#composition and angles in photography

[photosandthoughts]

Pacific Park...

[minarachelle]

Gorinchem, Nederland - 2023

[oddestishottest]

04/27/25

[wyllzel]

two of my uni friends got married yesterday 🥳 and back when we were all at uni, i took their grad photos at a time when they weren't explicitly dating but my bestie and i KNEW they were In Discussion... (based on vibes, which were later confirmed to my bestie by one of them) 👀 so i took guerilla candid photos of them when they weren't looking... bc they were acting so INTIMATE and TENDER that i couldn't not... AND NOW THREE YEARS LATER MY PHOTOS MADE IT INTO SIGNIFICANT PARTS OF THE WEDDING CEREMONY >:)

i feel that i am owed some royalties perhaps 🙄

[ilovejoyjessie]

Hidden Figures #1 (Wake by Richard Serra) || III.

As I continued acting out what I was feeling, slinking my way between, in and out of Wake's walls, more and more I felt the sculpture reflecting to me the experience of being an outsider in this city, in some groups I found myself among: Beautiful individuals that had come together in some kind - a lifestyle, a shared lived experience, a history - who'd stood with each other for years. Their curves and waves reflected each other; their identities tied to each other. There's room for others to pass through, to admire them, visit - but the pattern for fully entering and remaining in the group's fold is clear.

.

They, of course, don't say that to prospective joiners explicitly - just as, of course, the structures of Wake didn't expect me to become a metal structure like they were. And, of course, each individual, each wall, is unique in its own way. But as I flowed between various groups, there would always come a moment where I stepped outside of the conversation, looked around, and saw all the same figures in sync....and then myself: Present among them, but still not flush with their surfaces. I saw the shapes they made, the same shapes they may have expected me to have. And then I saw myself, sticking out from between them.

.

But later, as I looked through the photos that came from my interactions with Wake, I saw how - even as my curves and angles contrasted the figures around me - despite the feelings I felt at the time they were taken, my presence was still a meaningful element in the landscape, even when I was balled up within it. I saw how the movements and stories my body told read even clearer when projected against the mirrored figures behind me. I saw what I brought to the scenery. My physical presence may had been small but it was strong, despite its expression of vulnerability - perhaps even because of it. And from capture to capture, I saw my own worth in the photos and it reminded me of the worth I possess in real life.

.

In retrospect, I have to be grateful for those moments where I felt like, even in company, I was all alone. Because moments of solitude can also bring about moments of clarity. And as I pondered my feelings in my moments of smallness and lonesomeness amongst Wake's walls, I realized that just because I felt small, I was not insignificant. Just because I felt like I wasn't fitting in, it didn't mean I didn't know how to or that I never would because something about me wasn't right.

.

Maybe I felt like I wasn't fitting in because I wasn't supposed to. And I started to think that maybe standing out wasn't such a bad thing...

[calmingram]

Tulip Perspectives 🌷

Hi, I'm an autistic photographer who loves capturing the beauty of nature. You can also follow me on Instagram 📸.

[bzjphotos]

banksia

Yashica Mat 124G Harmon Phoenix 200, C41 Process

[sceneloc8]

Top Restaurant and cafes Location For Shooting in Mumbai

Mumbai, India’s lively city, is not just a great place to eat, it’s also a great place to work on creative projects. SceneLoc8 has compiled a list of the best restaurants and cafes in Mumbai for your pre-wedding shoot, photography session, music video, or vlog. These places have the perfect mix of atmosphere and style to make your vision come true.

Possibilities for creative content:

Pre-Wedding Shoots: To add a touch of class to your pre-wedding photos, take pictures of timeless moments of love and romance in stylish cafes or fancy restaurants.

Photography: Look into the unique interiors and architectural details of Mumbai’s best cafes and restaurants to take pictures that show off both delicious food and artistic skill.

Set the scene for your music video in a trendy café or a cozy bistro. The atmosphere and energy of these busy spots will come through in your images.

Vlogs: Show your viewers your cooking adventures and dining experiences through interesting vlogs shot at Mumbai’s famous restaurants and cafes, giving viewers a taste of the city’s lively food scene.

Filming: To make your scenes seem more real, use famous Mumbai cafes or high-end restaurants. This will immerse viewers in the city’s rich cultural tapestry.

Advice for people who make content:

If you want to shoot in a Mumbai restaurant or cafe, keep these things in mind:

Permission and Cooperation: Make sure you get the right permissions from the business before filming or taking pictures. This will make sure the shoot goes smoothly and without any problems.

Time: Plan your shoot for a time when it’s not busy so that there aren’t too many people around and you can get a good sense of the atmosphere of the place.

Respectful Behavior: When you’re shooting, be aware of other customers and staff and treat them with respect. Stay professional and polite the whole time.

Creative Composition: Use the restaurant or cafe’s unique features and atmosphere to your advantage by experimenting with lighting, angles, and composition to make content that looks stunning.

Showing Off the Experience: In your content, talk about the venue’s atmosphere and tasty treats, giving people a tantalizing look into the dining experience.

Why You Should Write Content in Restaurants and Cafes:

The restaurants and cafes in Mumbai are great for content creators in many ways:

Aesthetic Appeal: These places, from trendy cafes to high-end restaurants, have stylish interiors and interesting decor that make them perfect for posting visually appealing content.

Flexibility: Mumbai’s restaurants and cafes can be used for a variety of creative purposes. They can be used as quiet places for intimate scenes or as busy places for lively visuals.

Cultural Significance: Many famous restaurants and cafes in Mumbai have cultural significance. Showing the city’s culinary history will give your content more depth and authenticity.

Accessibility: These places are in different neighborhoods across the city, so they are easy to get to for your shoot because of logistics and transportation.

Unlock the culinary charm and creative potential of Mumbai’s top restaurants and cafes with SceneLoc8. Whether you’re a photographer, filmmaker, or content creator, these iconic locations offer the perfect setting to bring your vision to life. Explore, create, and capture unforgettable moments amidst the vibrant backdrop of Mumbai’s dining scene.

