I was the one man in a one-man photography studio. I was just getting started in the business and had recently rented a small space in a downtown building. It was nothing fancy. It had a small reception area that I used as a gallery for my prints, two offices and a large storage area that I converted to studio space. Even subletting the other office, the portrait business barely covered the rent. Youth sports and weddings, of course, were the glue that kept things together.
I wasn't the most expensive photographer in town, and I wasn't the cheapest either. However you looked at it, I could not afford to lose any of my wedding or sports business. I was in my upper 20's so I had time to build it up.
I had loved photography since the day I had picked up a camera for the first time. I really committed myself to it when I started processing and printing my images. But the digital era had hit like a ton of bricks and I would have to make money to justify the expense of changing formats. The surest, most consistent means to do that as a photographer is to shoot weddings. Though it was not my first choice as a specialty, I grew to enjoy shooting weddings despite the pressure to get everything right. The trappings of a wedding such as the flowers, the nice venues, the happy people, and of course, the lovely brides, made for a pleasant day.
Let's face it, most brides are attractive, at least when they have their dress on, and make up and hair done. It's their big day and they spare no expense to look just right. And they want good pictures to remember the big day. That can mean a nice payday for me.
I was especially looking forward to this weekend's event. The bride, Kathy, came from one of the local ranch families in the area. She was a stunning 22-year-old with gorgeous green eyes and long dark red hair. She had a lean, busty figure. Her lightly freckled face was vaguely similar to a young Jennifer Aniston. To quote song lyrics, she was a 5-9 beautiful tall.
She would make a wonderful bride, the kind that made a good photographer look like a great one.
Even when she and her fiancé came by for an initial consultation, there was something special about her. Very poised and mature, more than I could say about her fiancé, Dave. He was an arrogant ass. He sat back in his chair, totally absorbed in his cell phone. Still, we made a deal and she put up a deposit for the wedding and we set a date for her bridal portraits.
If she was stunning in casual clothes and regular make up she was off the charts beautiful when she was dressed in her wedding gown with her hair and make up done. The full-length portraits were some of my best work ever. She ordered a large framed print to display at the wedding registration table, plus a few prints for grandma and others. She was to pick it up the Monday before the Saturday wedding.
The girl that came through the door, was nothing like the beautiful girl that I knew. Her hair was a mess and she wore little or no make up. Her eyes looked as if she had been crying for days. She was extremely upset.
"I'm so sorry, Mister Wallace, but the wedding is off."
She burst into tears again saying that her fiancé called it off. It seems he had been stringing Kathy along until he decided to run off with an other woman, leaving Kathy at the altar so to speak. And sticking her family with lots of wedding expenses. And sticking me with a hole in my schedule and income stream.
Still crying, she was able to croak out that she hated to ask, but would I consider refunding at least part of her deposit.
"You know my policy is not to refund deposits. But I usually make an exception if I can re-book something else for that time. This late, that's not very likely."
"That would be so good if you can. He didn't give me much time." More tears. My heart melted.
"Let me look at my schedule book."
"Oh wow, I accidentally booked a sports gig on Saturday. How awkward. You saved me some embarrassment. It seems I can swing a refund after all."
It took her a moment to realize her good fortune and to see through my bullshit. When she did, she ran over and gave me a huge hug. The hug alone made up for the money I would be paying back. Though she looked a mess it was heavenly. She melted into my 6-3 frame. Her perfume reached my nose, sweet with a hint of an unknown spice. Her warm body felt great; it had been too long since I had held a woman. She looked up, aiming a kiss toward my cheek. I felt my face blush. I was tempted to return the kiss, but decided that would be grossly inappropriate.
When we broke the embrace we were both somewhat embarrassed. But neither of us apologized.
"That is great. We got stuck with so many deposits because of that asshole. I really appreciate it."
"His loss, you are easily the prettiest woman I have photographed."
That drew out what may have been her first smile in days.
"Thanks, you have been very kind to me."
"I suppose that you don't want the portrait. Whatever you decide I still have to charge you at least my cost."
"Keep it. You can use it as a sample if you want. I don't want it."
"I can't deny that I had hoped you would say that. When other brides see how gorgeous I made you look, they will sign up immediately."
Another smile spread across her tear stained face.
"Oh so YOU made me look good. So the $5,000 gown, the $200 hairstyle, the 1 1/2 hours of make up had nothing to do with it?"
