Back in July of 2009, when I was just getting going and hadn’t had any weird experiences yet, little did I know that one day it was all going to change…

I set up a lingerie shoot in Vancouver with an amateur photographer off of an Internet website. Since I had to travel outside of my city of residence and meet this guy (“photographer”) off the net, I decided that it was a good idea to bring my best friend/assistant with me.

The moment we got there, the guy was acting super weird. First, he looked at my friend like he was a space alien. His face sunk upon the first glance at my friend, because I honestly believe he expected me to show up alone (even though in our emails I stated that I was bringing a friend with me, so it shouldn’t have been a big shock to him). Then, he started having a difficult time speaking and it turns out that English is his second language, which created a barrier in our communications.

When we entered his home studio, it was apparent that he’d already downed a quite a few beers. He offered my friend a beer as well.

While we were shooting, he was slurring his words as a result of being drunk. He tried to direct me, but it was clear that he could not say exactly what he wanted to say. He’d stop mid-sentence and angrily sigh as loud as he could.

Then, he got angry at his lights for “not doing what they were supposed to do”. He looked at the screen on camera, and sighed after every photo because he didn’t get the lighting right, and he couldn’t explain to me the poses that he wanted me to do. A couple of times, he tripped over the power cords of his lights. One time resulted in a light falling down and nearly hitting me, but luckily I moved out of the way very quickly.

Additionally, he was talking about how wonderful he was at photoshop and how much money he spent on his equipment. He also stated that photoshop is a very easy program and that he could do anything he likes in photoshop.

Then, he started telling me stories about how whenever he puts out an ad on the Internet site, he always gets junkies and hookers replying to the ad, and how happy he was that I was not one. LOL

At the end of the shoot…he picked up two open beers and said “Hey, guys, look! I got two going at once!!” That was hilarious…I mean he was WASTED by the time we finished. For all I knew, he probably wouldn’t even remember shooting with me or that we were there.

I sure was excited to see what the photos turned out like…Well, curiosity killed the cat. When I saw one of the pictures…I couldn’t recognize myself. Although, I have to admit, if I’d sent in that pic while I was applying to be a cast member of a horror movie, I’d get the part. 😀

All’s well that ends well…I guess. He paid me for the shoot. So it wasn’t a waste of time. And the experience, as weird as it was, was worth it, since now I can talk about it.

Hasta Luego, amigos,
Aviva