Welcome to Gaia! ::

Harm knew Ryan from a bunch of their shared photography classes. DCU was not a large college and photography as a major had only a small portion of dedicated students. She admired his work and his eye, of course, and spoke to him several times about photography and their shared passion. She wouldn’t call them friends, but they didn’t seem to be acquaintances, either.

A lot of their attitudes about photography seemed to be similar, too.

She ran after him after class, hoping to catch him before the next place he had to be.

“Hey, Ryan!”

She pulled up to a stop beside him, a little nervous about her request. It was something she’d been thinking about for a while and had tried with herself using her camera and timer to try and get it, but it wasn’t the same and she knew it.

“Can we go somewhere for a minute? I have a favor I wanted to ask you. Something personal.”

Something she hoped that he would understand as a fellow artist.

Ryan had talked to Harmony before so to be stopped by her, did not result in the side eye he sometimes gave other’s when he didn’t want to be bothered. He gave a small smile and greet her kindly, “Hello Harmony. Hope you are nearly done with your end of term project.”

He raised an eyebrow slightly when she said she wanted to ask for something personal wondering what it was, but he nodded, “sure I have some time to talk, but I make no promises that I will be of any help.”

He motioned her for to lead the way, so that they could talk privately wherever Harmony chose.

“That’s in the bag.”

She did not usually procrastinate so her final project was busy being put together to present in class sometime in the very near future. She hoped it was worth a good grade. She had worked hard on the shoot, trying to capture the best in her passion of burlesque. Out of the 400 shots she took there were maybe 20 she wanted to submit for her assignment.

Harmony led him off the main path into a small garden offshoot that not many people came into since it was largely enclosed by the buildings.

“I wanted you to shoot me. I mean, I wanted you to do a photo shoot with me as the model, um, naked.”

The moment she said it her breath came out in a long woosh; she didn’t realize she’d been holding it. It was something she’d thought about for a while but she realized how that might sound to someone that didn’t know better and she blushed as it occurred to her that he might think she was hitting on him, which was not her goal.

“I mean, I’ve done nude shoots of other people but I don’t know what the experience is like, do you? It’s such a personal thing but we shut down and just look at it like anything else and it’s, well, the human body, isn’t it? I just…”

She trailed off feeling like a helpless creeper.

Ryan gave a nod and smiled, “that's good. I’m nearly done, just have to develop a few more things and I can do that when I get home. I’m sure we’ll both being acing this class. You’re work is good, you’re pretty great with people.”

He followed her to the garden, sort of semi-private and he felt a bit wary, but when she asked him to shoot her, he was really relieved because he was prepared for something infinitely more awkward. Of course his relief came a little too soon because the awkwardness came with the word naked. Not that nude photography was awkward, but having your classmate ask you that certainly was.

He tried to keep a straight face at how flustered she seemed and barely succeeded, “its okay Harmony. You want to get more into your art right? It’s something totally different to be on the other side of the lens and even more such intimately perceived photography as nude shots.”

He gave a smile, “I’m really flattered that you trust me to do this and would be happy to do a photoshoot with you. You just need to let me know when of course and all the details of what you would like, or what you might want me to think about background and scenery wise, hair, makeup, not that you need it but, you know the usual.”

He adjusted the strap to his portfolio and waited for further explanation or planning. He didn’t mind doing this all and he figured he could get a few good shots to give her and wondered if she was allow him to use any of them for his graduation portfolio.

Harmony was relieved when Ryan didn’t seem to show any outward sign of revulsion at her request. She really only wanted to expand her horizons as an artist. Maybe it wasn’t quite as unusual a request as she had thought at first.

“I’m free Saturday night if you want to come over? I have a studio room in my apartment.”

Which basically meant she kept a studio in the 2nd bedroom of her apartment and blacked out the windows with aluminum foil for the lighting. It was a little more for a 2 bedroom but with her grants, the money from her mom and Tony, and her work as a manager at Espresso Yourself she managed alright. It gave her a lot more freedom to practice in without relying on the school’s studios, too.

She made the arrangements with him, thinking she would be more comfortable at home.

The night of she waited anxiously, dressed up in a robe and trying to get used to the idea of it. She was debating a bottle of wine to dull her fear.

Ryan gave a nod and smiled. “I …,” he started pulling out his phone, “think I’m free. Just let me check. I tend to try to do a little freelance work on the weekends.”

