She nodded, digesting my words. “I like the way you think.” She moved through the lingerie options and tossed all but two in a pile. She kept one black and one white. “We’ll use these. Angel and devil.”
I had to force myself not to comment on that last part. It was just too easy. “All right, so let’s get down to the details. How much do you want to show? What are you comfortable with?”
She’d clearly already thought this all through. “From the back, everything is fine. From the front, underwear down below, and as long as no nipples show up top, I’m good.”
I set my bag down and pulled out my camera, all business now. “Let’s start with the men’s white button down. Nothing underneath. And I want you to pin your hair up high, so we can see your neck for these first shots. Just pin it up quick so it’s messy and haphazard. And throw on whatever music makes you feel sexy. I need you to be as relaxed as possible for this.”
Aubrey smiled, seemingly delighted, and clapped her hands together in glee. “This is going to be so fun!” While she sat at her dressing table to fix her hair, she nodded at the mini fridge. “It’s fully stocked, so feel free to help yourself.”
I went over to see what she had. Soda, fresh fruit juice, water, even tiny bottles of liquor. I chose a bottle of orange juice. “Can I get you anything?” I offered.
She crossed over to me, grabbed the tiny bottle of Bacardi, and tossed it back. “You wanted me loose, right? This should help.” She lifted one shoulder in a shrug, and the robe slipped down her arm.
While she changed, I moved around her bedroom, checking the lighting from various angles. In front of the windows would be good for these first shots. With the light shining through the shirt, her curves would be visible as shadows beneath. I dragged a chair out of the way. Better.
The bass thumped loudly, and I jumped, startled by the volume. Ray J’s “Sexy Can I” blared from a hidden sound system, filling the air with its playful vibe and talk about a Kodak moment. I grinned at Aubrey as she shimmied her way into the room, holding the shirt closed at her breasts. “Perfect song, right?” She smiled back.
“It is,” I agreed, pulling the camera up to my eye. “Just dance around there for a bit, if you want. Do what feels natural. Let’s just see what happens before we start doing actual poses.”
She moved to the small open space beside the window and kept the beat with her hips. She faced away from me and raised her hands above her head, causing the shirt to rise up, allowing a glimpse of her butt cheek. I snapped off a few shots and tried to direct her a little. “Look over your shoulder at the camera every once in a while. Keep it flirty. Pretend I’m the hottest guy you’ve ever seen.”
She danced around a little more until the song ended. Then I started working her through some specific poses: Facing away from me and letting the shirt fall to her elbows, exposing her upper back. Extending her arms out and holding the window frame, so the shirt fell around her and the sunlight shone through, leaving her silhouette outlined underneath. Profile shots looking out the window. Some sitting on the window frame, one long, shapely leg propped up opposite her.
She changed into the fisherman’s sweater, and Shaggy’s “Boombastic” kicked in. I lowered the camera, feeling lulled into a sense of camaraderie. So far, Aubrey had been nothing but cooperative and enthusiastic. Now I just felt like a bitch for my earlier misgivings. “Shaggy’s awesome. I wonder what ever happened to him? Do you have any more of his stuff?” I was surprised to find myself enjoying the shoot.
Aubrey nodded and adjusted her playlist so a few more Shaggy songs would play next. For this look, I had her unpin her hair so the curls hid most of her face. Letting the sweater droop off one shoulder, baring it and the top curve of her breast, she tugged the sweater down between her legs, as if trying to modestly hide herself. I took shots of that pose from several angles, knowing the contrast of her shiny hair and smooth skin against the rough weave of the sweater was going to look great on film. I had her crawl across the bed toward me, with the sweater still hanging off one shoulder, and from the angle in front of her, the low v-neck allowed a view of her cleavage and flat stomach, depending how she moved.
We took a short break after that, and I showed Aubrey some of my raw footage so far, just to make sure we were still on the same wavelength. She looked at each picture critically, as if she were viewing a stranger and not herself. A sense of uneasiness crept over me as I waited for her verdict. “You look beautiful,” I said truthfully. “What we’ve got so far is fantastic. Is this what you were thinking of when we started?”
She looked at me, her eyes big and guileless. “No. It’s so much better. You’ve somehow made it so erotic and yet, sweet.”
“Wait ’til I get it all edited. It’ll look even better. Softer, more intimate.” I was pleased with my work so far and knew it would be some of the best I’d done in awhile. The stuff I’d done of Cody was adorable, but kid’s shoots were easier in the sense that every parent already thought their kid was the cutest thing ever. Making a grown woman like photos of herself was a whole different bag of tricks.
Aubrey went to change again while I hummed along to Shaggy’s “Luv Me, Luv Me,” and I couldn’t help but giggle when Aubrey reentered the room to the opening bars of Akon’s “Smack That.” She’d put on the black lingerie. “All right, for this next section, I just want you to roll around the bed looking sexy, and I’ll move around you and shoot it. Move through some poses slowly, and try to keep your movements soft and feline. Slinky. And remember to keep your face either innocent or like you’re thinking really, really dirty thoughts. Try not to let it go blank. You’ll just come across as looking bored, which is not what we’re going for here.”
Aubrey lolled against a mountain of white, frilly pillows and sucked on her fingertip while looking at me out of the side of her eyes. Perfect. She tangled her hands up in her hair then ran them down the side of her body, eyeing the camera. Next, she rolled until she lay on her back across the bed, propped up on her elbows with her knees bent, arching her back upwards. She let her head drop back until her neck was stretched and exposed, and I said, “Hold that,” as I moved to shoot her from both head on and at a forty-five degree angle. Then, I kicked off my shoes and climbed up on a chair off to the side and captured the same pose from overhead, careful to keep my shadow from entering the picture.
As I got down, Aubrey looked at my foot. “Nice tattoo. What’s it for?”
I glanced at my tattoo, the little paper airplane with the dotted line behind it indicating it had done a loop. “You know, it was supposed to be a metaphor. Life’s about the journey, not the destination, some crap like that. I thought it was deep and philosophical when I got it.” Another lie. The truth was private.
Aubrey smiled and nodded like she understood and then shifted her body again, showing off her hourglass figure.
After I gave her the signal that I’d gotten those shots, Aubrey sat up straight. I had her tilt her head forward so her hair cascaded over her breasts, and I shot some close-ups of just her torso showcased by her black lace balconette bra.
“Okay, now, if you feel comfortable, I’d suggest removing your bra, and I’ll get some of your bare back and of you from the front with your arms covering your chest.”
She hesitated. “You’re sure this isn’t going to start looking…”
“Trashy? No, not if I do my job right. But it’s up to you. What we’ve got so far is great if you want to stop there.”