#RestaurantShoot #CafeLocations #MumbaiPhotography #ContentCreation #SceneLoc8 #PreWeddingShoot #MusicVideos

Follow Our Whatsapp Channel:

@SceneLoc8 India

@SceneLoc8 Mumbai

[starlitsilver]

went out walkin again! took a slightly different route

[sylvainperrierfotografi]

Les focales fixes

Les focales fixes : Le choix de la qualité et de la créativité en photographie Dans le monde de la photographie, le choix de l’équipement est primordial. Il définit non seulement la qualité de vos images, mais également votre approche et votre vision en tant que photographe. Parmi les décisions les plus significatives se trouve le choix de l’objectif. Deux grandes familles s’offrent à vous : les…

[beyourselfchulanmaria]

Ph. by Eric Cucchi

Nu - Kodak TMax100 - Nikon FM2

[vevobly]

not sure if ur taking requests rn but was wondering if you could do yellowjackets w someone who does photography/yearbook?

Yellowjackets With Photographer Reader!

A/N: I apologize in advance If I got your request wrong! I'm mainly writing headcanons these days, so that's what I went along with. Still, I hope you enjoy and devour this.

Jackie Taylor:

Jackie absolutely adores the attention you give her when you photograph her. Whether you told her yourself or not, she will insist that she's the best subject you've ever had. She'll suggest stuff like poses or candid shots she thinks would show her natural charm every once in a while.

Jackie is not particularly knowledgeable about photography but still, she'll try to impress you with comments like “That angle looks professional, right?” from time to time—she doesn't care if it may or may not make her look like an absolute idiot who is in love with you, she'll still do it.

When you tell her that you care more about capturing genuine moments, she's surprised. While you do like photographing Jackie from time to time, she always looks so guarded when you capture her. But after what you told her? She starts relaxing and letting her guard down around you.

Jackie secretly keeps any polaroid or printed photo you took of her tucked into her journal or locker. It's silly, she knows. But she doesn't want anyone else other than her to know about what you guys do. What you guys have seems like something special, and she'll be damned if she lets someone ruin it for her.

Shauna Shipman:

Shauna is fascinated by the way you see the whole world through your camera. She asks about your process from time to time. And just loves listening to you ramble on about all things involving or related to photography like lighting and composition.

She’s shy about being in front of the camera at first but eventually she does let you take a few pictures of her. And those pictures? All of it quickly becomes her favorite. Though, she wouldn't admit it right away to you—insisting she loves all of your pictures and not just those of her or with her.

If you ever show her a particularly good shot, she’ll quietly murmur stuff like “you’re really talented” with this small genuine, soft smile plastered on her face. There's a whole lot more she wants to tell you, but she isn't sure herself if you'd like to hear it or not.

When you're developing film in your darkroom, Shauna offers to help you even though she’s completely clueless about it. Why? Well, the heart makes you do silly things. And she just wants to spend time with you. Even if it could make her look like an idiot for it.

Taissa Turner:

Tai loves your photography and how it gives you this kind of unique perspective on certain things. She respects how much effort you put into it. And guess what? She's the one often encouraging you to enter competitions or submit your work to the school paper.

She's so proud of you and your own talent that it's to the point she ends up bragging about you every once in a while to her friends without even realizing it. She isn't aware of that herself until someone points it to her or after she's done with bragging about you to them.

Tai is camera-shy. Though despite that, she’ll agree to let you photograph her during soccer practice. But only when the team is winning and such! She'll tell you stuff like “no one wants to see me looking exhausted!” and so, when you're around photographing her.

If she notices you focusing on other people too much, she'll playfully tease you about why she isn’t your main subject yet. Or if she doesn't tease you about that, she'll tease you about how your eyes keep wandering to other people when it should be on her, your muse.

Van Palmer:

Van would think what you do is the coolest thing ever, even if you thought otherwise. No doubt, she would constantly joke about being your favorite subject. Aside from that, she'd probably pose funny and pull a ridiculous face in most photos you take of her.

She doesn't know much about your stuff but she's genuinely curious about it, especially the technical side of it. She would ask you a ton of questions and maybe even offer to help you develop your photos if you needed it (even if she knew only a little of it).

Van would suggest these fun places for you to take photos, always outing with you and basically having these mini photo expeditions with her. Besides those, she would help your gear without any complaints. But with that comes the endless jokes about photography!

She will always be the first one to hype up your work, just proudly showing it off to her friends and telling everyone how talented you—her lover is. If you ever doubted your work, Van would be there to remind you of all the great shots you've taken and just how amazing you are at what you're doing.

Natalie Scatorccio:

Natalie would lowkey be fascinated by the stuff you do. BUT! She wouldn't want to come off as too interested in it. So, she plays it cool. Saying things like "that's pretty badass" when you share your work to her. She loves all of your works but those raw shots you have are mainly her favorites.

She volunteers every once in a while to help scout interesting places for your shoots, using it as an excuse to just spend more time with you. If you wanted to take pictures of her, she'd act indifferently about it. But she's not fooling you, you know she secretly loves it.

Nat would be hella reluctant to take any photos you took of her, even if you told her it's no big deal and such. But she always budges in the end. She keeps any photos you took of her real closely, practically tucking them away like precious treasures she doesn't want anyone else to see.

She appreciates how you see beauty through photography. And aside from that, she really admires how you can find something meaningful or beautiful in ordinary moments. In ordinary things. You offered to show her how to use a camera once, and now she can't stop herself from taking pictures of you when you allow it,

Lottie Matthews:

Lottie would be extremely supportive of your photography. I mean, photography is a form of art and self-expression after all. And Lottie, contrary to what some people think, is a woman of art. She's always asking to look through your portfolio or recent shots.

She'd love being photographed by you, especially if it focused on more natural candid moments. Oh, and if it was set in natural settings like fields or forests. Besides the fact that your shots make her feel seen in a way no one else does. Your pictures of her are always oddly intimate and comforting to her.

Lottie has a lot of connections. So whether you expected it or not, she's almost always talking about you and recommending you to well-off people she knows would love to have their photos taken. Bet your ass that you're almost always being dragged to these fancy meetings between well-off people.

If you ever doubted your talent or got insecure about your work, Lottie is immediately marching up to you and reassuring you about it. She'll tell you all about how your photos have a lot of deep meanings (whether they do or don't) and that your talent is a gift that's meant to be shared.

Laura Lee:

Laura Lee would see your photography as a beautiful talent given to you by the man from above. She wouldn't fully understand the artistic side of it but she would appreciate your passion and dedication towards it though. She'll often encourage you to take shots of beautiful things, kissing you after it as a thank you.