He scrolled through his phone quickly before nodding once more, “yes I’m free Saturday night, nothing planned at all. Let me just mark it here and I will see you then. You have my number, so I can get your address …”

He couldn't help but to think that this was going to be an interesting Saturday. He couldn’t say he wouldn’t be looking forward to it. Anything to get more experience and further himself, plus he got to help out Harmony, really a win win.

He walked up to the apartment door repeatedly checking the address not wanting to knock on the wrong door. He had to camera’s with him, one that contained film, something often not used now and the other an SD card, fully digital. He wondered if Harmony would be okay if he used both.

He knocked on the door and waited, trying to picture how to make this shoot the most tasteful and suiting of the young woman.

Harmony heard him knock and a jolt went through her. There was no more time for nerves as she moved to let him in and silently she wished she had opted for that glass of wine. Maybe there was still time, once he came in. It certainly wouldn’t hurt, knowing her mom would be less than enthusiastic about this photo shoot.

But then, her mom seemed to perpetually think she was a child.

“Ryan, you made it.”

She let him in, leading him down the hall into the main room of the apartment. There were windows along the back wall, curtained, and a kitchen to the right of where she stood in the living room. The bottle was in there…She shook her head.

“You can put your stuff in the studio. It’s the door to the left just in that hall.”

She pointed straight ahead and to the left. They didn’t have to get straight to business, she didn’t think. Harm trailed behind him and let him see what she had to work with, a fairly well stocked place for being clearly homemade. Everything seemed to be rigged in some way, amateur but functional.

“I hope you can work in here.”

Ryan nodded and came in, “yes, very glad I didn’t knock on the wrong door thought I wasn’t sure. I kept looking at the address.” He laughed lightly as he looked around the apartment and felt slightly envious because he still lived with his parents, but he had a dark room in the basement, so he wasn’t in a rush to move out.

“You’ve got a nice place,” he commented as he moved toward the studio and walked into the room looking it around. It was nice and he went about looking at her lighting and things. It would definitely do, he usually worked with less unless he was at school or freelancing. “I brought a film camera if thats okay. I digital one as well, but I wasn’t sure how you feel about film, most people like digital, but I’m happy with either.”

He grinned at her and smirked at the robe, “shy?”

He turned and looked around some more, “so do you have any specifics in mind for this or would you like to just go with the flow? I’ve got some posing in mind I think would work for you, we could also play with a sheet or large scarf for to make you more comfortable.”

He looked at her, “got anything like that, silk or sheer?”

“Thanks,” she smiled.

She worked plenty hard to maintain it, with full time schooling and full time work. Even then her mom and Tony still had to pitch in to help her with the rent and sometimes with her bills. But in the end it helped her live alone and keep a second room for a studio so she couldn’t complain too much about the lack of free time.

“A little,” she admitted to his question, gesturing to the robe. It’s not like she was used to getting naked around anyone, let alone a guy she considered easy on the eyes. She was still a virgin, contrary to what her mother feared considering her more, well, overt interests.

Though she’d really have to suck that up soon enough.

She moved to the kitchen, letting that be the deciding factor, and game back with the bottle and two wine glasses. She offered him one of them, pouring herself another. The taste was a bit too bitter for her but her mom had an appreciation for wine that sort of rubbed off on her, she guessed, at least in idea. It was better than Tony’s love of scotch.

“A sheet, maybe.”

She rummaged around and came out with a black silk sheet. It wasn’t sheer, but it was large enough that she could control what was being seen. And, at least at first, it meant she did not have to feel like she was fully naked, even though she was.

“We might have to take this slow.”

Ryan almost laughed when she came back with wine, but refrained and declined. He didn’t think it would be very professional and he didn’t need to loosen up. He was currently relaxed and amused, but he wasn’t sure the shots would be very good if she stayed shy and nervous.

He was handed a black sheet and sat it aside for later, then nodded with a smile when she said they might have to take it slow. He flashed her a grin, “You’ll be fine I swear. You’re lovely and I’m sure you do great okay.”

He grabbed his camera and fiddled with it a bit, before looking around. “Do you have an armchair? It might help you relax to take a few pic with the robe on for a bit, relaxing in an armchair might make a few nice shots. Maybe mess your hair up a bit and give you a book or something. Could put it by the window? The possibilities…”

He was sort of talking at the room, by the end of that because he’d gone back to messing with the setting on his camera until he got it right and looked back to Harmony. “Okay, ready to get started, the camera awaits its subject.”

He flashed another grin, he hoped his trying to be playful and positive helped her relax.

