Getting started with your own fetish photography or fetish film-mkaing? Want to have a go but don’t really know where to start? We can help! As well as the tutorial and community features on RestrainedElegance.com we run real-life tutorial sessions to help you figure out your f-stop from your ISO and literally show you the ropes.
We run beginners’ tutorials a few times a year where you can just pitch up and learn the basics. Attendence at these events is limited to just four people so you will get plenty of “screen time” photographing each set-up and will have lots of opportunity to ask questions and learn about the specific things which most interest you.
We also run individual tutorials tailored to your needs- in 2015 we ran a two-day session for a photographer who wants to launch his own fetish site to show him how to light the fetish clothes he wants to use and how to go beyond pointing a video camera and pressing record to make an interesting, funny and fun fetish film. We ran a tutorial for a photographer with very poor distance vision to show that with a modern camera with a good rear screen it is totally possible to compose and shoot beautiful photographs designed to be seen close-up, and we’ve helped other professional webmasters with specific aspects of production like how to shoot fetish films in a cinematic, indie-film style.
Tutorial Program
2015
We’ve now completed our 2015 tutorial program. Check back for the 2016 program soon!
2016
27th & 28th February 2016
British Fetish Film Festival. If fetish films are your thing, this is the event for you! The Saturday is a hands-on tutorial and group film-making effort to see if we can make a complete movie together in just one day. Sunday is a screening day- if you have your own film to show, we’d love to see it!
Bondage Photography
Learn How To Shoot Bondage Safely… and Beautifully!
Bondage and fetish photography is exciting and has never been more popular. In can be a bit intimidating, but by the end of the day our bondage photography tutorial will have you setting up studio lights, setting your camera, tying up a professional bondage model and taking some beautiful photos! You’ll learn how to tie the basic bondage positions safely and how to shoot photos of a bondage model, too.
Attendance is limited to just four people so everyone will get plenty of time to tie and to shoot and will allow us to tailor the topics we cover on the day to your interests.
By the end of the day you will know how to set up studio lights, set your camera, rig some bondage positions safely… and hopefully have taken some lovely photos as well!
The session will be run by husband-and-wife bondage team Hywel Phillips and Ariel Anderssen. Both are active lifestyle BDSM’ers as well as professional bondage producers. Hywel will teach you the technical aspects while Ariel will team you how to tie and how to direct your model. As a bondage model and bondage rigger herself Ariel will make sure you learn the ropes!
Ariel LOVES to be tied up!
Event Details
COST: £200 per person
Venue: Our studio at our house in Welshpool, Powys, Wales
Date of Next Event: TBA
Time: 11:00 to 17:00
EMAIL now to book your place!
Topics
The following are the subjects we will cover during the day. Please let us know which topics most interest you so we can structure the day to suit. If you would like us to cover something not mentioned here please let us know and we will do our best to include it.
We also offer dedicated one-to-one tutorials if you’d like to concentrate on specific things- please email webmaster@restrainedelegance.com to arrange one!
Bondage Topics
- Bondage Rigging: elementary rope work
- Bondage safety and etiquette: simple risk assessments and good practice
- Metal bondage: what to use and how to rig it safely
- Gags: cleaning, safe words, etc
- Bondage positions: lying positions (hogtie and friends). These are the easiest to start with- there’s no risk of your model falling over!
- Bondage positions: chair-ties. This is the other really simple and safe starter position.
- Bondage positions: kneeling (frogtie etc.)
- Bondage positions: “advanced” positions and going on from there
Ariel inspecting her ropework on model Aria Wednesday
Photography/Camera Topics
- First steps: taking manual control of the camera
- Technical choices: shutter speed, aperture, ISO
- Artistic choices: focal length, depth of field, white balance
- Shooting RAW: why we always do, and you should too
Photographic Lighting
- Painting with the light: one light and a darkened room
- Classic three-point lighting: key light, fill light and hair light
- Flash vs. Continuous lighting
- Using a flash meter
- The Quality of light: umbrellas, soft boxes, honeycombs, etc.
- High key and low key: a little light in the right place vs. a lot of light
- Using daylight (if the weather co-operates enough for there to be some, anyway!)
Post Processing
- Time permitting, we’ll look at the results on a computer and see how to add the finishing touches in post
Choosing the right rope colour
General Information
Cameras
You are welcome to borrow one of our cameras for the day- we have a Canon 7D and a Panasonic GH4.
You are also welcome to bring your own camera of course. All digital SLRs and mirrorless system cameras (eg micro four thirds) with a hotshoe flash should be suitable. Some compacts and bridge cameras should be suitable as well.
You just need to be able to set the camera to full manual and trigger an external flash via the hotshoe. If we can’t get yours to play nicely with our lighting set-up you can always borrow one of our cameras for the day.
I wouldn’t recommend bringing a film camera. Film is lovely, but in a tutorial setting it is very helpful to be able to look at the image as soon as you’ve shot it!
Use of Photos
Your photos from the day are yours, to do with as you please. The only thing we would ask is to please not publish or circulate on social media any photos including other tutorial participants without their consent. Thank you.
If you are willing to let us use a selection of your shots on RestrainedElegance.com that would be super, we love being able to showcase what people have shot on tutorial days!
This stone dungeon is one of many characterful shooting spaces you’ll be shooting in during the day
Accommodation
There are two places to stay within walking distance:
Travel
We’ll send the address and directions by email when you register. There is parking at the house if coming by car.
We are within walking distance of Welshpool train station if coming by train.
Payment and Cancellation
Payment is required in advance to secure your place. I will send you payment details: please email webmaster@restrainedelegance.com to reserve your place now!
Payment is non-refundable. If you do have to cancel, we’ll endeavour to find someone to fill your place and will refund you if we can fill the space.
Professional Conduct
It should go without saying but please remember this is a professional shoot. If you are invited to help tie up the model, you will of necessity end up inside her personal space in order to tie the ropes. A certain amount of physical contact is unavoidable. Please don’t use it as an excuse for a grope- we will know the difference!
Similarly, having a model tied up puts her in a vulnerable position and you will need to establish a professional manner for the shoot. Please don’t make “Oooo, what if I just leave you there?” comments and jokes. We’ll go over why that’s not a good idea in our section on basic bondage safety and etiquette.
I’m sure you won’t, but we reserve the right to ask someone to leave if they repeatedly act in an inappropriate manner.
Are there any further tutorial days this year?
Thanks,
Graham….
Not that we have planned right now- drop me a line if you’d like us to put on a dedicated session for you, otherwise we’ll post when we have a date for the next tutorial. We might be able to fit one in to the calendar in December I think.
How do you join as a model?
Hi I get most of our models via http://www.purpleport.com these days.
If you are a professional model and are interested in modelling for us, you can email me at webmaster@restrainedelegance.com too. I’ll need to see a selection of images, including a full-length shot and a head-shot.
We sometimes do shoots with (female) members of the site too- again, email me. Obviously we don’t run these shoots the same as we do paid shoots with professional models.
If you’re male I’m afraid we don’t really work with male models: the core of the site is female submissive.
Cheers, Hywel Phillips
Is there any video tutorials? I live in the USA and do not want to travel.
Hi,
We’re obviously not running tutorials at the moment because of COVID.
We do have some video tutorials, which are free to view for members at RestrainedElegance.com.
Cheers, Hywel Phillips