A naked male model was used to study the position the genitals would settle into when the model lay flat on a hard surface. I already knew that in this position the arms would be too short to reach the opposite thigh, as they do in the shroud image. But I was uncertain about where the flaccid penis would naturally settle. It was possible that it might nestle between the legs and so not come into contact with any covering cloth. This was a possible explanation of why there is no penis image in the Turin shroud.
To decide this issue the model's flaccid penis was first photographed with the model standing up and then again with the model lying flat on his back on a hard surface.