Photographer 35

Penny was quick to follow my request. She put on her wig before walking toward the lakeside, her hips swaying alluringly. 

Nancy wasn’t as quick. 

She stayed in her seat. Though it wasn’t a rebellion, and even if it was a rebellion, it was a silent one, lacking the necessary presence or confidence. It was the after-effects of her confusion, not helped by her growing arousal. 

Our earlier show had left a mark on her, and the rough dirt road drove that mark deeper into her psyche. 

“Are you sure it’s a good idea? Maybe we should skip it?” she murmured. 

“Nope,” I answered with a smirk. “It’s a good opportunity to put you in the mood of the characters for the convention.”

“But what if we are late?” 

“We still have ninety minutes before the convention center opens. More than enough to make sure we’re on time and set up everything correctly.” 

“Still, a photoshoot? Do we have enough time?” 

“Since you’re already in costume, definitely so. If we’re lucky, we might even get a few decent poses we can give as a bonus with the books.” 

“Bonus photos,” she said, her eyes widening. 

“Of course,” I said. “It’s a fantasy convention, after all. I’m sure the prospect of sexy photos would help you sell more books to the male-dominant.” I paused some, for a dramatic effect. “Of course, if you want your first convention to be a total failure and waste all the money you have spent, that’s your call.” 

Her expression stiffened, enough to make me think maybe I had pushed too much. Luckily, the books she had published with her own money were piling next to her, giving her a physical reminder about all the money she spent. It was enough to sway her decision into indecision. “Do you think it’ll work?” she asked. 

“Of course it will, the attraction and anticipation is the greatest marketing tool,” I said. That statement even had the rare benefit of being true. People built companies worth billions around the idea implied promise of happiness radiating from the carefully suggestive pose of a sexy model. 

And while building a huge company based on a few photos was a definite overreach, I trusted my skills enough to push their already existing sexiness to the next level. “If you listen to me, we can sell the majority of the books here.” 

“A majority,” she said with a dismissive scoff. “Why not all?” 

I let my smirk widen. “Oh, we can definitely sell all of them, but that would require a touch sexier than you might be willing to go,” I said. 

“I won’t do nudes,” she jerked immediately. 

“What a naughty idea,” I said in mock outrage, and she blushed. “Of course not,” I continued seriously. “What do you think am I, a hack? Outright nudity is a terrible way of selling. The whole point is building anticipation.” Also, I had no intention of sharing their nude form with others. Sexy, suggestive photos were acceptable. 

Outright nudity was certainly not. At least, not except any other female that was sharing — or about to share — my bed as well... 

“Oh,” she murmured, shocked by my vehemence, but soon focused on the main point. A point that had great implications on the future of her career.  “Do you really think we can sell all of the books?” 

“Oh, we definitely can, as long as you’re willing to pay the price,” I said. 

“What price?” she asked, already tense. 

“I want to a cut of the total sales, of course,” I said, which surprised her. She was clearly expecting something more direct. More sexual. 

I could have asked that, of course, but the past proved that — for more than once — I didn’t need to bargain for that to happen. But I needed the money, and since I was already going to a convention, there was no harm in trying to take a slice from the pie. 

“How much?” she asked. 

“How about thirty percent?” I asked. 

“That’s too much, ten is more than enough.” 

“Let’s meet in the middle. Twenty,” I offered, which earned a nod. It was more than the services I was offering her deserved, but not by a large margin. Luckily, she was not in the mood to push for a harder bargain. 

Not that I wasn’t confident that I could defend my point, but a hardier bargain would take several minutes, wasting time that was much better used for the fun stuff. 

“Let’s move, we don’t have time to waste,”  I said. 

With that, she finally grabbed her wig and left the car, walking next to Penny, who looked spectacular under the morning sun, her armor glistening. Together with her wig and her pose, she truly looked like a valkyrie. 

In contrast, Nancy embodied her character much less accurately. Though, considering she was supposed to be a skulking thief, that inaccuracy was certainly not a problem. 

“Excellent,” I said as I followed them. “Let’s start with something simple, like a hug.” 

“A … hug?” Nancy stammered. “But it doesn’t make these characters hug. They don’t like each other.” 

