Hi cl.reply,

Hey, it’s not a stupid question at all. Firstly, you’re quite right that it is a professional situation and it will remain that way for the whole shoot. You maybe shooting adult content, but being polite and above all, respectful to the models is paramount at all times, which if course goes without saying.

Being professionally friendly is the very best approach as that helps the people you’re working with to be relaxed and comfortable around you too. I definitely understand your concerns about being aroused, but I really wouldn’t dwell on it too much. You’ll probably find you’ll have nothing to worry about.

It partly depends on what you will be doing at the shoot. When were shooting the sets for R.E., there is so much going on which the photographer is responsible for, we find that last thing on our minds is the adult-nature of the situation we in. That may seem a little unbelievable at first, even if your shooting art-nude, but here’s a basic checklist of what we do for a single set:-

Choose storyline/theme for the set
Decide on set location
Make sure set is sufficiently warm for the model!
Decide on which bondage position to use.
Decide which types of restraints to use
Choose models clothing
Choose hair style and make-up
Work out the lighting pattern
Test and meter every light for correct exposure.
Set the camera settings to match the lighting pattern
Take test shots to double check exposure and adjust if necessary.
Begin the bondage tie and progress throughout the set if required.
Start shooting (which is physically tiring too. You’re holding a heavy camera and moving around to shoot from every conceivable angle).

Then during the shoot, you’re constantly responsible for the models safety, making sure you’re getting the shots you want and continuing to adjust the lights to point at the model if she is moving around the set. Times all this by 8 as we normally shoot 8 sets in a day and you begin to see the work load involved.

When were producing these sets, were doing it for the site and Hywels’s business. A single day shoot is expensive, so there is an element of pressure to produce the material required to the standards you want. So when you take all of that into account, a photographer is normally pretty warn out by the end of the day and the reality is your not relaxed enough to get turned on by the situation you find yourself in.

I hope I haven’t made it sound like a nightmare, because it really isn’t. Shooting these images is a lot of fun and very rewarding and there’s nothing else I would rather be doing.

I hope that helps, but if you have any further questions, feel free to ask.

Enjoy the shoot and I hope you have a great time there.

Steve

@KateTT wrote:

(unless photographer and model are already romantically involved and it is a closed set with just the two of them)

Errr, I think I resemble that remark 😉

Steve and Kate are absolutely right. It sounds odd coming from someone who met his partner at a bondage photoshoot, but on a typical shoot one is simply too damn busy thinking of all the things Steve mentions to really have chance to sit back and “notice” the arousal potential of proceedings.

If you do get turned on, carry on acting professionally as though you haven’t… but you probably won’t, because you’ll be too busy thinking about all the things you need to do to ensure the model’s safety and ensure that you get good photos. So I wouldn’t say it is particularly bad form to get turned on, but it would be bad form to let it affect your professional conduct of the shoot, and in our experience it isn’t actually all that likely to happen on set anyway.

Cheers, Hywel.

Hi,

Perfectly valid question..

Can’t add much to what has already been said, all very true. I’ve done a good few sets now and not yet had this problem, which I confess I was surprised by on my first sets.. The way I see it is that when playing with a partner its the whole scene, both physical and mental – that makes the eroticism. On a set its just a girl you hardly know tied up which is surprisingly different.

As said above if you’re paying any attention to the photograhy and safety then there’s no risk of your mind wandering off into the fantasy. When shooting video there’s less to consider once recording but I find still more than enough, esp on a small crew.

I’m afraid it gets worse tho.. 🙁 after your first shoot or so you’ll probably never find bondage photography anywhere near as erotic as before.. Nowadays I can *really stare* into a bondage image and think only ” hmm nice sidelight, maybe she’s backed up a bit close to the hair light tho, still it adds a nice rim effect. Shame about the nose shadow and why didn’t the photog grab some steps and get a shot from above, and maybe ground level. Looks like a coloroll backdrop….” etc etc wrong, wrong, wrong…. (it’s all your fault Hywel..) 😀

Good luck with the shoot, be sure to send us a couple of previews!

M