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“Have there ever been any times when someone came along, and you didn’t cover up in time?”
“Oh yes!” she laughs. “I was doing a shoot with this guy in London once. It was early in the morning and we were shooting at this building with lots of gothic pillars outside. I had my dressing gown just behind the pillar, but nobody noticed this old man wandering down the pavement until it was too late.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing! I mean, he obviously saw me, but he just doffed his cap and walked on. He was such a gent, I wanted to run after him and give him a kiss,” she says, smiling broadly.
“I got caught by a policeman once,” Toby tells us. “I was shooting a model on the steps of a library one morning, and I got a tap on the shoulder.”
“Oh wow, did you get arrested?” I ask.
“No. He was very good about it actually. All he said was ‘I’d think about wrapping things up soon if I were you. The market traders will be here to set up before long, and we don’t want to give them any unwelcome surprises, do we?’”
“But isn’t it illegal to be parading around in public with no clothes on?”
“Actually, no,” Toby replies. “It’s only illegal if, and I quote, ‘you intentionally expose your genitals with the intention that someone will see them and be caused alarm or distress’ or ‘you commit, in public, an act of a lewd, obscene or disgusting nature which outrages public decency’. Simply being naked doesn’t fall into either of those categories. Having said that, it’s better all-round if you’re discreet.”
Once we get back to the studio, Ella disappears into the dressing room to fix her hair and makeup and Toby sets up a long trestle table, arranging a light behind it.
“I’m going to do some low-key shots,” he explains, as he fixes a long box over the light. “This will give a nice soft light from behind her and we’ll get some lovely shapes, almost like silhouettes. Art Nude is all about light and shapes. We can’t control the light outdoors, so we have to adapt the camera. But in here we have complete control over the light, so we can do what we like.”
There’s nothing for me to do now, so I sit in a chair and watch as Toby and Ella work. She lies on her side on the trestle table, moving as he directs, and he moves around her, capturing different details.
“Ella, would you mind if Madison took a few photos?” Toby asks, suddenly.
“I don’t need to do that, I’m fine here!” I reply, before Ella has a chance to say anything. “You carry on.”
“Come on. It’ll be good practice, and it might help you.”
“Help me with what?” I retort. “There don’t tend to be a lot of studio lighting setups or naked women in my photos!”
“Madison is a travel writer,” Toby explains to Ella, “and she’s come under a bit of fire for her pictures.”
“Come on, Madison. If Toby’s prepared to teach you, you’d be mad to turn him down!” she exclaims.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake! If it’ll shut you two up, hand me the camera.”
Toby rummages in his bag, gets out another camera and fiddles with the settings for a bit. When he hands it to me the first thing that I’m aware of is the weight of it. He shows me how to adjust the zoom and focus.
“Just think about the light and the shapes,” he encourages me. “Take your time, look at everything. If you think you can improve it then explain to Ella what she needs to do. If you want the light moved, let me know and I’ll move it for you.”
I look through the eyepiece and try to follow his instructions. I take a few shots and hand the camera back to him. Ella sits up.
“Let’s see,” she says, and she and Toby scroll through together.
“These are good!” she exclaims, and I can’t help but smile at her attempt to be encouraging.
“They definitely show promise,” Toby agrees. “Listen, I don’t need you as a lookout for this phase, so why don’t you hang on to this camera and take a few pictures after I’ve done each set. I’m sure Ella won’t mind, will you?”
“No skin off my nose,” she replies. “You’ve paid me for the day. How you use it is up to you.”
The rest of the day is actually fun. Ella is bubbly and encouraging, and Toby patiently shows me different angles I could shoot from and the effects that I can create from each. As I scroll through the pictures I’ve taken while Toby is setting up the final set, I can see quite a few that I’m pleased with.
When I look up, I notice that Toby has brought the trestle table back out, along with a bottle of baby oil and one of those sprayers that you use for house plants. I watch, transfixed, as Ella rubs the baby oil into her skin, and then lies on her back on the table. She flinches from the cold a few times as Toby sprays her with the water, and then giggles.
“What on earth are you doing to the poor girl now?” I ask.
“The oil makes the water form into droplets,” he explains. “After a few minutes we’ll get the most incredible effect.” Sure enough, after a minute or two, she looks like she’s covered in condensation, and he begins to shoot again.
“Thank you. I actually quite enjoyed that,” I say to him, after everything has been put away and Ella has left for the station. “Although I’d got so used to seeing Ella naked that it was a bit odd when she came out of the dressing room in jeans and a jumper. I half expected her to wander off to the station as she was!”
“She’s really good. I like working with her,” he tells me. “You got some good shots. I’ll put them on a memory stick for you to keep. I’ve got some other models coming in over the coming weeks, different body shapes and so on. If you’re around, you’re welcome to come and chaperone me again, and take some more pictures.”
“I think I’d like that,” I tell him. “Now, I’m starving. How about I buy you the fish and chips this time?”
“I think I should probably buy them,” he replies. “A thank you for helping me out today.”
“No, let me. It’s my turn and I have a favour to ask you, anyway.”
“Sounds intriguing,” he tells me, as we walk out of the front door.
