I've always gotten a kick out of the reasons why I start shooting certain scenarios. I've never been a big fan of spread leg scenarios when I shoot. The main reason is that I like panties, so I shoot a lot of material with people wearing them. Another major reason is that with realistic scenarios it can come across as implying that something bad will happen to the damsel. I'm more about implied drama instead of in-your-face peril.

That said, I used to not like ballgags. Then I shot with one for a custom request and fell in love with them. Well that just happened with spread legs. I always want to keep the damsel in a predicament where she is forced to choose between struggling and protecting her dignity. I like that balance and feel it makes for compelling video. When you take a girl and tie her legs to her ears I don't feel that balance anymore. The girl is just plain out there and becomes too much of an object for me. I WANT the damsel to have some control and to be a person. There's no drama if the damsel can't do anything. There's no drama if the damsel is an object

A great guy started inquiring about customs with me inquiring about spread positions. At first I didn't know how I felt but as he started explaining the scenario and sending samples it hit me that the first person perspective made it work in a way I didn't think possible. The damsel actually did have control. By controlling the camera like a captor viewing a captive there is an interplay between the model and the camera. She can still work to protect her dignity. I also saw that if I give her enough ability to wiggle she still can't prevent herself from being in full view but there isn't an ability to just stick a camera down below and gratuitously film. Even better, her ability to guard her dignity comes at the expense of her own comfort. The choice is there.

The first shoot I did like this was with the wonderful Hannah Perez. When she kept blocking her face with her knee and actually bumped the camera a few times as I moved in for close-ups I knew we had something. Although very exposed she still had to ability to fight being on display and the ability to attempt to ward off her captor. The balance was there, the damsel was there and the drama worked for me. Color me converted and get ready for similar material to Forced Yoga Practice in the coming months!

Anime angles

I wish I could remember when I started shooting extreme up and down angles. It probably stems back to my years of drawing comic panels. In a drawing extreme angles portray action. In video they do the same thing.

I've found over the years that the extreme upward angle gives the feeling of isolation in the scene. When you film at eye level it gives the impression you're seeing what the antagonist is seeing. Extreme angles put the perspective in the scope of the damsel being alone and helpless. It's a neat feeling for video as long as you don't mind break dancing all over the floor to shoot it right.

Since I have a propensity to tie peoples ankles apart the models will often splay their knees apart as they struggle which gives what I call the anime angle. If you've seen enough anime and manga you'll know what I'm talking about. Wenona was great for this. She knew where the camera was at all times and made sure her knee never got in the way. It really served to isolate her in the scene as a bound, gagged and utterly alone damsel. It is also one of my favorite scenes from FC two years ago!

Welded in White courtesy of Ted Michaels Damsels.

Keeping It Fresh

I just love this picture. There are things that you keep writing into stories over and over that you just never can do. I'm always jotting down transport sequences that involve a crate or container of some sort. That's all well and good until you realize the shoot is tomorrow and the model is 5'10" ... good luck making a crate that big by the next day.

When I got the chance to shoot with Amaya I joke that I would put her in my tub for equipment and drag her around. She said do it, she's tiny enough to fit. And she was! It's kind of funny that I'd planned it for years and it just sort of happens by accident. That's the way most things go though. You have to be flexible because the cool things are often the things you don't plan for. And so it was that poor Amaya is all taped up unconscious, stuffed in a tub and dragged downstairs to be dumped unceremoniously on the carpet. It just goes to show you that if you do something enough eventually all opportunities will come your way.

Amaya in Agent A Is MIA available now!

Back to basics

There are no magic formulas when it comes to bondage content. Sure there are trends that can be reliable, but just like the stock market the fickle nature of the business can make things shift in unexpected ways. One week you are convinced that a mile of tape all over a gal is the ticket and then that clip tanks. The next week you make bank with a hogtie only to have the next hogtie fizzle. You find a model that everyone loves but they don't like her in straps.

That's why I've been going back to basics. I put together a list of things I felt creatively empowering a long time back. As I attempt to meet the expectations of people there's a risk of shifting too quickly, getting too far away from what you do best. That's why sticking to the core of what you like doing is a key to maintain focus in a dynamic industry. Every clip I've done that holds true to the elements I wrote down in my mission statement has done well. Over the last couple of weeks that strategic regrouping has met with promising results.

That doesn't mean I'm not taking chances. It doesn't mean I'm not taking feedback. In fact I'm taking more chances and incorporating feedback more than ever. The foundation isn't changing though. I have developed several areas that I feel I do well and create a branding for my work. In taking chances you run the risk of walking away from too many of those elements. That's a bad thing. You need to explore and take risks just enough to test new areas without stepping out of realm that people expect you to be working within. Keeping a solid and recognizable core keeps people interested while letting you test new areas.

