Ooh we have done bride sets and a two girl bridal rivalry set but we *haven’t* done one with bridesmaids as well…
I totally think we should!

Have we done a bride set with the ball and chain??

Now just need some willing victims and some matching bridesmaids dresses… Anyone getting married anytime soon?? 😛

Kate x

So the question really is why, given that I’m claiming the shooting team has no such direction, are we not producing these back view stills? I’m really not sure. Looking through the sets from the last couple of weeks, I really do see what you mean. My best guess would be that we usually try to include the girls’ faces in shot, and the models usually turn towards camera to facilitate this. But the net result is quite marked isn’t it? Like today’s set with Ashley W which has side views, three quarter views and front views but not so much as a single rear three quarter view, let alone a square-on rear view. There’s no reason for that- Ashley can turn, and the lighting would be fine.

Since this came up before, I have made a conscious effort to include back views. Believe it or not, every set I have shot since, I have held this in my mind.

I think the lack of back views tends to be because every modelling instinct tells the model to look down the lens, and every photography instinct tells the shooter to focus on the eyes. I always try to include at least a couple of shots from the back though, if at all possible due to model positioning, tie, lighting and possible shooting angles. I would rather go with my instinct and shoot what comes naturally than feel like I am trying to document the model in 360 degrees like a technical manual – but I have been trying to step outside of my instincts for at least a couple of shots!!

I believe that the thing that sets RE apart from other sites is the focus on the beauty of the model within her situation – rather than the focus being totally on the bondage or the situation itself. The more restrictions and rules you place on yourself, the more you limit your creativity; ultimately, I shoot the angles that I want and shoot the angles that make the model look good. Hopefully, I have been doing it long enough to know RE and to create beautiful pictures that all can enjoy 🙂

I don’t know what other photographers think…

Kate x

I love that first shot! I love the expression, the angle and the mood. You did really well with available light. I really like the styling on the second shot too. Really looking forward to seeing more! Well done you 🙂

We do have a Restrained Elegance group on Fetlife but I am a really bad hostess… It does sound like Fetlife is growing and becoming more well known now so may have to revisit!

Kate x

When you put it like that, Hywel, it’s amazing to think how much has changed with EVERYTHING over the past decade – and I think that it is to your credit that Restrained Elegance has kept up and moved with the times.

I think the biggest change in the coming decade is going to be in the way that people access internet content. People are going to be more and more reliant on mobile internet on netbooks and phones, so this could be an area that RE could move into more maybe? How about an RE pic of the day App?? Or a mobile version of the site? Out of interest, does anyone out there currently view the site on their mobile phone (Have you got an iphone yet, Hywel?)? How does it look?

I am all for making each photo update more of an event. As a photographer, I would much rather invest my time in producing a single set with a substantial idea / tie / storyline than feel the pressure to produce three less meaningful sets.

And Ariel, how exciting preparing to become a resident resident slavegirl (in residence)! I look forward to working with you more. Hurrah! 😆

Kate x

Crikey, it does sound like an ordeal! I was feeling very envious before, but now I am feeling rather guilty that I stayed here!

Although I haven’t seen any photo’s yet, I am sure that you all produced some fantastic sets and it was all worth it and that you are all proud of yourselves. I bet it was a real experience, and I look forward to hearing about your adventures when you have recovered!!! 🙂 Especially a hair hogtie – when do I get to shoot Katy???? 😆

Hugs,

Kate x

She is insanely curvy! In a totally good way 🙂

I can imagine her dressed as Penelope Pitstop….

Kate x

I was going to reply earlier but unfortunately I was too high on a Fioricet / rasagiline / tranylcypromine cocktail….

Kate x

Congratulations Chloe!

How exciting – and what a high standard! Well done to all of the models (and photographers) for outstanding portfolios. 🙂

Kate x

250 miles from the RE studio! Hope that doesn’t translate into a large scale reduction of your rigging and camera work for RE in the future. That would be disappointing…….

