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harry-styles-obsessed · 7 months

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Request: hi! Please could you write something about y/n being Harry’s photographer?

Thank you for the request. Enjoy!(:

©️ please do not copy or translate my work.

The photographer

When you first received the offer to become the Harry styles’ photographer you were excited— nervous of course. But extremely excited. He had been your inspiration for many years, ever since you were little. His prior photographers were used in your college photography class. Studying their projects and their amazing photography of the gorgeous green eyed man. But yet here you were now camera wrapped around your neck, sat on your bed truly debating your life decisions. You should’ve known this was a bad idea… harry was charming and sweet exactly how he was on stage and in interviews. Sweet, lovely, compassionate, funny… you should’ve known he would capture your heart in more than just one way.

You silently looked through the pictures you had taken last night, admiring each one, admiring how beautiful he was in the photos you took. It was almost a fan girl moment for you as you remained sat on your bed cross legged. You had now been his photographer for six weeks and each day that passed grew more exciting. It opened your eyes to so many things… but it also alerted you to the fact that he still made your heart race. You were currently in Harry’s tour bus the chatter of the band being heard— Harry often times just stayed in a hotel close to the place he was performing at. You believed it was managements doing as they had, had a few times where stalkers had attempted to break into the tour bus to get a quick photo with Harry styles. It left the man shaken.

“Y/n!”

A sudden voice called. Mitch. “Mitch” you responded back calmly, keeping your eyes on the camera before the curtain was pulled firmly to the right Mitch lowering down to look into your bunk his eyes locking onto you still flicking through the pictures “hey.” You finally looked up smiling “hi.” He rolled his eyes playfully “Sarah and I are headed to grab some lunch, you want anything?” You paused momentarily thinking to yourself before eventually shaking your head “no thanks. Thank you for the offer though.” Mitch only smiled, closing the curtain for you again as you heard multiple footsteps leave the tour bus. You sighed softly continuing to flick through the pictures you took. About ten minutes passed before you heard movement come from the living room of the bus— you hesitantly poked your head out cautiously staring at where the sound came from but saw nothing. Weird.

You however then shook it off, instead getting up off of your bunk drawing the curtain closed quietly as you began moving towards the sound camera dangling against your stomach as you cautiously made your way towards the sound but you saw no one and nothing. You were almost certain someone was playing a trick on you until all of a sudden you heard an abrupt and loud sound followed by a few mumbled obscenities your eyes sliding towards the culprit yet as your eyes fell upon the person your mouth got dry as bone. Harry stood facing the desk in the room, the sound of the crash being a bunch of pleasing nail polishes strewn all over the place— some on the floor, and the others all around him but that wasn’t what got your attention… no. But rather his back. Shoulder blades sharp. Skin slightly tanned, tattoos littering up and down his arms taking your breath away… he was in full view. All for you to take in…

Your hands trembled slightly as you silently flicked your camera on, bringing the view finder up to your eye as you focused the lens on harry before snapping the picture your breath hitching in your throat as you stared at the image you had just captured.

He was literally perfect. His skin glowing in the dim light, your lips parting in utter admiration. He was beautiful. As you remained staring at the picture you failed to notice the sound of footsteps silently getting closer to you, until eventually you heard the sound of someone clearing their throat making your head snap up your eyes widening as you came face to face with Harry— amusement flickering in his eyes, green eyes warm and soft the amusement growing. “Oh- harry- hi…” you smiled sheepishly, Harry tilting his head slightly as he smirked down at you dimples appearing “kind of creepy sneaking around so quietly. Don’t you think? You’ve always got that camera in your hands… I’m starting to think you’re obsessed with me.” Harry’s words were teasing, playful, his eyes twinkling with mischief as you couldn’t help but blush.

“That’s quite an accusation, harry.” You murmured blushing harshly watching as he stretched one hand out to grab a hold of the camera slowly lifting it from your hand, pulling the strap over your head before he clicked on the small photograph icon the picture you had snapped immediately popping up. “Hm…” you could feel the tension grow. You had always felt some sort of attraction to him which always made the tension between the both of you almost impossible to ignore. “There’s a slight wave in this picture” he spoke, eyes finding yours as he smiled slightly “usually your hands are so steady, y/n.” You felt your heart race watching as he flicked through multiple photos noticing the difference from the ones on stage to the one just now… it was clear your hands weren’t steady just a moment ago. Harry wasn’t often to mess with you or even tease you, but he couldn’t help himself…

“Do I make you nervous, y/n.”