She'd be a bit shy about being photographed but she would always let you take pictures of her if it made you happy. The thing is that she'd almost always ask to see every photo you took of her though, just to make sure she looked appropriate in it and so.

Just like Lottie, Laura Lee would love being photographed in natural settings like fields or forests. Why? Well, nature is one of the first creations of the man from above after all. Besides that, she really loves it when you capture her through meaningful moments between you guys.

If you ever felt discouraged with photography, she would encourage you to trust in your talent and in the man from above's plan. She would definitely offer you prayers and reassurance about it. Laura Lee in general believes in you a lot and aside from that, she sees what you do as something inspiring. Something joyful.

Misty Quigley:

Misty would be incredibly enthusiastic about your photography, probably a little too enthusiastic. She'd want to know every detail about the process and might even try to involve herself in it more than you'd want her to. She'd ask a lot of questions about it, like how you choose your subjects and so.

She would absolutely adore being photographed by you and she'd take it without a doubt as a sign of how deeply in love you are with her. She'd probably get a little possessive from time to time, especially when you're focusing your camera on someone else. She wants you to focus it on her more than anyone else.

Misty definitely would insist on being your main subject a lot, posing exaggeratedly over it while trying to be your muse. Her efforts come off as overbearing a lot. But hey, this is the girl that you saw and decided to like. The girl you choose to take out as your girlfriend. No complaints!

Despite how intense she could come off as sometimes, she genuinely does admire your talent and even goes to extreme lengths behind your back to help you succeed whether you asked for it or not. If you ever shared your photos with others, Misty would brag about it as if you're up and coming prodigy of some sort.

[purin-gambler]

there was nothing more suna loved than to take photos of his chubby love. with photography as his full time profession, you would be the main subject captured first in his heart, then captured to his lense. his vision of his love for you reflected in the imagery he takes of you.

never once had he pressured you. always understanding whether or not you felt picture ready in the moment. though he wants nothing more than to show the world your beauty, in your most rawest form to your most dolled up. and the times you do agree, his choices of composition, his use of following and breaking all dynamics in the principles of photography, as well as the incredible way he executes your perfection is not just derived from skill, but his wholehearted love for you.

the way hed take time, shifting in all sorts of silly and uncomfortable positions just to find the lighting that best highlights the doughy goodness of your body. shuffling around more to get an angle that doesnt shadow away your supple parts he loves so much. he looks ridiculous, especially in public. but he’ll take the light humiliation if it means you get to shine in return. the results always awed you both, so of course— it was worth it.

though his own guilty pleasure? gifting you outfits hed love for you to do mini photoshoots in, taking perspective pov shots— just to get close to you while posed and dressed up, and making sets for you in his personal studio or just in your shared home. because to his eyes, you are every lovely definition and more. not just as his muse, but as his girlfriend, his most cherished love, and his other half.

he could gush for hours over the way you stole his heart, and how he greedily gate keeps yours. every time he saw your smile as you laughed and chatted his ears off, every time you groggily woke up beside him, every time he saw you in ways you trusted no one else besides him to.

it almost frustrates him that your beautiful expressions cant be fully grasped by the digital pixels created by a photo. no matter how good the camera or his skills are. your smile on film would never live up to the radiant way you shine in person. but hes a greedy man, so he feels a sense of pride knowing he could see your smile youve given him in its truest form. with you right beside him, and its all for himself.

through his eyes alone, he had been entranced since day one. and he feels so damn luckily he can be the one to show you off to the world through his loving gaze.

hence the number of photos of you, the reason a photo of you and him are front and center on his booking website, and why his portfolio is full of his best work— a large percentage of it involving you.

and when it comes back to the individual photos hes taken— each capture, even if accidentally blurred from an unmatched shutter speed, or caught too off guard— still meant so much to him. back to the times youve agreed to take part in his more professional work, suna would always make it a point not to bother with heavily editing the photos. wanting highlight what makes you so one of a kind. with your blemishes and your so called ‘imperfections’ that only made so much more real to him, unlike the images seen in magazines or online.

he treasures you, and has seen you in so many different ways unlike no other. through each moment outside of still imagery, he will always highly regard you as a person he so dearly loves. shined in his work and through his own two orbs— you as a whole became his muse and center of his world.

[jelly-rei]

All the nice places we couldn’t go

Tommy Conlon x Reader oneshot

Summary: Tommy Conlon stumbles across a childhood friend, Y/n, from high school after years apart. Y/n is an aspiring photographer, determined to build a portfolio for a local competition—one final chance to prove her work matters. But as they reconnect, old promises resurface, and Tommy remembers the vow he made long ago, to take her to all the nice places they couldn’t go.

A/n: I’ve never written for Tommy Conlon before or even any non Peaky blinder characters, so do forgive me if I represented Tommy a little different than his cannon version!

Word count: 5k

Content includes: Mention of Abuse, fighting

It was an ordinary day for the soon-to-be MMA fighter in training, Tommy Riordan Conlon. Training and sweating from day till night, punching and kicking like his life depended on it—which it did. He had a competition to win, and he was going to win it. That was the plan. That was the goal. And once Tommy Conlon had his mind set on the prize, nothing else mattered.

He trained with his father, Paddy Conlon.

He never liked his father all that much. Paddy had been abusive and absent—especially when Tommy’s mother was sick and dying. But the only person Tommy trusted enough to train him now was the very man who broke him. Paddy had been his trainer and coach back in high school. And through all those years, Tommy couldn’t recall a single moment of happiness while doing something he was supposedly good at.

He didn’t even know what he was training his ass off for. Wasting his energy and blood over a competition that might not mean anything in the end. If he won—then what? His life was still already decided. And winning wouldn’t change the things that had already happened.

But still, The moment he heard about the upcoming tournament, all he knew was that he had to win.

Maybe—just maybe—it would give him a reason to keep going.

Tonight, Tommy trained alone as usual. He had thought about bringing his father along, but decided he couldn’t stomach the tension that day being around the old man. Paddy had been trying to fix things—mend his relationship with Tommy and his older brother Brendan—but Tommy didn’t believe that was possible anymore. Some things were too broken to be fixed.

What’s the point in trying to make things better, when all you’ve known your whole life is betrayal and disappointment?

Tommy wasn’t interested in useless connections. Or any kind of connection, really.

He ducked low to dodge the swinging bag in front of him, trading punches and kicks, grunting through every blow.