“And that’s a problem, how? This is just some warm-up poses, to make sure you two warm up to each other, before we start more thematic pictures.”

Nancy nodded, while Penny, as usual, followed my request immediately and hugged Nancy’s waist, pulling her to her bosom. Nancy didn’t appreciate the snug position she found herself in, clearly comparing herself to Penny, and coming short. 

After several shots, I ordered them to change pose, going through several rapid poses in several succession, both trying to grasp the light layout of the environment to best represent their traits, and letting them get used to being in front of the camera together. 

“Tell me about the characters,” I asked Nancy while they were following my orders. 

“Sure. The warrior has born in the middle of-“ she started. 

“We don’t have the time for a full story, honey,” I cut her off. “Just give me a brief breakdown of two characters. Are they friends, enemies, rivals?” 

“R-rivals define them best, I guess,” Nancy stammered, caught shocked at the sudden cut. “The story starts with the warrior capturing the thief, before they start working together as a part of a wider group, trying to take down-“ she tried to explain. 

“Excellent, that’s all I need,” I said, cutting her off again. This time, it wasn’t to annoy her, or achieve some kind of advantage, but for more practical considerations. We simply didn’t have enough time to waste in descriptions that wouldn’t help at the moment. 

Normally, I would have extended that moment for a good half an hour, to make sure the models weren’t feeling self-conscious and get in the role properly. But we had no option if we wanted to arrive at the convention center on time.

Luckily, with those character explanations, the tension between them was not a problem but a feature.  

“So, let’s start by giving up some character. Penny, stand in front of Nancy, your faces need to be apart exactly by an inch, and look at her as angry as you can manage.” She tried, but deliberate anger wasn’t her best effort. “Try to remember how it felt when Nancy deliberately hurt you during makeup just because she was jealous.” 

That worked wonders to bring that flash of anger I was hoping for. Even better, a genuine shock flashed through Nancy’s face, selling the idea I was seeking even better. 

“I didn’t,” Nancy stammered as she tried to look away, which gave me another opportunity to catch a good pose. 

“Keep looking at Penny, don’t avoid her,” I ordered. “And Penny, grab her chin. Tender, but enough to give an impression of power. Don’t forget, you have just caught this lowly thief under your power. She’s under your power, completely.” 

“I like it,” Penny said, her smile widening, with a surprising amount of danger radiating beautifully from her gaze. 

She was such a little paradoxical treasure. Totally submissive and silly, but with a surprising capacity for intimidation once explicitly ordered. 

Such a little pet to enjoy. 

“Excellent,” I said as I walked closer, taking a few shots, Nancy’s fear genuine as she found herself pinned under Penny’s surprising flash of intimidation. Which worked excellently for my purposes to sell the character, even better than I hoped. 

I decided to lean on that aspect. I pulled off my belt. It was a credit to our relationship that neither girl reacted that the slightest, though that stability didn’t continue when I passed the belt to Penny. 

“W-what do you have in mind?” Nancy stammered in shock even as Penny grabbed the belt, her eyes widening, her supposed redhead courage melting immediately. 

“Don’t worry, she’s going to use that as a rope, to tie you up properly. Just put your hands behind you,” I said to Nancy. I waited until she actually followed that and Penny wrapped the belt around her wrists before I turned my gaze to Penny. “Try not to hurt her … too much,” I said. 

“W-wait,” Nancy stammered, but a pained gasp cut through her mouth as Penny tightened the belt even more. 

“Excellent,” I murmured even as I took several photos, even better than the last. “Don’t worry, Nancy, the photos are amazing,” I murmured. “They are going to make you a very successful writer.” 

With that, I asked them to give several variations of the captured scene, more than enough to give the buyers as a freebie. Nancy’s panic combined with Penny’s anticipation, some pictures turned out amazing, so much that, after five minutes of shooting with Nancy’s hands tied gave me more than enough material to be given as a bonus. 

I checked my watch before looking at them again with a smirk. We still had some time for a bonus photo set. Their smiles — enthusiastic for Penny, and hesitant for Nancy — told me that they were very much aware of the direction it was headed.

And even better, we still had some time to kill.