Harm was also a photography major and knew about composition. She deferred to his thoughts since he was the photographer. Harm flipped her hair and tousled it, making her look freshly rumpled. By the time he was done setting everything up she was through half of her glass of wine which was more than enough to relax her.

She sat herself on the chair, draping her legs over the side and leaning back against the other arm to catch the light. She let the shoulders on her rob sag, showing the bare skin beneath, and her legs were bare. It was a good start, tasteful but suggestive, and she took a deep breath before she nodded.

“Ok, I’m ready.”

She was actually beginning to relax since he was being so understanding and professional. She smiled, posing without posing, as if he’d caught her napping in a sunlit corner of the room.

With everything set up and Harmony ready to go, Ryan moved to make sure he got the best lighting and pulled the camera up. “That’s a great pose, very candid,” he started snapping a few different angles, getting some face shots and a few prespective ones switching between camera’s everyone once in a while.

“Good good,” he said, “Just get comfortable for now and move how you feel and when you’re ready we will play with the sheet a bit. I think a black backdrop and just do some standing and sitting shots with it. I will make you really stand out in a good way, especially your hair.”

He had to say the green hair was a great asset for such a photoshoot because it was very striking, though it made him more that a little curious for the obvious reason. He’s never seen her with anything other than green hair.

“Sit up a bit, forward and turn to the light a little more,” he said from behind the camera, shooting away, more with the digital than the film, but of course the film was a little more limited.

The longer she did it, the more into it Harmony became. The wine settled in as time wore on and she stopped thinking about it as an oddity and more like a job, or creating art. She separated herself from being a model and tried to view it as a photographer, what would look good and what wouldn’t if she were behind the camera. Which, of course, she wasn’t.

The robe slipped lower and lower as she posed. When it slipped off her arms entirely she barely noticed, turning her back to him and gathering her hair in her hands, letting him get a good silhouette of her back, half shaded and half in light, with her arms up holding her hair on top of her head casually.

Maybe that was model 101 but that didn’t make it bad…

She let her hair fall and turned back to him and winked, grinning, keeping her back to him.

“I think we can try the sheet.”

Ryan was pleased and he hoped that Harmony would be pleased to because he was getting some really good shots. She eventually lost the robe and Ryan continued shooting as if she never been wearing it in the first place. He tried to remain as professional as possible even with a semi-nude lady in front of him because this was his job, his profession. Once he graduated anyway.

He laughed when she winked at him and was pretty sure he got that one film. He looked back to check and sure enough there it was. He grinned back at her and decided he was definitely going to get that once framed for her. He was glad she seemed to be having fun.

“Alright,” he said in response to her saying to move to the sheet. “Do you have a black backdrop and cloth for the floor? We can start with you standing in front of that with the sheet, then move to the sitting poses. If you get comfortable enough you can just toss the sheet, but only if you are comfortable with it.”

He moved to get the lighting set right and to get everything set up properly before giving Harmony the thumbs up and moving back to let her do what she would. “I have some poses in mind, so I might adjust you at some point, but otherwise, you're a natural so just go with the flow.”

He got his camera ready and motioned for her to start.

Harmony went into action and started setting the backdrop and floor cloth. She scattered pillows and completely forgot she was naked. For now it was changing the scene so she dropped the shades and lost the sunlight, relying more on the mounted lamps to direct the lighting. She adjusted and tested the lights, trying to find the best way to do things to bring the best out in her model.

Or...

When she was done she seemed to remember she was still just a model in this shoot and blushed, looking at him.

“Oh, Gosh, sorry Ryan.”

She stepped back and let him make his own adjustments before she took her place.

At his prompting Harmony started to move, shyly at first but then as before with growing confidence. She knew she wasn’t unattractive and, what was more, she had more facets of herself to discover. Her poses ranged from cute and playful, like before, to downright sultry. Or, at least as sultry as she got.

When she finally got on the floor she crossed her ankles with her knees up, leaning on them and letting her mint hair cover the naughty bits her ankles did not block. She leaned forward and looked up at him, looking at once innocent and mischievous.

Ryan laughed not at all really minding Harmony’s help and her spirit. Really it wasn't as though he knew where anything was. When the lighting was right and Harmony was ready he started to shoot, sometimes switching between camera and trying to catch all the angles. He hoped she was enjoying herself as much as it looks like she was. It almost made him want to try being the subject for once, almost. He only paused once to adjust for a pose, but otherwise Harmony was a natural.