Meanwhile, you sat near the gym’s entrance, waiting for your older brother. He’d been coming to this small Pittsburgh gym for months now. You weren’t there to train—God, no. You had zero interest in the sport or the fitness community. You were here with one goal: to take pictures of your brother, the ring, the atmosphere, and maybe some of the other fighters in action.

You were submitting a portfolio for a local photography competition, and you really wanted to win. First place meant getting your work featured in a local magazine—and a nice cash prize to go with it.

You were already an aspiring photographer, though you never considered yourself particularly gifted. There were always flaws you noticed in your own work—composition, lighting, timing. But despite everything, you still kept taking pictures. Something inside you made you try, even when you didn’t know why.

Maybe, if you won—you’d finally prove yourself worthy of something.

You fell in love with photography the day your grandmother gave you a camera for your sixteenth birthday. You remember your very first shot: your father, slouched in his armchair with a beer in one hand and a newspaper in the other. And even though the lighting was bad and the angle was slightly crooked—the photo came out beautiful. At least, to you.

That camera became your escape to your dull life. You took pictures of everything and everyone. Your older brother had left for college, and you were stuck at home with your parents most of the time. He rarely came home—only for birthdays or Christmas, but by then he was gone again.

He had gone off to study biomedical engineering, but only to appease your father. In truth, he’d always loved boxing. Ever since he was a kid. But your father always dismissed it —“There’s room for hobbies,” he’d say, “but hobbies won’t get you anywhere.”

So your brother had snuck off in secret to train. Lied about having after-school classes. He found a small gym and started sparring with other aspiring boxers. After getting his master’s degree, he kept up the lie—working at the hospital and tending to others during the day, competing in underground matches by night.

And you? You got the same treatment.

The moment you expressed an interest in photography, your father tore you down. Criticized every photo you took.

“Not sharp enough”

“Too dark.”

“Nothing special.”

No picture was ever good enough. Nothing you did ever was. Even when you gave up photography to pursue a business degree just to make him proud—he found new ways to make sure that you knew you were useless.

Now, as you wandered around the gym aimlessly with your camera strapped around your neck, snapping candid shots of the space, you noticed a man off in the far corner—alone. You lowered your camera slightly, tilting your head. Why was he by himself instead of with the rest? Maybe he didn’t like working out around others. But he quickly slipped out of your mind as you moved on, trying to find something worth capturing. The light wasn’t great. The space felt uninspired. You reviewed your camera roll, deleting half the shots without hesitation. Nothing felt good enough.

You sighed. Today just wasn’t your day.

You were about to tell your brother you wanted to head home when your eyes drifted back toward the far corner. That same man. Still there. But now, as you looked closer—Your breath caught in your throat. It was him.

Tommy Riordan Conlon. A boy you once knew in high school—a long time ago.

“Tommy?”

The man in the sweat-drenched black shirt looked up from where he stood, hands braced on his knees. His eyes softened slightly as recognition dawned on him.

“Y/n?”

You gasped, your lips parting just a little in disbelief.

He remembered you?

Your body froze. Your hands were starting to get clammy. You swallowed a huge thick lump in your throat and tried your best to speak, even as your vocal cords refused to cooperate.

“Haven’t seen you in a long time. What’ve you been up to?” you asked, trying to sound casual. Like nothing had ever happened. But it was hard to be casual with someone who’d basically changed the most important years of your life.

Tommy wiped the sweat from his temples with a cloth pulled from his pocket. He hesitated—like he always did before talking. Maybe he was choosing his words carefully. Or maybe he just didn’t like talking about himself. He never had anyway.

“I’ve just been training,” he said finally, brushing his hair back. “Nothing much. What about you? Still taking pictures, huh?” he said pointing to your camera.

Your eyes widened slightly at the mention of your camera. “Oh—yeah, I still do photography. I’m actually here for a competition. Local portfolio thing.”

Tommy nodded. “Yeah? Ain’t much to take here, but I’ll leave that judgment to you.”

You laughed nervously. “I came with my brother. Thought I’d get some shots of him… and maybe anything else that looked, y’know, photo-worthy.”

Tommy took a long swig from his water bottle, his chest rising and falling with fatigue. “How many you taken so far? Sorry, I ask too many questions.”

You shook your head quickly. “No! No, you’re good. Really. I’ve taken a lot, but I’ve deleted just as many. I dunno… it’s hard to be satisfied with any of them. But—here, take a look if you want.”

You moved toward him, lifting your camera to show the screen. Your shoulders brushed briefly—both of you flinching just a little at the contact. It had been so long. And yet your body still remembered him.

You looked away quickly, lowering your gaze to the camera. “Sorry, Tommy.”

He didn’t say anything at first, just studied the photos as you clicked through them. You stopped on the last one—a sharp, mid-punch shot of your brother in stance.

You turned toward Tommy, who was already looking at you.

“So…what do you think? I think it’s okay.”

He looked away for a second, then back again. “I think it’s beautiful. You always had that eye. You take something ordinary and make it extraordinary.”

Your heart jumped. It was something he used to say back in high school—when you were still learning, still scared, still clinging to every bit of encouragement. He would hold your camera, look at your work, then say it with a softness in his eyes that never quite matched the roughness of his voice. Maybe, just maybe, the Tommy you knew hadn’t changed that much after all.

“Really? Wow. Thank you, Tommy. That means the world.”

Your eyes lingered on his for a moment—warm, familiar. Both of you locked in something quiet and invisible, until the tension pushed you apart again. You looked away, and so did he.

Tommy scratched the back of his neck. “Umm… I’m training for a competition too. The MMA tournament. I plan to win it—get all the money.”

Your head snapped up, eyes wide. “MMA? Oh my god, Tommy—that’s amazing!” you said, practically squealing with excitement for an old friend.

The joy in your voice caught him off guard. He felt his muscles relax, just a little—like he hadn’t heard anyone be that happy for him in a long time. He licked his lips nervously, eyes darting around the gym again. Collecting his thoughts, his breath, anything to ground him.

Being this close to you was making him short-circuit.

“Hey, uh—Y/n… ain’t that your brother over there?” Tommy nodded toward the ring. “I think he’s about to spar with that guy.”

You turned your head. There he was—your brother, stepping into the ring across from a tall guy with a flat mohawk.

“C’mon, Mad Dog! Don’t go easy on him,” the other man barked, who you assumed was Mad Dog’s coach. He massaged his fighter’s shoulders, amping him up.