His words made your cheeks flush red a shaky breath leaving your lips “what— no…” you spoke avoiding eye contact Harry letting out a small chuckle “look me in the eyes and tell me that.” His words were playful, yet the way he told you demanding you to look at him it awoke something within you “harry—“ “look me in the eyes and tell me…” your eyes slowly flicked up to meet his an almost cocky smirk on his beautiful face “you…. You make me nervous.” You spoke without even thinking. “Is that so?” He asked closing the space between the two of you as he gazed down at you your eyes remaining on his as he got closer and closer until there was almost no room to breathe normally. You held your breath staring into his eyes the cockiness on his face soon being wiped off as he stared at you— your eyes searching his your breath remaining to be held as his slender fingers touched lightly against your hips “do-do you want help painting your nails?” You asked quietly feeling a different tension now surround you both.

“I would… but I think you’d be trembling too much to paint them in a straight line.” He spoke a soft chuckle leaving his lips as your eyes searched his and his eyes searched yours before eventually his hand trailed up to cup your cheek thumb brushing against your cheek as you watched as he leaned in towards you— lips inches away from touching, your breath shaking- chest raising and falling quickly—

“We’re back!!” A voice shouted Harry immediately pulling away the warmth he provided you for those few moments drove you wild your eyes remaining wide as you stared at him before he casually placed the camera back back around your neck his eyes searching yours before he cracked a smile before focusing back on Sarah who handed him what was most likely fish and chips her forcing the same thing into your hands. “Sarah I told you not to” you whined the kind woman shrugging and grinning “too late.” She spoke, everyone bidding Harry goodbye Harry waving at you as he went to leave before pausing multiple nail polishes gripped in his free hand “oh and y/n..” you nodded at him to continue “can you send me that picture?” You felt your heart skip a beat and you smiled, biting down on your lower lip “you’ll have to earn it, styles” you spoke the look flashing across Harry’s face being slight confusion which was soon turned into amusement before he chuckled shaking his head “oh I’ll earn it.”

The concert was about twenty minutes away and you were walking into the stadium, ‘HS photographer’ lanyard wrapped around your neck as you snapped a few photos of fans dressed in their brightly coloured outfits before you made your way towards backstage— entering the building that was busy filled with people working, making sure the microphones were working but also checking the sound of all the instruments. You said hi to a few people continuing to take random pictures until eventually entering your dressing room only for the door you came through slam shut, forcing you to turn around on your heels your eyes finding Harry’s. He didn’t say anything, he was wearing his outfit for that night— a purple dungarees set… he looked fucking magical. He slowly walked towards you steps intimidating and dangerous as he studied your face walking towards you one time watching you take a step back every time. Exactly what he wanted until you were eventually up against the wall trapped between the wall and Harry, your lips parted in awe as the man studied your every reaction a small smirk tugging at his lips before he without even hesitating grabbed your hips tightly the fierce grip making your knees weak as he kissed you deeply, the kiss full of fire and heat as he kept a tight grip on you— your lips moulding together with his perfectly as he kissed you deeply your hands touching against him gently and hesitantly, touching from his arms, tracing his tattoos and up his skin and to his hair tugging lightly as you both messily made out for what seemed like hours… time passed far too quick for your liking… your lips slightly red and swollen from his kissing— him pulling away from you making you frown. Wanting him close again as he tightened his grip on your waist peering down at you as the crowd screamed the starting music for ‘music for a sushi restaurant’ starting up a glow forming in Harry’s eyes as he smirked at you, his hands stroking up and down your hips delicately his touch igniting a heat within you making you want to do anything and everything for him….

“Have I earned it yet?”

He questioned a smirk playing on his lips watching as you mindlessly nodded your head his smile growing “good…” he gave your hips one last squeeze before heading towards the dressing room door where he opened the door the screams growing louder, before he turned back to look at you “don’t go back to the tour bus..” he spoke your brows arching in slight confusion “come back to my hotel room.” Your brows raised slightly “w-what…?”

“You heard me… besides I’m sure you’ll take great photos tonight. I want to see them all.” He spoke with a devilish smirk a sharp breath leaving your lips and he let out a low chuckle…

“We can take more pictures tonight too…” your eyes widened slightly “harry!” “Y/n.” He smirked laughing “I’m being serious. If you aren’t in my room by the end of the night then I’ll come drag you there myself.” He spoke before exiting the room making your breath hitch… no way that just happened. Your fingers touched against your lips as you smiled like an idiot, he had truly awoken a different side of you…. You weren’t ever desperate for anyone… but Harry made you desperate. You were drunk on him already and he hadn’t even done anything… you were only the photographer but clearly you were about to become so much more.

