Based on a true story. The names have been changed to protect the horny and shameless.
*****
As a freelance photographer there are few things more terrifying than finding out that you're going to have to scrap a shoot after you have paid for wardrobe and props and booked studio time because all of a sudden your model can't make it.
That's exactly the position I found myself in two weeks ago.
I had recently expanded my service offerings to include an edgy boudoir concept, and have been sourcing models to pose for promotional shoots. I have been shooting freelance for a couple of years now and have generally worked it into my client agreement that I can use photos from a given shoot for my own promotional purposes, but as this was a new concept (both in terms of originality and being new to me) I didn't have any images that I could use to advertise so I had to create them.
This meant jumping through the hoops of trying to find models who were not only willing to pose on a time-for-prints arrangement (a deal where the model receives the finished photos for her portfolio as compensation for her time) to meet my limited budget, but also willing to pose for risque, albeit tasteful art photos. Another wall I running up against was trying to get people on board with a unique concept that really existed only in my mind, which can be hard to do even when relaying your idea to artsy fartsy types suchs as models and other photographers.
That's why I was crushed when my model Lisa called me a week before a shoot we had been planning together to let me know that she had to go out of town on a family emergency. As far as I was concerned, I was screwed. In the remaining week I had to not only find my props which consisted of a football helmet and shoulder pads for this shoot, which aimed to deconstruct the male dominated world of pro sports. But now I needed to find a model with the vision to meet me halfway on making it happen, a far more exhausting hunt.
That evening I walked through the door wearing what must've been a hang dog expression, because my wife picked up on it right away.
"What's the matter Boo?" My wife Richelle asked me, no doubt throwing in the pet name in an attempt to brighten my spirits.
I told her the whole sad story about Lisa cancelling and now being out the money for the studio time which, while not financially devastating, was more than I cared to lose for nothing. She suggested we head down to our favorite watering hole and brainstorm over a drink. I was definitely game at that point.
As we sat at the pizza joint down the street from our place drinking craft beer and munching on fried raviolis we took turns throwing out the names of friends, acquaintances, accomplices, and contacts who I'd either shot with previously or that might be onboard for an undertaking of this nature. The pickings were pretty slim.
While we had a lot of good looking female friends who admittedly, I'd have loved to see in the state of undress required of the shoot I had envisioned, none of them were professional models, or even amateur, hobbyist models so that it made it even harder to consider who to approach.
"Damn them all for being so prim and proper," I thought facetiously, sighing in frustration.
Once we had run through a list of possible takers we settled into silence as we considered just which one might be willing to hop on this grenade and save my ass.
Richelle was midway through a big swig of her beer when she suddenly plopped her mug down on the bar and and quickly wiped a hand across her mouth to remove any errant suds. "I've got it!" she beamed "Nancy, Nancy Nelson, that's who can help you!"
I ran through the rolodex in my mind before mentally pulling out the card for one of Richelle's coworkers, a dark haired woman with reddish highlights of about 35 whom I had commented to Richelle previously as being very pretty. It had been an offhand comment at the time, just a casual, passive remark made upon getting my first glimpse of Nancy in a photo from a company outing.
I thought back to the photo. In it, Nancy had been wearing white capri pants and a white t-shirt with some kind of design on it I couldn't recall at the moment. Her strappy sandals and big floppy hat made the outfit adorable and I recalled her having a great smile. As I considered her for the shoot I had to admit to myself that I was intrigued by the idea of getting to see one of my wife's coworkers (especially one as attractive as Nancy) in just her essentials.
Now, as a professional photographer it generally does not enter into my mind to regard a model in this fashion, but I had to admit there was something alluring about working with someone who doesn't do this professionally. The kinky and imaginative side of my mind liked the idea of this little secret between the three of us that no one else at their office would be privileged to.
"Yeah...," I offered offhandedly "She'd probably be great at it."
I thought of Nancy who my wife described as a bit of a diva and figured that at worst, working with her would be like working with other stubborn models who thought they were someone they weren't. I've worked with plenty of those.
Richelle reminded me that Nancy was going through a rather ugly divorce at the moment and had resorted to crash dieting and drinking too much to cope with the realities of her life. "This shoot might actually do her good," Richelle said "You know, as a confidence boost."
I wasn't going to disagree. All I said was "Well. hit her up then."
We sat there for the next ten minutes or so formulating a text message that was likely to get her on board with the idea, but was purposely vague as toward the scope of the shoot in case she wasn't. Our thinking was that if she were on board with the idea of doing the shoot we could test the waters about how far she'd be willing to go, but we didn't want to suggest something that could've been deemed inappropriate to ask of a coworker if she wasn't interested. We sent it and ordered another round of beers, hoping for the best.
About 15 minutes later, Richelle's phone buzzed loudly against the formica bar top and shook us from our thoughts. I think I belied my enthusiasm for shooting with Nancy by grabbing quickly for Richelle's phone and opening the message from Nancy. All Richelle could do was laugh and shake her head at my schoolboy style eagerness.
The message from Nancy was a positive one. She would do it.
"Well," I thought to myself "I guess we'll see if she's really down when I tell her what it is I need from her." I resolved to email Nancy with full details that night to see if she was actually able to accommodate my request.
After finishing our beers, we paid our bill and walked the few blocks home. The whole time I was formulating a reply to Nancy and hoping that she'd be willing to don the football helmet, shoulder pads, and swimwear/undergarments I had planned to pose Lisa in.
I spent a good two hours hammering out an email message I was satisfied with and sent it to Nancy. I fully expected that once she realized what I was asking she'd chicken out. I shutdown my computer and went to bed exhausted, slightly buzzed, and full of anticipation for her reply.
Around 8am the next morning, I had my reply. Nancy was in! I could tell from the tone of her reply that she was not only willing to help but was excited by the idea. She had even mentioned different outfits and lingerie items she had that might work. This is also when I found out that Nancy had a serious high heel fetish as she mentioned about a half dozen pairs of shoes she intended to bring.
The rest of the week went by in a blur as I scoured the local area for the helmet, pads, and knee socks I still needed to complete the look for Saturday's shoot. Richelle told me several times during the week that Nancy had mentioned being super stoked to be doing the shoot, and had even ordered some items on her own. I was on cloud 9, this couldn't be going any better.
Saturday morning finally came and Richelle and I loaded my gear into the car for the trip to the studio which was in another part of the county. Normally, Richi begs out of accompanying me on shoots, but I insisted she come along this time as I had not met Nancy in person before and wanted her to be comfortable by having someone she knew along for the shoot.