Mad Dog? You blinked. He sounded strong.

And it turned out, he was.

Within seconds, Mad Dog delivered a bone-jarring punch straight to your brother’s ribs. You flinched. Every strike after that made him stumble, crouch, fall—no matter how hard he tried to get back up. Even when he defended himself, arms up and tight, Mad Dog still found a way to get through. Another jab. Then followed by another. The final hit forced your brother to surrender.

You couldn’t tell if he needed immediate help or if this was just normal for fighters. Either way, you weren’t breathing.

A warm hand landed gently on your shoulder.

“Don’t worry about him,” Tommy said quietly. “He’ll be fine.”

It was exactly what you needed to hear. His voice, his presence—it settled something in you. You nodded and hurried over to your brother, who now sat on the bench, a damp cloth draped over his eyes, chest heaving.

“You alright?”

“Y-yeah… that guy’s insane,” he groaned.

He pulled the cloth off—and froze. Tommy was standing right in front of him.

“Tommy? Is that you? Jesus… it’s really you! How’ve you been, man?”

Tommy nodded awkwardly, eyes flicking around the gym like they always did when attention was on him. “Uh… yeah. Been good.”

“He’s training for MMA,” you added proudly.

Your brother’s grin widened. “No shit? That’s amazing, Tommy.” He clapped him on the back. “Good for you.”

Tommy stayed quiet, but his eyes were fixed on the ring again. Mad Dog’s coach was now scanning the gym, calling out for someone else to spar with his fighter. But no one stepped forward.

“I’ll fight him,” Tommy said suddenly, voice low. “If no one else wants to.”

Your brother whipped his head around. “Tommy—no. You saw what he did to me. Don’t.”

Mad Dog smirked from across the ring. “If he wants to try, be my guest.”

The coach sighed, eyeing Tommy. “Alright then. Let’s see what you’ve got, boy.”

Without hesitation, Tommy stepped into the ring. No prep. No warm-up. Just quiet focus. You watched as he stood in a fighting stance, heart hammering. But something told you he’d be fine.

Tommy struck first—swift and sharp. A kick to Mad Dog’s side sent the man staggering. When he rose, Tommy was already there, fists landing fast and brutal. You bit your lip, watching through your lens as the two collided over and over.

Every punch made you flinch. But it was beautiful, in a strange, haunting way. Two men, drenched in sweat, in a silent war for dominance.

And then—Mad Dog was down.

You raised your camera, zeroed in on Tommy’s face—panting, fierce, glowing with intensity—and snapped the shot. He looked like a monument.

The flash startled him. He turned, brow creased, eyes finding you.

“Oh—shit! Sorry, Tommy. I should’ve asked. I’ll delete it if you want.”

He walked toward you slowly, eyes still locked on the camera.

“Nah. Don’t delete it. Let me see.”

Hands trembling slightly, you flipped to the photo and held it out. Tommy stared at it for a long moment. Then looked back at you.

“Looka good. You made me look good. And I’m fuckin’ ugly.”

You laughed. “No you’re not, Tommy. You looked amazing out there.”

And he smiled. A real one. It made your chest ache.

Your brother, now dressed again, came out of the locker room—expecting to see the fight still happening, only to find Mad Dog on the ground and people helping him up.

“Wait… did you win, Tommy?” he asked.

Tommy just nodded, humble.

“Fucking hell,” your brother muttered with a proud grin.

Suddenly, Mad Dog’s coach waved Tommy over.

“I should probably go talk to him,” he said.

You nodded and watched him walk away, still dazed by what had just happened.

“We’ll leave soon,” your brother said. “Just gotta grab my stuff. Wait here, yeah?”

“Alright.”

Your brother and Tommy disappeared, and you sat down, scrolling through your photos again—eyes landing on the one you took of Tommy.He didn’t even have to try to look good. It almost annoyed you, how he couldn’t see how beautiful he was.

You were just working up the courage to ask him to be your model when his voice called out, but figured it was probably too late since your brother was already walking towards his car or maybe too soon for two old friends who’d only met after forever.

“Y/n.”

You looked up. Tommy was walking toward you again, scratching the back of his neck like he always did when he was nervous.

“So, uh…”

“I was wondering if maybe you’d wanna meet up sometime. Y’know… since we haven’t seen each other in like what? 10 years?.”

Your cheeks flushed pink as you fidgeted with your sleeves. You’d wanted to ask him the same thing. You’d been trying to find any trace of him online for years—social media, old threads, anything. But he had vanished. Until now.

“Of course, Tommy.” You smiled. “Actually… I was gonna ask if you’d be my model for the competition. If not, we can just hang out, talk, whatever works.”

He blinked, surprised. “Oh—yeah. I mean, I could be your model or whatever. If you think I’m, uh… worthy. I don’t really know what to do, though.”

“You don’t have to do anything,” you said softly. “Just be yourself.”

You handed him your phone and he typed in his number. The two of you stood in silence for a beat—taking it all in. Neither quite believing this was real. Even after all this time, there was still something between you. But also, something unspoken, something fragile—an invisible thread neither of you knew how to pull yet.

Your brother waved at you from across the gym, motioning toward the car. You didn’t want to leave. You wanted to stay. But you would see him again. You knew you would.

“You should probably go,” Tommy said gently. “I’ll text you when I get back, promise.”

You nodded slowly. “Yeah… I’ll see you soon, Tommy.”

As you walked off, you turned around one last time, he was still looking at you. He gave a small, thoughtful wave, lowering his head with that soft shyness he never quite outgrew. You smiled to yourself sheepishly and waved back jogging to your brother’s side as he urged you into the car.

On the ride home, your heart was full of motion. You watched the world blur past the windows—streetlights, trees, people. And somewhere in your chest, you hoped like hell that Tommy would text you. Not because you didn’t trust him.

But because it had been so long since anyone ever meant it when they said they would.

Your brother’s car pulled up in front of your place just after 9 p.m. The sky was dark, and your body felt heavy—but your head was still buzzing. The whole drive home, he’d been talking about the fight, about how insane Tommy was, about how maybe he needed to start training harder. You barely heard anything he said

You were thinking about the photo. About Tommy’s voice. About the way he’d looked at you right before you left.

You mumbled a quick thanks and shut the car door, rushing inside, tossing your bag down without even bothering to turn on the main lights. Your camera was still around your neck.

And then—your phone buzzed.