When she moved to the floor, he gave her a quick smile and a wink, “That’s awesome,” he said, “you’re doing great. Remember to use you props and have fun. Don’t forget to catch the light.”

He back up and let her work, allowing her to simply go with it and clicking away as he moved about. At one point he suggested she lay down and eventually he was solely using the digital camera having ran out of film on the other.

“Im running out of memory here,” he said after a little bit, “so how about a few more really fun ones, then we can look through a few if you like.”

Harm laid down like he suggested, pulling the sheet over her body to lightly outline her curves with the fabric and cover what needed to be covered. She found she was enjoying this experience, feeling free and proud of herself and of her body. No wonder people enjoyed being nude models. Sure her mom would have a heart attack but for now she was enjoying herself.

She toyed with the pillows strewn around her, being mindful of the lights and playing to the light.

In the last few shots she giggled and started throwing pillows at him, laughing, the sheet draped across her lap. One of them came undone and feathers filled the air, falling around her like snowflakes while she looked at them in wonder and laughed.

Once everything had settled she looked up at him and shrugged, looking at the mess she had to clean up. All in the name of art.

“Did you get the shot?”

Ryan wasn’t at all expecting a pillow to coming flying at him, he made a quick dodge only to be barely missed by another. He stuck his tongue out at Harmony and blinked as the last pillow came undone releasing feather into the air the floated down. His face took on an elated oh expression and he started click away furiously as the feather fell, Harmony in the middle looking quite joyful and pleasant.

He looked up once all the feather landed. It was a mess and kind of funny, he almost laughed, but refrained. At her question he looked back to his camera and made to look back through them before nodding and smirking at the young woman. He walked over and handed her the camera.

“I got several, but this one is really good. It has the most feather, reminds me of something angelic, so to speak. You did amazingly Harmony. I mean you could really make a great model. You’re a natural. Probably really helps that you are a photographer yourself.

He looked around at the mess and shook his head, holding a hand out to her, “Come on, I’ll help you get all this cleaned up. Big mess, but worth it.”

Harm grinned, getting up and wrapping the sheet around her body, toga style.

“That was so much fun, Ryan. I never thought I’d be able to do anything like that.”

She hugged him quickly before taking the camera, scrolling through some of the shots. Some were awkward, of course, and uncomposed but some of them were also very good. She was amazed that it was even her. Her hair covered her quite a bit but, even then, as she looked at the photographs the nudity was not the first thing she saw. She was drawn more to her face and post, how relaxed she looked and how her emotions translated onto the film.

“Wow, I can’t…” She teared up a little, looking at herself. “Thank you. This is awesome.”

She moved to the wine bottle and took a sip from her forgotten glass, feeling very liberated and proud. She knew instantly that she’d want to model again, though maybe with her clothes on.

Ryan stiffened slightly with the hug, he’d always been a bit awkward where touch was concerned, but he returned it anyway. He’d enjoyed himself too, it was always nice when a photo shoot went really well because he knew it could be a disaster.

“Yeah it was fun, maybe next time you can shoot me, though I don’t think I want to be naked,” he said giving a laugh and flashing a smile.

He started picking up some the feather while Harmony looked at the photos. When she thanked him, he grinned and tossed a bunch he had at her, “don’t mention it. It was nothing. You were great, we both had fun and I can shower you will pictures as soon as I can get them developed and printed. I’ve not a dark room in my basement, so I’ll develop the film myself. You’ve done that in class right? If you want you can come help. I’ll just hold it until you have time.”

He looked around for a broom and dustpan, “would you like a CD of the digitals to have?”

“Yes, please.”

She laughed and batted the feathers away, throwing some of the few she caught back at him. She wasn’t worried about cleaning up and stopped him from doing too much, willing to clean things up later when she had more time.

“I owe you for tonight. Let me take you to Johnny’s for dinner.”

Johnny’s was a burger place not too far from her apartment. She enjoyed picking up dinner from there a few times a month when she got out of class or off of work late.

“Their bacon burgers are to die for.”

Once she got dressed, of course.

Ryan gave a nod, “okay, just let me know when you are available and you can come over and we can get them developed. Just make sure to wear something you don't mind messing up in case anything got spilled.”

At the mention of food cleaning was forgotten and he looked at Harmony and grinned, “I could go for a burger yes, but I’m think toga’s aren't quite in this season.” He shooed her off to go get dressed, burgers awaited, not that he’d have minded if she want out like that.