The latest clips I shot was a great example. I get a lot of response to my living room feel for my videos. It gives the impression that it could be happening anywhere, even right next door. That gets boring though, so I took a chance on shooting at the beach while on vacation. I didn't have all my equipment, but the new location made for an interesting story idea that I feel works. The location pulled me out of my normal villain character, made me more bold and the interaction showed that. I took off the mask, the spanking was harder, the take-down was rougher and we even did a simulated scene in one of the clips. Normally we'd cut that out but it just really worked with the clip as a whole. So we left it in!

The Bitchy Beach Babe Pissed Off the Wrong Renter with Angelique

Everything but the kitchen sink

I have a lot of boxes in my office, and each has a tiny label on it. I used to keep everything in boxes without labels which sucked a lot of time out of my life. Where did I put those stress balls? Damn, I know I bought some cotton clothesline. I could swear I made a larger black ballgag. Moving out of my last house gave me the opportunity to change that. Normally if you empty 60 boxes onto the floor you make a gigantic mess and end up with a non-functional house. When you move though you don't really care about the mess because the house is non-functional anyway. I said the hell with it, brought box after box into the living room and started making piles. I went through every box, sorted things into logical groups and then re-boxed everything with labels. It took a long time, but when someone stops by and I want to do a nylon encasement I know EXACTLY which box has all the extra-large pantyhose. Yes, I'm referring to you this coming weekend Carissa Montgomery!

My shooting boxes have some mundane names like chargers, tape, cables and of course rope. A couple of them though have some interesting names. One even has a label that says, "Throw This Stuff Out Packrat!!!" Another says, "Quick Kit" and to no surprise has about 100 feet of rope, a roll of tape, a ballgag and a blank DV tape. One in particular has become my favorite. It has the label kitchen sink because when it comes to tying someone up it has everything but the kitchen sink. As you tie people up over and over you amass odd collections of small bits of things that can't be used for a full restraint. I don't want to throw out those two red ropes, or those three brown ropes, or that one black rope. That electrical tape roll still has a couple yards left one it and that belt needs to go somewhere. Before I knew it I had a box full of enough bits and pieces that alone made for a lame restraint but together made for a sweaty and wiggling bundle of going nowhere.

My last couple of shoots that box has gotten a lot of use. I've grown fond of seeing someone in crisp, neat restraint made from odds and ends. My latest clip with Ashley Graham, The Robber Stole More Than My Television, has made the best use of it yet. Instead of just tying her up with contents from it I cycle through as many of the odds and ends as I can. Four types of gags, five colors of rope, a couple belts and some tape on top of that made for a challenging 30 minutes for the poor gal. She got to appreciate the difficulty, but I got to enjoy the fun of restraining her with a realistic hodgepodge of items that a real burglar might cobble together. I don't think I'm the only one though because the second I uploaded it has become one of my more popular clips. Of sexy lady in a classic blouse and skirt combination certainly doesn't hurt!

The making of a real-life damsel in distress

The thrill for me in bondage boils down to being creative and helping people explore their own boundaries. Don't get me wrong. There are many gals out there willing to let you tie them tightly and bundle them up into tight packages of sweat-glistened flesh. There are even gals out there who don't care too much for bondage but still appreciate it's artistic quality. I never said this but there are also a few gals out there that hate it but do it anyway. I can be creative with any of those gals. Exploring boundaries though requires a certain trust factor that compels a model to jump from being an actress in a scene to becoming a true damsel in distress. I am refering to my own rarefied interpretation of damsel in distress in this case, the real-life damsel.

The classical damsel in distress is a beautiful female placed in a dire predicament and needing rescue. A key element to melodrama in literature and film, this damsel is often foolish and ineffective, almost naive, and thus requires saving from herself. It's not difficult to achieve this in bondage photography. You tie someone up and have them struggle. Although the outward appearance can be misogynistic, it is a classical approach and and allows for a fun and loose interaction between the model and photographer. The damsel is in total control behind the scenes. She knows that she can get loose if she wanted and had a little time. She knows that quick release is but a safe-word away, and that her gag would let her cry out at the right time to attract attention. These type of shoots are often filled with joking, laughter and fun exchanges between the model and photographer. It is more of a romanticized experience. Note the word used is not romantic but romanticized. It allows the model to play at being the beautiful maiden waiting for a night in shining armor, but it is play for she controls the scenario whether the photographer knows it or not. Once the romanticized curtain is pulled back the model loses interest.