You didn’t even make it past your bedroom door before unlocking it.

Tommy Conlon: Hey. It’s me. You still want that model or what?

You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding.

Still in your jeans and jacket, you threw yourself down onto your bed face-first, then rolled over and typed back fast:

You: Of course I do. I was hoping you’d text first, actually. Free tomorrow afternoon? Golden hour?

Your heart pounded. You watched the little dots appear. Disappear. Reappear. Then finally:

Tommy Conlon: Golden hour sounds nice. Just tell me where.

And if I gotta bring snacks or just my awkward ass.

You laughed into your pillow, cheeks warm, legs kicking a little against the blanket like you were sixteen all over again.

You sat up just enough to reply:

You: Just bring yourself. And maybe a hoodie. It’s gonna be chilly. I’ll send the address.

Tommy Conlon: Alright. I’ll be there.

And just like that, It was actually happening. You looked at the camera still hanging around your neck, heart buzzing all over again.

You barely slept.

Every time you shut your eyes, you saw him—his face through your lens, the way he looked after the fight, the way he smiled when he said you made him look good. You kept replaying the sound of his voice reading your name.

By morning, your camera was already charging, your clothes were laid out, and your room smelled faintly like fresh coffee and nerves.

You stood in front of your mirror holding up outfit after outfit—first your “cool artist” look, then your “I-didn’t-try-that-hard” sweater, then something in between. You didn’t want to look too dressed up. But you also didn’t want to look like you just rolled out of bed.

God, why am I thinking about this so hard? you scolded yourself, throwing the hoodie back onto the chair.

Eventually, you settled on something simple and soft. Comfortable. Warm enough for the chill in the air. You pulled your hair back, then messed it up again. You checked your camera three times. Battery full. Memory card clear. Everything was ready.

Still… your hands wouldn’t stop fidgeting.

It wasn’t just the shoot. It was him.

It was that invisible thread between you both—the one that felt like it could either snap… or hold if you let it.

The sun was just starting to dip when you arrived at the location—a quiet stretch of overgrown field behind a shut-down rec center. Rusted bleachers sat untouched, wild grass curled around the old fence posts, and the light was melting golden across everything like honey.

It was perfect. Lonely but beautiful,

You adjusted your camera strap, checking the settings for the fourth time as you paced. He hadn’t texted that he was here yet, but your heart was already speeding like he had.

Then—you heard gravel crunch. Tommy.

He was walking toward you in that familiar, heavy kind of stride. Hands in the pocket of a black hoodie, hood up over his messy hair. His shoulders looked even broader under the sweatshirt. His eyes met yours, and the corner of his mouth tugged in something that almost looked like a smile.

“Hey,” he said, stopping a few feet from you. “Hope I’m not late.”

You shook your head. “You’re right on time.”

You tried not to show how weirdly breathless you felt. He looked good. That quiet, rugged kind of good. Like someone who didn’t know the effect he had.

“You sure this is the spot?” he asked, looking around at the peeling paint and weeds.

“Yeah,” you said softly, lifting your camera. “I like places like this. Feels like… something people forgot, but it’s still trying to be beautiful.”

Tommy nodded slowly, his gaze flicking around again.

“Alright. What do you want me to do?”

You smiled gently. “Just stand there for now. Don’t think too hard.”

He huffed a breath, a nervous kind of laugh under his breath. “That’s kinda all I do. Think too hard.”

You lifted the camera to your face.

“Then stop thinking. Just look at me.”

And it hit you—just how intense his eyes were. Not angry. Not cold. Just focused. Like he was trying to figure something out about you without asking.

Click.

You stepped sideways. “Now… turn a little to your side and just walk normally, Yeah. Look out toward the field.”

He did as you said. The light caught the edge of his jaw. You swore the wind shifted just right to make his hoodie fall back slightly, revealing more of his hair, the side of his neck.

Click.

“You doing okay?” you asked, gently lowering the camera.

He looked over at you, brow slightly raised. “I feel like an idiot just standing and walking here.”

You chuckled. “You don’t look like one. I promise.”

“You say that ‘cause you’re behind the camera. You got all the power,” he teased.

You smirked. “Exactly. So shut up and pose.”

He huffed again, but there was a softness behind it now.

After a few more photos, you walked up to him, showing him one of the shots on the screen.

His eyes scanned the image. Then he frowned—barely.

“Don’t like it?” you asked.

“No, it’s good. Just… I don’t know. I look too soft.”

You looked up at him.

“That’s why it’s good.”

He held your gaze for a second longer than he probably meant to. There it was again. That invisible thread. You lifted the camera back up. “Alright. Try sitting down over here—on the edge of the bleachers.”

He followed your direction, hands on his knees, eyes cast downward at first. The sky behind him was bleeding orange and gold.

Click

You didn’t tell him to smile. His face, even resting, said everything.

After a while, You both sat on the edge of the bleachers, your camera resting in your lap. The sky had shifted from gold to blue-gray, the wind growing cooler now that the sun had dipped below the trees. For a while, neither of you said anything. You just let yourselves sit there, shoulder to shoulder.

Tommy’s hands were clasped in front of him, His hoodie sleeves were pushed up slightly, revealing the curve of his forearms. He was staring out at the field like there was something out there he couldn’t name.

You looked over at him, lips parting, then closing again. Your fingers tightened slightly around your camera. You weren’t sure if you should ask. But it had been sitting in your chest like a stone ever since that night at the gym.

“Can I ask you something?” you said quietly.

“You just did.”

You smiled faintly, despite the nerves. “What happened? I mean… after high school. You just—disappeared.”

The silence stretched long between you as you looked down to your feet, “Sorry. You don’t have to answer. I just… always wondered.”

“My mom got sick.”

“I left with her,” he continued. “She didn’t want to die there. Didn’t want to be near him. So we packed what we could and drove west. Stayed with some family friends for a while.”

His jaw clenched, “She died not long after we got there.”

You stayed quiet. The way he said it, like it was something he hadn’t said out loud in years. Maybe ever.

“I joined the Marines a year later,” he said. “Needed to get the fuck out. Needed to do something that made sense. I figured if I could fight for something else, maybe I wouldn’t feel like I’d already lost everything.”

Your throat felt tight, maybe feeling a little upset that he kept it away from you. But then again, who were you to be upset at his decision?

