The Model and the Photographer (An Aston Merrygold Short Story)

My name is Danielle, I'm 23 and I'm a fashion photographer. The majority of models let it get to their head and they start thinking, and even believing, that they are the most beautiful girl in the world. I have never thought that and never will. For me it is just a job they get paid for. Yeah they were pretty but they weren't on the inside, so to me you could only be genuinely beautiful if you were beautiful on the inside as well.  I bet that sounds crazy but yeah. For one day though, my role was switched from photographer to model. It was a such a surprise. It came completely out of the blue on a day that I thought would be a normal working day. How totally wrong I was. I mean being a photographer can sometimes be a bit of surprise anyway because you are hardly told who the model you was going to photograph was unless it was a new one or one that acts like a complete drama queen, that's so you are forewarned about it all. It was like that so you wouldn't tell the general public what the models latest shoot would look like.

I drove to the location of the photo shoot. It was literally a field in the middle of nowhere. That was the only thing I'd been told about it all other than the theme of it; country style underwear. I thought it was a bit wacky as well don't worry. I didn't quiet know what that theme was meant to look like either but oh well, you know what they say, "it's all in the name of fashion" and all that. I was kinda intrigued by it as well because it sounded quite unusual. On top of that it was one of the shoots that I wasn't told who was being the model, so that meant it could be anyone, absolutely anyone. It could have been a man or it could have been a woman, I had no clue what so ever about it. I hoped that it was a man... of course I had my reasons for that, but you see I hadn't done a photo shoot with man for a while now. They don't usually act as bitchy behind each other's backs as the women did, although they were as big headed as them, if not even more so.

There was soon a big field at the corner of a traditional country lane. I knew that this was the right field as it already had all the cabins and crew set up. It was secluded so there wasn't anyone around and it wasn't a busy road either. I breathed a sigh as I opened the car door so I could take in the fresh country air. It was peaceful and quiet here other than the noise of people chatting, the crew giving out instructions and the faint clicks of the equipment being put into place. This is a great spot for a photo shoot. It just gave off a sense of nature because the surroundings were just completely natural and filled with wide open spaces. I know we had to get the farmer's permission to do this but this is a field he doesn't use for anything though. That meant tall grass was everywhere. That made everything look so authentic. On top of that, it would be great for the models because it's just so flexible to pose in really.

I parked my car at the corner of the field along with the other vehicles. I did a little dance as I realised that I wouldn't need to get my usual heavy photography equipment out the boot. We don't need it on location but we would if we were in the usual studio I work it, which was definitely one of many advantages of the location shoots. Hang on you still have your heavy tripod. Oh wonderful. I'd completely forgotten about that. I sighed and unlocked the boot of my car. There it was, staring right at me. It sounds stupid but I really hated that thing. Yeah, at the end of the day it helped to stop any shake on the photos I took, but it was far too heavy and very fiddly to adjust at times as it was quite temperamental. I went to pick it up even though one of my hands was already holding my camera. Not quite being able to pick it up enough with one hand I dropped it on the floor. I heard a sudden "Ow!!!!" come from next to me. I turned to quickly apologise to whoever I'd accidently hurt. I recognised the girl's face. It was the model called Polly Grahame, she was in fact an underwear model though.

My face instantly went white with fright as I took the tripod off her foot as quick as I possibly could do. I'd virtually just hospitalised the best model we have on this photo shoot, even though I didn't know she'd be here. On top of that, there was a possibility that there might not be a replacement for her. I could tell that today was going to be great, just great. "I... I... I'm so sorry! It was just an accident, I promise!" I finally managed to stutter in sheer panic. I was going to be in massive trouble for this I just know it. She never replied she just grimaced in pain. To show how truly sorry I was, I went to find the first aider we take with us when we go locations. When he was told exactly what had happened he went mental at me for "letting such a thing happen to the star model". As if I didn't already feel bad enough about it all, I really did, I guess that's because I'm the kinda person who feels guilty easily. Surely there is something else I can do.