Work Text:
"We can finish this today! Oh, my boss will be so happy. So, just stand a little to the left of each one of your cars, smile, and..."
The photographer was amazed at how well the suits reflected light without overshadowing the natural shine of the metallic structure of the cars. Natural sunlight was always his favorite to work with, and he had the luck to catch a perfectly clear day with not a single trace of a cloud. No pesky shadows to fix, no need for endless retouching, no fiddling around and moving both the models and the product to find a decent angle for the shoot.
It was perfect.
Before he pressed the shutter, he could overhear Chat muttering at Ladybug.
"This guy really knows his stuff, he's even up for practice shoots since you- I mean we- are beginners!"
Wait.
Practice shoot?
"I appreciate the compliment, Mr. Chat Noir, but this is supposed to be the final product! In fact, I was thinking that this should barely require any post-production, the light and the magic of your suits already provided a near-perfect product. I have never met models that stood so perfectly on the first try!”
Chat's face turned from one of admiration to the purest disbelief the photographer had seen in his entire career. The boy's reaction could easily be used for a new perfume ad, with how expressive he was even while wearing a mask.
"...You're joking, right?"
"When it comes to my craft, I never am, young man."
Despite every single piece of advice Adrien had received about not overtaking the shoots throughout his career if he didn't want to be known as a diva, it was not Adrien in front of the camera.
And Chat Noir had no reason to follow that advice.
"No shade to you, m'lady, but I've seen watermelons less stiff than you are right now. It's hard enough to make a standing pose flow, it's only natural, since it's your first shoot I assume, but that is exactly why practice shoots are practically a rule with beginner models." He took a deep breath that was most likely intended to be calming, but barely had any effect on him.
"Especially if it's their very first shoot ever."
"I happen to know that, but that's a suggestion for shoots where the model is the focus. This is product photography, the rules are quite a little different," the photographer replied, deeply offended. It was one thing that these teenagers were saving the city on a daily basis, but that definitely did not give Chat Noir the right to try and correct him.
"I happen to know a fair share of it."
The audacity.
"Well, I have been working for this company for years! I have worked more photoshoots than cars you have driven in your life. I am practically considered an expert in this field! My methods have brought enough customers to the brand that I still have my job ten years later."
"I am very interested in your methods, though. Have you worked with multiple models at a time?" Chat asked, halfway between the start of exasperation and genuine curiosity.
"Well, to be honest I specialize in single shoots, and interior shoots, and pictures of the product itself, but this is still product shooting, and I do believe I know enough about photography, being a professional photographer, to direct an exterior couple shoot."
Chat sighed deeply, much to Ladybug's amusement. While she knew he could certainly be a little snarky at times, she had never seen him like this. "Do you know how to include models in a shoot in a way that looks cohesive? Do you even know what's making this composition look incoherent?"
"I refuse to answer that question," the photographer replied.
"Oh what grounds?"
"On the grounds that I don't know the answer!"
"Look, I'm not trying to offend you, but us as models are completely out of focus. The space between the cars doesn't make any sense. The light is coming directly from above us, and while it works well on the cars, it doesn't work on us models because we will be obscured. Shadows don't work the same on blonde and black hair, especially if we consider the fact Ladybug's is styled. Our suits aren't reflective, and while that will work, the reflection from the light on the cars is definitely going to need a lot of fixing in post-production."
By the time he was done with his rant, he was out of air.
"So what exactly do you suggest we do, if you're so knowing in the field?" the photographer asked sarcastically.
Chat, though, did not seem to have caught the sarcasm.
"Well, for instance, as a rule of thumb, I know that if you have celebrities in your shoot they should be one of the main parts of the composition of the picture, not an element to add to the sidelines. Then, for the lighting, if we're going to stick with all-natural light, we have to wait at least half an hour for the sun to start moving, so that way it won't come directly from above.
"Then, we should have cohesion. Have the models and the product feel unified in some way. The first thing I can think of is maybe..."
Chat squinted, turning his head to the side as he tried top find a way in which it would work.
Suddenly, he dragged Ladybug to the side of the red car they were supposed to be advertising.
"Lean on it casually, as if it's very comfortable. I know it's not and the metal is hot and everything but as long as it looks well on camera I don't think it matters, at least not right now.
Can someone move this car a little further? We could have one of us lay directly on one of the cars, but the colors... Easier to move the car. Now, if I just lean on it casually too, okay. "
What on earth was the boy doing?
"Okay, now. M'lady, we have to do a pound it. Show we're a team. I'll do the same and even the shadows will look nice!"
Wait, the shadows?
Chat looked up at the sky.
There were shadows.
"Everyone, hurry up! We don't have to wait anymore, Mister Photographer here took long enough the sun already moved, this should work nice with the rest of the idea! Ladybug, lean slightly off your car for the pound it.
Can someone please move this car before the light changes?"
While a member of the crew grabbed the keys and drove it until where Chat was happy, the boy looked at the photographer with a death glare.
"Now, hurry up and as soon as I lean on the car take the picture. We don't want the sun to move if you want this done by today."