AllFreeNovel
Share Us
17
MAY
‘Can I ask you a favour?’ Toby says to me, during one of our increasingly regular phone calls. We haven’t seen each other since the Corfu trip, but we’ve taken to speaking on the phone at least once a week since our conversation in the bar.
‘Sure, what’s up?’ I ask.
‘I’ve been commissioned to write a book about Art Nude photography,’ he tells me. ‘Hints and tips, with pictures to illustrate. I’ve got a model coming in on Saturday and I need a chaperone.’
‘Why, are you worried you won’t be able to control yourself?’ I ask. I have to stifle a giggle at the thought.
‘No, it’s just good practice. There are lots of horror stories out there about models feeling that the photographer was pressurising them to go further than they were comfortable with, and something like that could do a lot of damage to my reputation.’
‘I don’t see you as the pressurising type,’ I tell him.
‘I’d like to think not. I’ve shot plenty of Art Nude over the years,’ he replies, ‘but you can never be too careful. Also, we’ll be doing some shooting outdoors, and I need a lookout who can help the model to cover up quickly if anyone comes into sight.’
I think about his request. I don’t actually have any firm plans for Saturday, so I could help him out. Also, I owe him; the Corfu article was another great success. On top of that I’m a little curious. I have no interest in naked women, but I’d like to see him at work.
‘Sure, I’ll be your chaperone. What time do you need me?’
‘It’s an early start to catch the light, I’m afraid. Would you be able to meet me at the studio at five o’clock?’
‘In the morning?’
‘Sorry.’
‘That’s OK. I’m having dinner with Ed and Charley on Friday, but they’re hardly night owls these days, so I’ll be home in time to have an early night. I’ll see you on Saturday morning at five.’
Although I’m often up early to catch a plane, it’s not a part of my job that I particularly enjoy, so I set my alarm on Friday night with some reluctance, and it feels like I’ve barely dropped off to sleep before I’m woken up by its insistent beeping. It’s far too early to contemplate breakfast, so I have a quick shower, get dressed, and limit my make-up to the bare essentials. It’s still dark when I leave home, and the sun is just beginning to cast a faint glow across the sky by the time I arrive at Toby’s studio. He introduces me to the model, a petite young woman called Erin, who is dressed somewhat incongruously in a towelling dressing gown and trainers, with her hair neatly pinned up and immaculate make-up. I clamber into the back of Toby’s car, allowing Erin to sit in the front, and we set off.
After around twenty minutes, Toby pulls off the road onto the verge. He unpacks his backpack and various reflective panels from the boot of the car, and we follow him into a field. Although the day ahead promises to be warm, there’s a distinct chill in the air at this time in the morning and the ground is wet with dew. I’m grateful for my coat and I wonder how poor Erin is going to cope being out here with nothing on. We go through a gate into another field and Toby leads us over to a fallen tree. Most of the branches have been cut away from it, but two remain, holding the top of the tree around ten feet off the ground. It’s obviously been like that for a while, as the wood is bleached from the sun. It’s beautiful, in a brutal way.
Toby and Erin busy themselves discussing poses. She acts out a few, wrapping herself around one of the branches and laying in various ways on the trunk. Toby gets his camera out and looks through it, directing her. The sun rises in the sky and soon we’re bathed in the early morning light. The tree casts long shadows, and they spend some time altering her positions so that she’s lit as he wants her.
‘Madison, can you come over here for a minute?’ he asks at one point, and I walk over to join them.
‘Take this, would you, and hold it as I direct you. Is that OK?’
I take the reflector and stand where he instructs me. He directs me to angle it, and I can see its effect, softly adding extra light to the scene. After some more fiddling with the settings on his camera, he declares himself ready.
‘Here’s where the hard work begins for you, Madison,’ he tells me. ‘Erin will be concentrating on her poses and I’ll be focused on her, so you have to be our eyes and ears. You need to keep hold of Erin’s dressing gown, ready to give it to her as soon as I finish shooting, or if someone comes. You need to let us know the moment you spot anyone. We shouldn’t be disturbed at this time of the day, but we don’t want to take any chances. You’re also in charge of the reflector. OK?’
This is a whole new side to Toby. There’s no hint of the reticence that I’m used to. He’s exuding confidence and is being positively authoritative. I almost have to blink to reassure myself he’s the same person.
Erin takes off her trainers and I put them safely on the grass behind me. Then she undoes the dressing gown, slips it down her shoulders and hands it to me. The next ten minutes are among the most surreal of my life. I’m standing in a field, at this unearthly hour of the morning, trying to follow Toby’s instructions about where to position the reflector while also scanning the horizon for any sign of human movement. Meanwhile, Erin is recreating the poses she’s just gone through, but this time without a stitch of clothing on. Toby directs her as he shoots and she adjusts her poses accordingly. I’m stunned by Erin’s body confidence. To be fair, she has a lot to be confident about; she has creamy, perfect skin without a hint of cellulite, her breasts are small but nicely shaped over her flat belly, and her total absence of pubic hair makes her look like she’s just stepped out of a pre-Raphaelite painting. I notice that Toby is careful how he poses her, so that her labia are never visible.
I’m surprised by the total lack of any sexual undercurrent and wonder briefly whether this is down to Toby’s sexuality, but he’s so professional that I decide it wouldn’t make any difference.
As soon as he declares himself satisfied and lowers the camera, I hand her dressing gown back to her and she wraps it tightly around herself. She hasn’t uttered a word of complaint, but I’m sure she’s freezing. Toby takes a thermos out of his backpack and pours her a cup of hot tea, which she wraps her hands around gratefully as she sips.
‘Once you’ve warmed up, I’d like to do just a few with your hair down before we head back to the studio. Is that OK?’ Toby asks her.
‘No problem,’ Erin replies. She finishes her tea and takes the clips out of her hair, which cascades down over her shoulders in dark waves. She steps out of the dressing gown again and we repeat the performance.
* * *
‘You’re so brave,’ I tell her, once we’re back in the car on the way to the studio. ‘Don’t you feel self-conscious?’