Another type of damsel is the one that doesn't have much of a romanticized view on bondage and helplessness but still appreciates the creative and artistic aspects to the process. She generally doesn't enjoy bondage, but enjoys the photographic process. Able to recognize the artistic vision of the photographer she allows herself to be placed in positions of helplessness and discomfort in order to create compelling visual works. These damsels will explore themes such as shibari, suspension, challenging gags and strict restraint as long as the comfort level doesn't grow too high or last too long. These models make great damsels because they have limits that they have not explored because of their general disinterest in bondage as something other than a creative pursuit. Almost every picture I've taken that got the response, "I worked with her and had no idea she could do that!" was of a model that likes creativity more than bondage. She explored those limits.

The final damsel is the only true real-life damsel. They are the trust/confidence damsel. In the romanticized world a damsel knows she will be rescued. In the creative world a damsel knows this as well but also knows she can work herself free if she has too. In this case though the model knows she will be released but only after experiencing true helplessness at the hands of the rigger. The ties are tight, the positions are punishing and the gags are huge and silencing. The experience is a true physical and mental challenge. I call these models true damsels because they are willing to place themselves in restraints where they are totally helpless and totally within the control of the rigger. They can barely move and rescue is their only option. They will never be free of their own accord. There is no chance of untying themselves, cutting themselves loose or drawing attention to themselves for rescue. The romance of a knight in shining armor does not exist. The driving force of gritting through it because the material will be great has been washed away by the discomfort. There is only biting restraint, aching jaws and being bundled up so completely they can continue only on the trust that it will be over and their confidence in their ability to endure.

Creativity in traditional film and media requires faking. If you think for a second that studio lawyers and insurance companies would let an actress be placed in a restraint that won't pop off immediately then you are deluded. Creativity in bondage photography however requires real-life helplessness. No matter the level of restraint they are all putting themselves into the hands of the rigger. The real-life damsel for me though is the one that lets you take the restraint and gags so far that they are totally dependent on you as the rigger. You can put scissors on the ground and they won't cut one rope. You can put a phone by their face and they won't manage to dial the first number. They are so helpless and uncomfortable that the rigger is their only hope of freedom. That takes confidence. That takes trust. Loss of physical freedom is about 5% for me. The voluntary and knowing surrender of that freedom is the other 95%. That is a true damsel.

If you want an example look at poor Tomiko here. I shot with her as she was recovering from back and neck issues. We discussed things and made some necessary concessions but even with that she was uncomfortable the entire shoot. The image I've chosen really drives the point home though. I used a ballgag that was larger than she was accustomed to having in her mouth. It pried her jaws open and was very uncomfortable. Then I wrapped cellfoam tape around her face. This drove the ball deeper into her mouth and squeezed her face. She couldn't get free from the chair, couldn't cry for help and was mauled by me throughout the scene. Afterwards she told me her jaws were on fire and the discomfort was intense, but the scene was going so well she didn't want to pull the plug. She allowed herself to be totally helpless and totally dependent. More importantly she trusted in my ability to shoot the scene quickly and was confident enough in herself that she could endure. The expression on her face isn't faked, it is a real expression of extreme discomfort. More importantly I didn't take that expression from Tomiko. She gave it to everyone, and that makes her great model. Tomiko in Tight Trouble is a great example of what I call a true damsel in distress!

What is your favorite gag?

Gags for me are even more important than restraint for making a damsel completely helpless. The tightest and most devilish hogtie conceivable is nothing against a scissors-toting roommate just one shout away. That's why it's important to make a gag not only effective but challenging. The more a damsel has to deal with wearing a gag the less she'll be able to struggle. She can try to yell but opening her mouth lets that bit gag sink even deeper and pry open her mouth even more. She can try to scream but all that mouth-packing held in by gauze makes it hard enough to breath. She can try to shout but then all the drool backed up behind that huge ballgag will spill out all over her bare breasts.

A challenging gag presents a damsel with both limitations as well as choices. She can struggle but when you can only breath through your nostrils you run out of breath very quickly. She can scream but not too loudly because there's so much drool and packing in her mouth she needs her tongue to push it away from her throat. The poor girl has to fight both the physical demands of the gag as well as the mental demands. Their mouths are pried open, their lips are sealed and their faces are encased. It's often far more uncomfortable than even 500 feet of rope. I've had people tied into pretzels but it's always the gag they want out first when it's all over.

My own gag preferences have evolved over the years. I still find it amusing that I used to hate ballgags. Now nobody gets through the door without having one popped into their mouth. Layering is my favorite thing now. Ballgag a damsel, tape over it, gauze over that ... the more the better. If a gal keeps saying something and I reply, "What?" over and over I know the gag is done right. And there's just something about the struggling you get when a damsel knows it's the real deal and not a simple ballgag. A model told me that when you can't breath through your mouth or swallow your drool you want it to be over. You don't know if you can bear having the gag taken off and then put back on again so you just keep wiggling hoping that the next thing the rigger says is, "got it, lets get you out of that." Of course, they wiggle a lot longer than they'd hope!

