Cheryl and Casey (#745) 12-30-14

On a very cool morning, I watched Cheryl and Casey exit their car. Casey's wool hat seemed appropriate. The sun was high enough in the sky to make light harsh (drat!), so I followed them looking for an acceptable location. Cheryl wore a fuchsia jacked that could easily be seen from 50 yards.

Finally they approached an area of acceptable, if not great, light. I made my pitch and the two looked at each other; finally Cheryl said, “Why Not? We work in photography.”

“Oh, are you photographers?”

Cheryl said, “No. I'm a model”, and Casey said, “And I do the wardrobes and makeup.”

I was surprised that Cheryl agreed – usually professional models won't allow free photos. But I just reveled in my good luck and asked her to take a couple of steps to the right. Immediately she got this HUGE smile. I asked if she would not smile for the camera. She looked shocked and laughingly said to Casey,”He's trying to direct ME!” In other words, this amateur Bozo is trying to direct me, the beautiful professional model. Then she walked away, the shoot was clearly over.

This professional smile reminds me of a series of commercials a few decades ago, when Pepsodent toothpaste was popular.

“You'll wonder where the yellow went,

when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent!”

Yeah, Cheryl's smile would work for that.

So then I asked Casey to step into the same light. She looked shocked, and said, “You want to photograph ME?” I said, “Sure, I photograph people and you're a people”. She looked a bit flummoxed, but then complied. Clearly she viewed herself as a Plain Jane accompanying Cheryl, the Beautiful. Do any viewers think that Casey appears ordinary, and is deserving of the rank of second class citizen?

This bothered me, and I questioned whether I should post this. The implied stereotyping is just contrary to my value system and makes me uncomfortable. Nevertheless, here they are.

Ironically, I later saw them in an area of perfect light. Just not meant to be.

Bob