“I didn’t tell anyone,” he added, eyes still fixed on the horizon. “Not Brendan. Not my dad. Not you.”

“Why?” you asked softly.

He finally turned to look at you.

“Because I didn’t think anyone would care.”

Your heart cracked in half, feeling yourself getting more upset.

“I would’ve cared,” you whispered.

Tommy didn’t say anything. But he looked at you like he believed it—and like that belief hurt.

You wanted to reach for his hand, but you couldn’t, stopped by the invisible wall between the two of you.

You both sat in silence again, the air heavier now—but not unbearable. Just full of things that had never been said.

Suddenly you remembered.

Flashback — High School

You were sixteen, and your camera was still new, hanging from your neck with a bright yellow strap. The film was cheap, the lens a little scratched, but to you, it was magic.

You and Tommy sat behind the old gym building, near the school, leaning back against sun-warmed bricks. He had a split lip from a fight two days earlier. You had a scratch on your arm from your father slapping your camera out of your hands when he saw the newest roll.

“You should stop taking pictures if it gets you in trouble,” Tommy had muttered, gazing at the cracked pavement.

You shook your head, biting down the sting in your throat. “It’s the only thing I’m good at. And he hates it.”

Tommy turned to look at you then—his eyes were darker than the bruises on his face.

“Fuck what he thinks.”

You blinked at him, surprised by the sudden heat in his voice.

He took a deep breath, then added quieter, “One day…When I get outta here, I’m gonna take you somewhere nice. Not this shit town. Real places. Good light. Big skies. You’ll take pictures so beautiful it’ll shut him the fuck up.”

You laughed softly. “That sounds impossible.”

“It ain’t,” he said, dead serious. “You deserve to go somewhere that don’t make you feel like you’re small.

He reached out and tugged gently at your camera strap, just enough to pull the camera into his hand. He turned it toward you and squinted through the viewfinder.

“You’re the only thing that looks good in this place anyway,” he muttered, then snapped the photo.

Present

You turned your head to look at him—older, bruised, tired—but still that same boy, somewhere underneath all that hurt.

“ You remember when you said you’d take me to nice places?”

Tommy looked over at you. His expression shifted—almost like a wince. Like it hurt to remember that moment.

“Yeah, I do”

“And now here we are,” you smiled. “Maybe this isn’t Venice or New York or whatever, but…”

You gestured toward the field. The golden light now long gone, replaced with deep blue shadows and a soft, humming silence.

“It’s a nice place”

You looked down at your hands, resting in your lap, your fingers fidgeting with the lens cap of your camera. You could feel the weight of his gaze on you.

And then, gently and hesitantly—his hand reached for yours.

Callused fingers brushed over your knuckles before settling around them, his grip was firm but unsure, like he didn’t quite know if he was allowed. He exhaled, slowly. Like he’d been holding that breath for years.

“I meant it, y’know,” he said.

“That day behind the gym,” he murmured. “When I said I’d take you to all the nice places… places where you’d finally feel like you mattered.”

His voice wavered, just slightly, “I still want to do that.”

“But not just for you,” he added, more softer now. “For me, too. Maybe I need to see those places more than I thought. I want to see them with you”

You swallowed hard, throat full of things you couldn’t say yet, you squeezed his hand tightly.

“You’re already doing it, Tommy,” you whispered.

“This is one of them.”

His thumb brushed lightly over the back of your hand, “I know I fucked up back then,” he said. “I letft without a word. Didn’t think I deserved to come back.”

“But I wanna try again, Y/n. I wanna do right by you this time.”

His eyes met yours, steady— and it gentler than you’d ever seen them, more than you remembered.

Everyone always said Tommy was like the moon. Cold and distant. And always drifting in his own orbit. But not to you. To you, Tommy Conlon was the sun. Your sun.

When he smiled, it was the brightest star. When he spoke, his voice was the sweetest morning dew—warm and aching with things he didn’t know how to say properly.

“I should’ve taken you with me,” he said. “Back then. I wanted to. I thought about it more times than I can count, believe me.”

You stared at him, your heart breaking and blooming all at once.

He swallowed, his thumb brushing gently over your knuckles now.1

“But I’m here now. And if you’ll let me… I’ll take you.”

His voice cracked slightly, but he didn’t look away.

“To all the nice places we couldn’t go.”

[iamquiantrelle]

GNL: SMAU EDITION (based on chapter 28)

# pairings: kylian mbappe x black oc (giselle)

# tags: @szariahwroteit (read her series or else!!)

officiallygiselle posted on their story 3 hours ago!

IG story comments:

— camilllle replied: Stop this is so cute 🥺❤️

— elise_143 replied: Y'all are disgustingly cute omg

— luxury_lover replied: Those shoes though!! 😍

— wag_style_daily replied: Need the deets on this outfit!

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liked by hotteaspilling, gsm_hq, and 143,200 others

wag_fashion_files:  🤍 STYLE BREAKDOWN 🤍 Giselle serving looks in Monaco! She's wearing a flowing white see-through blouse with matching shorts while shopping at Hermès with Kyky 🛍️ The all-white ensemble is giving effortless luxury vibes and we're OBSESSED! Swipe for all angles! Who else is adding this to their Pinterest board? 📌 #Giselle #Mbappe #WAGStyle #Monaco #AllWhite #Hermès

view all 345 comments

— fashion_obsessed: The way she looks so expensive! 🤍✨

— wag_inspo: Already screenshotted for outfit inspo! 📱

— luxury_addict: Hermès shopping with your footballer bf >>> 💸

— style_hater: It's literally just white clothes calm down 🙄

— fashion_defender: style_hater you clearly don't understand fashion bestie 💅

— broke_girl_vibes: Me wearing all white from Target trying to recreate this 😭

— monaco_stylish: She fits right into the Monaco aesthetic! 🇲🇨

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officiallygiselle posted on their story 2 hours ago!

IG story comments:

— tan_goals replied: That tan is everything! 🌞

— ocean_lover replied: This view is unreal! 🌊

— kyky_lovr replied: hi k.mbappe!!!

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liked by hotteaspilling, gsm_hq, and 300,150 others

ballers_and_yachts: 📸 BOYFRIEND DUTIES 📸 Kylian Mbappé turned into a personal photographer for his gorgeous girlfriend Giselle during their Monaco yacht day!The RM star was spotted taking multiple photos of his lady while she posed on the luxury yacht. Talk about a supportive boyfriend! 💕

Swipe to see all the candid moments including the cute behind-the-scenes shots!