The image is from Kendra James in I Can't Get Away If You Tie Me Up Tight!

Escape is sometimes an option

I tend to lean more toward escape being impossible, but I must admit that I like letting a damsel get away if she has to work for it and if she has to make certain sacrifices for her freedom. I've tried escape scenarios in the past, and they always turned into attempted escapes. I just tie far too tight and intricate for anyone to get away. Yes, the occasional damsel will struggle until something pops loose or they get a knot undone, but hundreds of feet of tight rope and dozens of knots make one slipped rope or an undone knot worthless. The damsel always runs out of steam or can't take the discomfort before getting anywhere close to loose.

After getting numerous requests for escape scenarios I was forced to revisit the idea and come up with a formula that worked. Restraint is about tipping points. Where does the balance swing in favor of the struggling damsel and how does the captor make sure the balance is always on his side. In general that's easy: tight, intricate and a lot of rope and a girl is furniture. That really doesn't work for an escape sequence. You can't just throw scissors at someone and instantly make escape a possibility. I've tied people up with scissors, knives and box-cutters within easy reach and had them get nowhere. Hell, I tied up Ashley Graham less than two months ago with scissors right on the floor with her and she never even got a hand on them. She didn't even have to go anywhere for the scissors, but the balance was far much too in favor of going nowhere ever. A nice escape sequence requires the balance to be at going nowhere fast.

Having tied up a billion people (I'm prone to exaggeration) it's very obvious that if you control the hands, you control the damsel. If they can't use their fingers effectively or get their hands to the right spot all they can do is wiggle and roll around and hope something gives. That's a recipe for being on my living room rug all day and not for getting away. Having cut more than one damsel out of an excruciating tie it's also very obvious that nylon rope requires a few cuts and it just falls off while cotton rope requires cutting a lot of rope before it starts giving way. That's where the darn tipping point comes into play. Once a damsel starts cutting herself loose it's like a landslide. She's helpless and then free almost instantly.

My solution was to use cotton rope, dull scissors, an elbow tie and wearing next to nothing. I don't care how seasoned the model is, a gal will always try to be modest when she can. If you put someone in nothing but high heels, hose and a garter they have a choice between an awkward cut with the scissors and showing the goodies. I have yet to find a model that will just sit there with her legs wide open as she cuts away. Sometimes she has to but she will most often work at a more awkward angle and take longer to free herself utilizing a position that is more modest. As for awkward cut, dull scissors and elbow ropes will really slow a gal down. The hands have a lot of movement but the angle is limited by the elbows. Combine that with dull scissors and you have a lot of slow sawing instead of cutting. You also have a lot of failed attempts. On top of all that she has to deal with the cotton rope. Imagine the elation of getting through one rope but having everything still hold fast.

Nyxon experienced a text-book escape scenario in Painful and Pantyless Escape. She was frogtied and wearing next to nothing. She got to the scissors easily but found out that getting them to the ropes was an uncomfortable challenge with her elbows together. She tried desperately to get the scissors to the ropes on her legs but they were too dull to cut. She tried sawing but needed to splay her legs to get close enough. The poor gal tried to be demure but needed to show all to get those dull scissors to work. After long picking and sawing at the ropes her legs and hands were free, but she faced the challenge of getting those elbows free. The balance was perfect. Nyxon had to work for release and the pacing was even. She was never free until those elbow ropes came off and even then had to ungag herself and rest up enough to walk on wobbly legs!

Heels, hose and helpless!

I consider myself a bit classical in nature when it comes to bondage. I was around during the days when pretty gals wore the bare essentials and got tied up tight. Images of ladies wearing nothing but high heels, hosiery and panties (and a lot of rope) were everywhere. I've always focused heavily on that but until I started going back into my video archives I never realized just how much. It seems like every model I've worked with at some point has been down to nothing but heels and hose. There's just something about the tease of being almost nude and the embarrassment of being helpless in your scandalous hose and heels. It takes the elements that a woman uses to tease men when fully dressed and making that her only bit of coverage. Amazingly those elements still hold just as much allure when that is all a girl can hold onto for dignity.

The above image is from Black, White and Helpless All Over with Lyric. If features what I consider the number one outfit for a damsel: black heels, black thigh highs and black panties. To be honest that probably ties with a garter instead of panties, but both rank well above anything else for my tastes!