30 Seconds To Mars ⨺ *IMAGINES* ₪ Ø lll ·o.

IMAGINE: doing a photo-shoot with Shannon

I'd been photographing celebrities for just over a year when I heard the news. I was going to be doing a photo-shoot with my favourite band in the whole world: Thirty Seconds To Mars!

In the official contract it stated fully that I would be photographing Shannon by himself and my colleague would be in charge of Jared. I over-thought it for weeks and weeks: how to dress, how to speak to him without melting into a puddle of hearts, and how to make him feel like it was the most comfortable and fun photo-shoot he had ever done. I wanted him to leave smiling.

The day finally arrived. It was a spring day - sunny outside but a slight chill in the air. Mars were in London for three nights of sellout shows at the o2 and I was going to all three of them. We were doing the photo-shoot in an old warehouse just outside Canary Wharf, which had an awesome view of the city if you stepped outside.

I did a quick recce of the building and nodded to myself. Outside was perfect.

"T minus, five minutes." My manager muttered to me. "Hair and make-up say they're almost done. They're on a tight schedule today so no funny business."

I clutched my camera and took a deep breath. "Got it."

Shannon was ushered into the room surrounded by a bunch of people with clipboards and walkie-talkies. Someone was still trying to powder him with make-up. My heart was thumping so hard but I remained calm on the outside. 

"Hi." I said. "I'm Y/N, and I will be your..."

"Hi." He interrupted, folding his arms, and looking at me with a hard expression. It knocked me for a good few seconds, and then he smiled and shook my hand.

"...Photographer for today." I finished, getting lost in his firm grip. "Shall we?"

"We're going out there?" He strutted along beside me, brimming with confidence.

I stood in his way. "If you're not afraid of heights."

"I'm walking over the o2 roof this afternoon so I'm good." He shrugged. 

"Brave boy." I tugged the sleeve of his leather jacket gently and pulled him out onto the balcony. I introduced him to my assistant, Hayley, who was setting up the equipment. She gave me a knowing look and nodded. 

"Okay, Shannon let's do this." I raised my camera to take some test shots. I adjusted the exposure and made sure the lighting was in the correct place. 

"Where do you want me, pumpkin?" 

I tried to hide a smile. I could think of a few places. He saw me grinning and he exchanged looks with Hayley. 

"Is she okay?" He laughed, pointing at me.

"Oh, sure. She's just a little over-excited." 

I cringed. "Look," I said, pulling the sleeve of my black dress up slightly to show him my Mars tattoo "I'm part of the cult, but I need to be neutral and professional which is really hard for me right now considering you're standing right in front of me."

"Shit, yes you are." He grinned. 

"Okay, back to business. You ready, Shannon?"

"Ready, pumpkin."

I squinted into my camera view.

"Cool, okay so if you stand a little to the left... a bit more... a bit more... whoa that's good. Okay now just turn towards me slightly... keep going... okay stop." 

Hayley was making the last few adjustments with her equipment. "All good here, Y/N." She said.

"Perfect. Okay, Shannon I need you to look right down my lens. Poker-face."