."
Max remembered that Rachel had mentioned bedroom shots, and blushed furiously as she motioned to Rachel's blouse, "Didn't you want to do some poses without clothing? This lighting would look really good on your skin, I think."
"I'm told I'm very photogenic," Rachel replied, giving Max a quick wink. "But a subject is only as good as her photographer."
Once Max had her window breeze shots, Rachel stood, and calmly unbuttoned her blouse while fixing Max with an amused gaze. "Don't be embarrassed. This isn't anything that you haven't seen before. Though I wouldn't mind taking a few shots of you."
She looked down at herself as she finished unbuttoning, then turned to go towards the bathroom. "Give me 1 minute, I ran into the dresser earlier and I should put some coverup on first."
"That's very flattering, but I don't think I'm nearly as photogenic as you are, Rachel." Max said, waving another candid shot she'd taken in the air, before adding it to the pile. If she kept taking snaps at the rate she was, she'd run out of film. "I've just... never seen another girl undressed like this. I guess in the locker room in high school, that probably counts."
'Ran into the dresser' sounded like one of those excuses that completely perfectly graceful women used when something else had happened. Max was a klutz; She could run into her dresser eight times in one morning and she often did end up with mystery bruises. Rachel though? She didn't seem the type.
Max had just met her, and decided not to press the issue. At least not for now. Instead, she loaded some new film into her instant camera and prepared her better cameras for action. "Orange counteracts the blue, if you don't have salmon under eye concealer try an orange based lipstick."
Hey, she didn't usually wear a lot of makeup, but that didn't stop her from binge watching makeup tutorial videos on Youtube.
“You’ve got a good eye,” Rachel called out. True to her word, she came back a minute later, standing in the doorway, hand on one cocked hip. She’d stripped down while in the bathroom, the light behind her casting her in harsh shadow.
It was a gorgeous shot, and Max immediately took three pictures of it before taking a look at Rachel with her naked eyes. "You're very good at this, I can't even tell there's a bruise there."
Models had to be good at makeup, Max figured. And people who 'ran into their dressers' often enough were also really good at covering up the after effects. Was Rachel in trouble? Max had only just met her, and wasn't sure why she cared this much. Just... that she did. "How showy do you want these next ones to be?"
“Let’s take some glamour shots,” Rachel suggested, not wanting to blow Max’s mind too quickly. She stepped past Max, running her finger along one of Max’s elbows as she passed. She felt oddly shy. Not that she had problems with showing herself off, but like she didn’t want Max to judge. It was a bizarre feeling and she shot it in the head and buried it.
Max shivered as the finger made contact with her elbow, which gave her thoughts of her own. Thoughts she definitely didn't shoot in the head, but which required some serious burying before she turned into the equivalent of a tomato. "Glamour shots sound good. I actually don't think I've ever done any of those, what did you have in mind?"
“Alluring,” Rachel said, standing with her back to Max as she glanced over her shoulder in her direction. “Tasteful. I want to be more tasteful. Sexy is fun, but there’s an appeal in leaving some things to the imagination.”
That was already an amazing start. Rachel standing in what was left of the day's light, naked back facing the camera, looking over her shoulder. Max took a few snaps of it, then let the camera hang around her neck while she looked at the furniture in the room.
"There are some very alluring shots that celebrity photographers do... We could use some of your sheets as props, for instance? If we put a light behind you we could play with the shadows you'll make."
"Okay, lets put in some maximum effort." Rachel grinned at her, before she started to to arrange the sheets and move the light. And if she put a little sashay in her hips every time Max looked at her she wasn't going to say as much.
"I don't think we need to go quite as far as Deadpool would if he was the one doing the camera work," Max replied to that, hoping she'd gotten the reference correct. She was a complete closet geek, something she usually hid from people. Some part of her just wanted to show off for this woman.
The hip sashay was extra. Max swallowed, pondering things like how thirsty she suddenly was and the fact that it was possible she was going to be leaving her heterosexuality behind in this apartment when she left. She really needed to focus on her work, but Rachel's antics weren't helping.
"That's great, hold that position there!" She said, noticing a particularly good shot of contrasting shadow and light. Rachel hadn't finished moving the lamp, and the light it cast was setting Rachel's hair aflame.
Rachel held that position. Maybe the thing she liked the most, was when those pictures came out, it made her feel like a human being.