Bless you for that, Jeff! No need to worry, I have lived quite a way away from Hywel for the past 8 years. It would be handier to be closer in a lot of ways (for example, I really missed not being involved in the Bondage X Factor this year) but I do like only shooting once or twice a year as it keeps it fresh, exciting and holidaylike!

Thanks to the internet and email, I can do all my publicity work up here far, far away. I am sure it’s just a matter of time before ‘virtual rigging’ is invented anyway… 😀

Kate x

Thanks for trying to step in to assist a damsel in distress…. 😉 but, Chris, please don’t spend any more time investigating; it looks like some people had problems receiving it and some didn’t and there is really no logic to why this happened (eg. Hywel got the tests for the 2nd one fine but couldn’t view the live one despite the settings and format being identical). You can’t please everyone all of the time!

Even if I collated every member’s OS, firewall, antivirus, mail client, browser, individual security settings, connection and location I wouldn’t be able to guarantee it would work with everyone!!

Next time I will design it in a different way to maintain more control over how it displays. I will also put a plain text link to the web version so that anyone can view that instead if they do have problems with the email.

Kate x

What a great location! Poor Merlin – your timing is pants… saying that, I haven’t moved anywhere and I wasn’t invited either… 🙁 Not to worry though, I was far too busy anyway – y’know like Cinderella, locked in the cellar sweeping the floor 😉

Great to see Janey back – she looks great and her shoes are awesome!! And, of course, Sammie and Ariel look delectable as always 🙂

Good job!

Kate x

I like your blog, Hywel…. and I also HATE tripods!!!!

I have only taken one single shot where I could say I wouldn’t have been able to take it without a tripod – or an umbrella. Also, the battery in my camera went dead at the crucial moment (probably due to ‘wrestling’ with my tripod!), but luckily I managed to turn it back on and got one shot out of it! It is still a bit soft (although not as soft as the compressed jpeg looks), but I managed to catch the raindrops 🙂 (attached).[attachment=0:2oebfwf5]CRW_2752.jpg[/attachment:2oebfwf5].

I since decided I didn’t have the patience for landscape photography and that tripod since went on ebay. On the rare occasion that I pick up my camera and ‘shoot for fun’, I tend to use a monopod which doubles up as a handy walking stick 🙂

Kate (getting techy – sorry Ariel!!) x

That’s not a stupid question at all! And a really good reply, Steve…

Most famous movie stars say that love scenes are not arousing at all due to everything that is going on (yeah right… how can snogging Brad Pitt NOT be arousing??) and that is true! From both sides of the camera, sometimes a set can feel very surreal, fun, and intimate but there is never really the atmosphere of ‘potential’ there (unless photographer and model are already romantically involved and it is a closed set with just the two of them). The situation is not really conducive to romance – its kind of like bumping into an attractive lady in a doctor’s waiting room as opposed to in a steamy night club.

That is the only way I can think to sum it up – I really don’t think you need to be worried. You will probably be too busy stressing about the light changing / model moaning about hair stuck in lipgloss / rope slipping down and you not noticing for 10 frames / flash lights not firing / etc etc – especially if you tend to over think things anyway (like me!)!

Really looking forward to hearing how you get on – best of luck, you will love it!!

Kate x

La-la-laaaa!

It’s quite funny hearing Hywel la-la-laaaa-ing but I didn’t realise Ariel had infected you too, Amy! Intrigued to hear more about this silly idea…..

I have just had a flashback to a chat session where we toyed with the idea of doing a bondage picnic foodfight set in Sweden…. we should totally revisit that bad boy.

Cake x

Sorry…. Kate x

Hi there,

I don’t *think* there was a video shot of this set. As I recall, I shot the stills of Amy and then Steve shot some video specifically for the music video. Unfortunately the location, as beautiful as it was, was very close to a noisy busy main road, making it very problematic shooting video with sound!

Sorry about that! It is often the case that we can’t really plan what we will be able to shoot until we actually arrive on location – luckily, on that trip, the weather was fabulous and the location was great for stills. 😆

Kate x