#Mbappe #YachtLife #Monaco #PersonalPhotographer #CoupleGoals

view all 2,345 comments

— photographer_vibes: He's got good eye for photography! 📷

— couple_goals_: this is what love looks like! Taking pics of your girl 🥺

— yacht_life_envy: Meanwhile I can't even afford a pool float 🏊‍♀️😭

— toxic_comment: He's whipped lmao taking pics like a simp 💀

— love_defender: toxic_comment that's called being a good boyfriend, try it sometime 💅

— mbappe_stan: The way he looks at her while taking pics... 🥹❤️

— yacht_insider: That's a €50k per day yacht btw 💰

— photo_skills: Better photographer than half the paparazzi 😂

— monaco_dreams: Living my dream life! Monaco + yacht + footballer bf ✨

— relationship_envy: When will it be my turn to be happy?? 😩

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liked by k.mbappe, camilllle, madridista_family, and 1,009,000 others

officiallygiselle: fun days in monaco 🤍⚓️ thank you to my personal photographer k.mbappe for capturing these moments 📸💕

view all 2,100 comments

— k.mbappe: My favorite subject to photograph ❤️📷

— camilllle: GORGEOUS!! He's got skills behind the camera 😍

— elise_143: Stop you two are perfect 🥺

— yacht_dreams: This is what dreams are made of! 🛥️✨

— photography_fan: Kyky should start a photography account! 📸

— monaco_vibes: Monaco looks good on you both! 🇲🇨

— jealous_hater: Must be nice having unlimited money 🙄💸

— positive_vibes: jealous_hater she works hard and deserves this! Good for her 👏

— couple_watchers: You can see the love in every photo he takes of her 🥹

— fashion_lover: That white outfit was PERFECTION the other day! 🤍

— boat_life: Living the yacht life like a queen! ⚓️👑

— photography_critique: The composition is actually really good! Natural talent 📸

— relationship_goals: When your bf becomes your personal photographer >>> 💕

[sirfrogsworth]

Frogworth! I have a question about how photography circles might view this, and I hesitate to ask reddit because it can be so... Well, you know.

But, in online painting/drawing circles, it's typically viewed as unprofessional to allow any shadow to show in a picture of a traditional piece of artwork, like a painting, ink drawing, sketch, etc. Is it the same in photography circles?

I ask because I think it's fun to play with allowing light and shade of the natural world to intrude on the drawn picture, especially when it Emphasizes the tone and emotion of the piece.

I'm definitely still gonna do it no matter what because I like how those techniques emphasize my work, but I AM curious how you lot view it!

I'll be honest, I am not entirely sure what you are referring to. So if you could maybe give more context or examples, that might be helpful.

But I am happy to talk about the importance of shadows in photography. And hopefully by telling you everything I know about shadows, I will answer your question by accident.

Shadows are vital to most photography. One case I think of when shadows are a problem is if you are using lighting from multiple angles. This can cause some unattractive shadows forming in many directions.

(The following examples are not my photos except for the last one.)

It's kind of a trade off. If you want sculpting light, you just have to accept the cluster of shadows.

And another example might be in a photo with a lot of dynamic range. If you have a bright sky and dark shadows, the camera may not be able to expose for both. So you have to choose which to prioritize.

Or you can do an HDR composite and combine multiple photos.

I would say for natural light genres, black and white photographers specialize in using shadows for their benefit. In many cases, they make the shadows their main subject.

Studio photographers will talk about using hard or soft light. Hard light (small light source) reveals texture, soft light (large light source) hides it. Neither is better or worse, it just depends on the context. But another way to think of this is by the shadows created.

Soft light produces graduated shadows that slowly fall off and hard light produces sharp shadows.

In a product photography context, this showcases two very different styles.

Hard light photographers use very bright lights on giant light stands in order to get a very small light source as far away from the product as possible. They might even angle the donut-shaped flash tube sideways to make the light a tiny bit smaller. The goal is to get the sharpest, crispest shadows possible.

You can do this with the sun at high noon or on the moon, but those aren't very convenient circumstances. Otherwise you need a studio with a 20 foot ceiling and a giraffe boom light stand. The farther away the light is, the smaller it is, the crisper the shadows.

The other style is graduated lighting—where shadows get more and more transparent over a given distance. This is done by shining a hard light into diffusion so you make the light source very big, but it is brighter in the center and darker around the edges, enhancing the shadow fall off.

If you are really clever, you can combine the two styles.

The chrome caps have graduated shadows but the containers produce sharp shadows. This is done through the magical lighting technique of... taking two photos and combining them in Photoshop.

Sorry, can't violate physics.

In portrait light, playing with shadows is usually the best way to add dramatic effect. One of the most famous lighting setups is Rembrandt Lighting, modeled after the painter's oft-used technique. The goal is to get a triangle patch of light on the shadow side of the face.

But more advanced lighting setups will use shadows in all sorts of cool ways to add drama.

But one of my favorite tricks involving shadows is colored ambient fill light. Fill light is a technique where you raise or lower the intensity of the ambient light to make shadows lighter or darker. Typically this is done by shooting a light into the ceiling, making the entire room brighter. But you can also use soft boxes, reflectors, or gobos (a black, light absorbing material).

You still have the bright main light as the dominant source, but by raising the ambient intensity you can lighten any shadows.

To make this more fun, you can make the fill light a specific color. Either with an RGB source or a color gel. And then any shadow in your photo will tint that color.

I wish I could teach this technique to YouTubers because many of them just blast a colored light from off to the side and it can look pretty harsh.

Edge lighting should not encroach that far onto the face. And if it does, doing a fill light technique is going to look a lot smoother and more natural. Or just a giant softbox could work. (I don't mean to pick on Jessie, this was just the first example I could remember.)

You can even do a colored main light and a shadow fill and then the transition between the two will be a third color. In this case, magenta key, blue fill, and a purple transition.

And then finally there is the absence of shadows. This is what ring lights are *actually* intended for. They surround the face in all directions to eliminate as many shadow areas as possible. This is often seen as very flattering because it hides skin texture and pores, which is why it is popular for makeup tutorials.

Playing with shadows is a huge part of photography. A lot of beginner studio photographers will only think about adding light. When you start thinking about the shadows, that is when you graduate to the next level of light design.

Light reveals and shadows dramatize.