Lights. The photographer's studio was full of them.
As a designer, Gabriel Agreste was keenly sensitive to color, texture, shape, lines, flow—
But in his recent collections, he was all about lighting.
"Natalie," he murmured, "make a note to center sequins in the new spring collection."
Natalie hesitated. "... Sir, the board wanted you to focus on expanding into the business professional sector next quarter."
Gabriel waved her off. "Polished platinum accents then. Buttons and lapel bars for the boring men and women in gray suits. But sequins for the daywear line, and crystals for the evening wear.
"Of course," she said, already tapping away on her tablet.
"Juliette!" Shouted Gabriel. "Shoot that sequence again, but with the blue accent lights. I want the organza overlay on that skirt to glow. Give post production a rim light that they can work with."
There was a flurry of motion as, all around them, the photographers assistants rushed to rearrange the various lamps and reflector screens and flash umbrellas in the studio. Other, more junior assistants came to pick up the flower petals scattered on the set floor (these would need to be collected into a basket, so they could be dramatically thrown in the air again) while hair and makeup descended on the model—Tatianna, or Trisha, or something like that. She was a ballerina—to make little fixes in between takes.
Just about the only people in the studio who weren't in motion were herself and Adrien. The boy was quietly tucked into a corner with a textbook, something he often did when he had to miss school for modeling shoots.
The staff finished their preparations.
"Places!" shouted Juliette, the photographer. "Pietro, easy with the flower petals this time, I don't want to stop to pick up flowers every three shots. Tiffany, on the count of three, relevé and cambré. Okay, un, deux, trois!"
Click. Click. Click.
"Fling the skirt out! Look over the shoulder!"
Click. Click-click. Click.
The photographer was shooting little glances at Gabriel in between poses, trying to gauge his approval.
Natalie looked over at her boss. He was staring transfixed at a strobe light. She elbowed him.
"Uh, that's beautiful, beautiful Juliette. But I fear that we've flooded the scene with too much light. We've lost the contrast, the intrigue, the shadow. Let's have the lighting all come from one direction… think Rembrant and Vermeer, not Bouguereau. Also, Pietro, let's leave the flowers on the floor, and throw glitter for this next one."
"Glitter." Juliette said flatly, already scowling. Her expression was mirrored by the model.
"Glitter," said Gabriel firmly, leaving no room for argument.
The studio was thrown into a flurry once more.
Natalie sighed. She wondered if anyone else had caught on to the fact that Gabriel was toying with them. Not in any malicious way, but rather literally using the studio and its staff like a toy. This was the third lighting change Gabriel had requested, just for this dress; she had lost count of the number of additions, adjustments, and outright changes he'd made to the last six sets. Not that anyone was going to question the great Gabriel Agreste, especially when he'd pushed his last photographer to do work that ultimately won a Sony World Photography award.
Natalie supposed that playing with lighting during photoshoots was more productive than installing a light-show-and-water-jet fountain at the Agreste Mansion (something Gabriel had briefly considered and had her look into) even if it did end up eating extra time out of everyone's schedules.
Maybe for Christmas, Natalie could buy her boss a lava lamp.
A/N: Heyyyyy, sorry for the long wait. On the bright (ha) side, this chapter was originally chapter 4... which is to say that I've already drafted the old chapter three/the new chapter four. So that'll be out in a matter of days, not years ;)
For anyone who's interested in science, some entomologists theorize that moths and other nocturnal insects are drawn to light because they use the light of the moon and stars to orient themselves and keep track of which way is up. So, moths flying around a streetlamp will fly upside down and sideways trying to keep the light overhead, poor dears. Alas, I found this out only recently, and I was already firmly attached to "Haha, what if Hawkmoth was distracted by shiny things" as a concept. So here you go.
Reviews always appreciated! Bug out~