'You would look good without any of that. No wait I didn't mean without the gown like, um, um...I didn't mean..."
"Naked? Mister Wallace! Shame on you!"
It was good to hear her laugh again even if it was to my detriment.
"You know what I meant. And call me Bobby. Keep me in mind for you next wedding!"
"There won't be a next one."
"Don't let one jerk make you give up. There are a few of us good ones around. You know, the ones that always finish last."
"If there is a Mrs. Wallace, tell her she is lucky!"
"There isn't, but thank you."
She winked as she turned to leave. "I have lots of friends who will be getting married."
With that she was gone. True to her word, she sent some prospective brides my way.
*****
Months went by, and I was shooting a lot of weddings and increased my prices accordingly. I still did some portrait work, and hired another photographer to shoot most of my sports. I was feeling good about the future of the business.
I admit that I sometimes looked at Kathy's portrait while passing by it. And several prospective brides had asked if they could see samples from her wedding. But, otherwise. I didn't dwell on her. At least not obsessively.
"Hey there, handsome!"
I almost jumped out of my skin. I didn't realize anyone was there. When I saw her I was immediately calmed.
"Kathy! Great to see you! I'm guessing you want to book a wedding? I knew you would be back!" Her smile faded. "I am sorry, I just presumed..."
"That's OK. It brought up some memories. Actually, I am here to get a bid for headshots of the employees where I work. We need them for PR releases and the like. I know you are busy and you may not want to bid."
"Never too busy for you! Give me the specs. I will work up some numbers."
"It asks for samples. So, I thought I could volunteer for that."
'Great, that will help me out. And a pretty model is always best!"
"I also need some, uh, personal, shots."
"Personal?"
Kathy stared at the ground. "I need a few shots for a dating site. Just something flirty but not vulgar."
"I can do flirty and I can certainly do vulgar. But why do you, of all people, need a dating site. None of my business. Forget I asked. I can do it. It's a freebie."
"Thank you."
"Thursday, okay? I can have your bid and we can do your, uh, personal work."
After she left, I was pumped up. What did she mean by flirty but not vulgar? Flirty was evident but her idea of vulgar and mine were probably miles apart. I suppose I would find out. But I would have some work to do before then.
I found out the pantone color of her company logo and ordered a paper seamless to match. That would make a positive impression one the persons making the decision. With 300+ employees, this was a nice little job that would not interfere with my other work. When I shot yearbook photos in a previous life, it was not out the question to average 4-500 students a day. So this was a two day project plus another day for retakes. Easy.
Kathy arrived right on time. She was dressed in a business suit, very professional. She also carried small garment bag.
"I have the bid for you."
She cut me off. "You have the job. The decision was mine all along. I got you to bid just to keep you honest. I still have to get it by my boss, but he trusts me."
I was a little upset that she felt a ruse was necessary. But I suppose business is business, after all. She had opened the bid and was reading it.
"You under valued yourself. Let's add two dollars a head, and increase your hourly rate for the retakes."
"Wow. Thanks. I assume you are ready to shoot the sample photos."
"Yes I am."
And let's do some of the personal shots with this outfit on."
"You are the boss."
I had already hung the background and placed the flashes where I wanted them. I had a posing stool for her to sit on,
"I'm keeping the shots simple so that the shoot will go quickly and your people will not have to be away from work any longer than necessary. If I work fast, I can do it in a day, but from experience we should figure on two. We will treat this as an actual employee shot. 'Hello, ma'am, can I get you to have a seat on the stool? Good, Angle your feet to your right. Good. Now turn a bit to your left and move your chin down slightly. Give me a serious look, now a little smile.'"
I was able to fire off 4 shots during that sequence. Maybe 30 seconds.
"Wow that went fast and smooth. You are good."
"I photographed over 600 kids a day on several occasions. 800 one time. Fast and smooth came with the territory."
"We can do some 'other shots' with this set-up? I want some on the website that say, business woman!" She reached up and undid a button on her blouse.
Not exactly the 'girls gone wild' look, but it was a start. After a couple of shots, she unbuttoned one more. More of her cleavage came visible. Very nice.
"Hold on, I have an idea " I stepped over to my prop area and dug out a fedora I had used in a previous session. Kathy giggled, and put the hat on. A clip on bowtie and an unlit cigar completed the outfit. The images were great. They showed a woman with a marvelous sense of humor.
"I have another outfit, if you have time?"