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dreamings-free · 3 months

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It's not just the Black Keys. Why are so many big tours selling poorly? Stereogum | June 11, 2024 | by Zach Schonfeld

long (and US focused) but still quite interesting article on the current state of concert touring, why tours are getting cancelled or downsized, and what's up with ticket pricing. (my selected excerpts/highlights under the cut)

[excerpt, all highlights mine]

[Eric Renner Brown, a senior editor at Billboard] adds, “I do think [The Black Keys] are an artist that can fill those rooms still. I think the demand is there in terms of people who want to see Black Keys. But perhaps at that price point, the demand was not there.”

Ostensibly, agents and promoters should have access to data that can give them a better sense of demand. But they often place outsized importance on raw streaming numbers.

“The data is very confusing,” says the anonymous booking agent. “There’s a lot of passive listeners for data. You can have millions upon millions of streams, but that doesn’t mean it’s gonna turn into tickets. The opposite is, there are some artists who don’t have many streams at all and they can sell like 2,000, 3,000 tickets.”

[..]

It’s worth noting that the Black Keys have released four albums since returning from hiatus in 2019, and toured arenas as recently as 2022. This may be a case of oversaturating the market.

The band’s 2019 and 2022 arena runs weren’t exactly sold out. In between, the band left their longtime manager in 2021, signing with Irving Azoff and Steve Moir at Full Stop Management. Some sources speculate that Azoff, a former CEO of Ticketmaster, may have encouraged ambitious touring plans. On Thursday, Billboard reported that the group has now parted ways with Azoff and Moir. (The management company did not respond to a request for comment.)

“Essentially, you have some very big managers that are out of touch with the granular finesse and nuance of ticketing,” says another anonymous booking agent. “And they have these large expectations and they tell their agents what they want. And the agents are probably texting each other on the side, going, ‘This man is out of his fucking mind.’ But they do it anyway because, in the case of Black Keys, they’re not gonna challenge Irving Azoff.”

[..]

One contributing factor to instability in the touring industry is the rising cost of… well, everything. It’s part of why ticket prices are so high; it’s also part of the reason some acts are backing out of touring commitments.

Bands at all levels have been sounding the alarm about this for years. In 2022, for instance, Animal Collective canceled European tour dates and explained, “We simply could not make a budget for this tour that did not lose money even if everything went as well as it could.”

Industry insiders say that’s not uncommon. “Everything is ridiculously expensive,” says a tour manager who works with major acts and asked not to be named. “There’s not enough gear for everyone to share, so the vendors are having to pay high amounts for equipment. A single bus for a six-week tour can cost $100,000. Multiple that by multiple buses, and then trucks, and then crews are at a minimum, so they’re getting top rate right now because there’s not enough crews.”

COVID, of course, exacerbated this crunch. “What happened after the pandemic is, everyone was ready to tour at once,” the tour manager says. “There’s not enough gear to cover all of that. A lot of bands have had to cancel tours because they don’t have gear or they couldn’t afford the gear,” the tour manager continued. “I was on a tour with somebody last year where we had to book a private jet because there were no buses available. For the first week of the tour, we had to charter planes.”

Acts are thus incentivized to book bigger venues to recoup the costs of touring. The catch-22 is that bigger venues necessitate more elaborate stage production, which makes for a more expensive tour.

“There’s the expectation to have that production,” says the tour manager. “If people went back to having just two trusses of lights and a P.A. and no frills, it was just about the music, they can afford to tour. But everyone wants to see those flashing lights. Everyone wants to see that video.”

“So much of the economics of these big tours is completely invisible to fans and consumers,” says Kevin Erickson, director of Future of Music Coalition, a nonprofit advocacy group. “You can sell out a tour and come back in the red if there was a cost overrun or a miscalculation.”

For mid-level acts with sizable followings, these frustrations are compounded by a lack of suitable mid-sized venues.

“For a band that maybe has assessed its demand in the market to be in the 8K range or something for capacity, where are they going to go if that sort of venue doesn’t exist?” says Brown. “And if, say, the local theater that seats 3K or 4K can’t accommodate two or three nights, it can only put them for one night on the tour routing. That’s a real concern.”

[..]

At the end of the day, it all comes back to price. The average ticket price for one of the top 100 tours rose from $91.86 to $122.84 between 2019 and 2023. Concerts are too damn expensive, and there’s a growing sense of consumer frustration with shows that cost as much as airline tickets.

-> read the full article here on Stereogum.com

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