Chapter 16: The Shoot

Buying a car could wait; for now, Ethan was focused on the album shoot for Raymond.

The next day, when Ethan arrived at the address given by Yesan, he found that it was the same room where Davis had previously ambushed him.

But now, Ethan's situation had changed.

"Place the lights to the left, at a 45-degree angle, and keep them on the ground. Just like that, don't move!"

Davis,Lil B, and Big M were all acting as props today, following Ethan's instructions for arranging the equipment and lighting.

Ethan stood behind the tripod, watching them work while he stood with his hands in his pockets, doing nothing.

"This feels great!" Raymond sat in the chair opposite him, dressed in a black leather jacket with a large cross necklace.

He looked at the surrounding blue lights and struck several cool poses.

"Ethan! Take more shots!" The scene made Raymond feel even more like a star, and he was excited.

Ethan nodded and took a few photos of him during the preparation.

"Davis, turn the light sticks sideways! Damn it! I said 45 degrees! Are you playing with children's blocks?"

Although Ethan was usually easygoing, on set, he seemed possessed by some demon. His expression and tone made Davis feel like he was dealing with a beast rather than a person.

Davis wanted to argue but didn't know how. He knew his older brother wouldn't let him fight back.

Damn it!

Davis felt he had missed something important in school; if he had known more, he wouldn't have been scolded by Ethan!

So he could only vent his frustration by kicking the corner of the table, making a clattering sound.

Nevertheless, the lights were adjusted as Ethan instructed.

Ethan sneered, enjoying the fact that these guys were defiant yet unable to retaliate. Honestly, with Davis's small stature, he probably couldn't take Ethan in a fight.

Once all the preparations were done, Ethan looked around the room. The windows were closed and covered with foam boards.

Raymond sat in the center, surrounded by blue light sticks. The leather jacket reflected the light, and his face was bathed in blue.

A large light on the ceiling provided diffuse illumination, ensuring the space was bright and minimizing noise during the shoot.

"Alright, Raymond, look cooler!" Ethan peered through the viewfinder.

Raymond clasped his hands in front of his chest with a cold expression.

"No, no, no, that doesn't work. It looks like you're praying. That's not the vibe! Raymond! Hold your head with your hands!"

Raymond frowned, "Why hold my head? Shouldn't I look confident? This pose makes me feel like I'm being held at gunpoint by the police."

"Exactly!" Ethan snapped his fingers. "That's the feeling."

"Why?"

"There's no why, just listen to me! Raymond!"

"FXXK, Ethan, you can't be so forceful!" Raymond felt the same frustration as Davis, feeling like a puppet being controlled by Ethan.

"FXXK! Raymond!" Ethan didn't care about anyone's opinions while shooting. "I'm the photographer! You need to respect that! I don't care about others; my work must achieve the best results! No exceptions!"

"If you want an explanation, I'll give you one. This looks cooler and more eye-catching! Got it?"

Perhaps due to Ethan's decisive tone and firm gaze, Raymond, the tough Black man, was forced to comply, holding his head and looking down.

Davis, nearby, was ecstatic!

He had always been reprimanded by his older brother; now it was finally his turn to see his brother get reprimanded!

Even Dama and Xiao Bei had no strong reactions, as Yesan had instructed that Ethan had final authority on set. This was a precondition they had agreed upon before the shoot.

But even with Raymond following the instructions, Ethan was still dissatisfied.

"Lift your head! Beast! You need to look fierce at the camera."

"Not just staring blankly like an idiot!"

"FXXK, Ethan!"

"FXXK, Raymond! Be fiercer, wrinkle your forehead! Show anger! In this miserable life, anger is your only emotion!"

"Think about your struggling brothers, think about your mom, think about your absent father! Think about this stinking street and those white cops who constantly discriminate against you!"

"In this country, you'll never have a chance to stand out, except for this moment. This is the only chance to break free from the cage!"

"You can't accept constraints; you need to crush all obstacles!"

"FXXK, crush them!" Raymond was indeed provoked, his expression growing more menacing.

"Exactly! That's it! Control your anger, Raymond. Keep your emotions in check and convey them through your eyes!"

Ethan finally saw the effect he wanted and pressed the shutter, capturing the moment.

"Perfect! Done!"

Raymond's expression on the cover was far more intense than the original, with his eyes looking like a predatory beast under the blue light, intimidating to behold.

Raymond himself felt dazed after the shoot, taking a while to recover from the anger.

"Ethan, you're a devil." He looked at Ethan with a blank expression, as if seeing the photographer for the first time.

Ethan smiled, taking it as a compliment.

In the evening, they returned to Faith Music Company and, under Yesan's guidance, went to a large recording studio affiliated with EMI.

Here, they had the computers they needed.

Yesan initially planned to send the photos to another company for processing, but Ethan wasn't comfortable letting others handle his work.

After all, a single image didn't require much work, and there was also the issue of whether an outsourced company would understand his requirements.

If revisions were needed, he could spend that time taking a few more photos himself.

Opening the computer, Ethan launched the latest version of Photoshop. Since Adobe released the first version in 1990, it had evolved rapidly to version 7.0.

Of course, it couldn't be compared to future versions, but the features Ethan needed weren't very complex.

He uploaded the image and cut out the portrait.

Yes, even in 2002, Photoshop could handle image masking.

Then he changed the background to red, added the title "Beast Star" and some simple noise effects, and the cover was perfect.

When Yesan and Raymond saw the album cover, they were immediately struck by its astonishing, timeless appeal!

The staff around them watched and suddenly exclaimed, "Damn, this album cover is going to sell like crazy!"