Due to the nature of what we shoot and the fact that most of our subjects are female, we want to be sure you are comfortable and feel safe. Below you will find details on how we conduct shoots, especially those in the Kink or Boudoir realm. You are more than welcome to refer to this page whether or not you end up shooting with us in the future.
So, how are you going to make sure I’m safe and comfortable during a shoot?
Escorts
We absolutely encourage you to bring someone you trust in addition to your rigger. Whether on location or in studio, if you feel like having someone you know with you will make you more comfortable, we are absolutely fine with that. As a matter of fact, if a photographer *ever* says something like “I need you to come solo, an escort will be a distraction”, you run, you run fast. There is absolutely no reason an escort should be denied during a shoot. A photographer who denies you your escort does not care about your safety or comfort. Your escort will not be stuffed into some other room or anything like that and hidden away.
Female Assistants
Most of our shoots in the studio now take place in our purpose built home studio. On the occasion I hire an assistant or have an intern, they are always female during these style of shoots.
Safety during Shibari/Suspension Shoots
If you are here interested in a Shibari/Suspension shoot then this paragraph will be important to you. We consider Shibari an art form and we *never* attempt to engage a client in anything remotely resembling a kink scene. Discomfort, fear, nervousness, etc all show up in film readily and we want to allay any concerns before the flashes start going off. I cannot stress enough that our shoots are nom-sexual. If you are looking to scene with us or be tied for purposes other than photography, that is a completely different conversation and happens outside the realm of DFWPhoto.
Privacy/Publishing
One of the biggest concerns my clients have is concerning the privacy of their shoot. Nothing will ever be published without your consent. My references will tell you that I annoy them by asking permission for EACH shot I might want to put on my Instagram page or portfolio. Your privacy is a huge concern for me and it would go against everything I believe in and honor to publish work you do not want public. Even if you give me permission to publish one of your shots and then decide later you don’t want it out there any longer, I will happily remove it without question.
Pricing
DFWPhoto no longer books paid shoots and hasn’t since 2011. This choice was made so we could focus on our art rather than on the income generated from revolving-door shoots. Our photography and namely, our Shibari photography is displayed prominently in several locations around the US including hotels and dungeons and we think that is all the payment we’ll ever need.
If you are extremely interested in shooting with us, I’d recommend joining us at group social events or dungeon nights and striking up a conversation. Message me on Instagram and I’ll be happy to give you my FetLife handle where you can add me and keep track of events I’ll be attending.
References
I am happy to provide a list of references you are more than welcome to contact to ask about anything you would like, from what the home studio is like to my level of professionalism.
FAQ
(These are mostly not FAQ’s but rather things I’d probably ask if I was a female addressing a photographer I don’t know. note: i’m a sarcastic guy and that reflects here. ) 🙂
Q) How long have you been shooting?
A) Since I was in 8th grade, but what you are probably really asking is how long I’ve shot boudoir and kink. About 20 years or so.
Q) How do I know you aren’t some creepy pervert that just wants to get me naked?
A) Honestly, you don’t and lets be honest, I’m a pervert (aren’t you?) but in this setting, I am a professional. (Not a professional pervert damnit!) 🙂 I can sit here all day long and preach about my views on consent (it’s king) and other things but at the end of the day, I could just be very good at bullshit (I am!). That said, hopefully references, encouraging escorts, etc will help. I am also absolutely fine meeting with you and your friend, husband, boyfriend, whatever somewhere public so you get to meet me outside of a scary studio setting. In person still trumps every other form of communication when it comes to getting a read on someone.
Q) For Shibari, can I bring my own Top/Rigger?
A) Yep, we actually require it. Unless you are part of my immediate rope family, you’ll need to have a rigger do your floor or suspension work. I will want your top to inspect our ceiling mounted hard points to be sure they feel comfortable tying on them but other than that and respecting my studio, anything goes.
Q) I’ve never done Shibari, will you still tie and shoot me?
A) Unfortunately not. As mentioned above, unless you’re part of my immediate rope family, I won’t tie and shoot you. This has more to do with safety and liability than anything else.
Q) Do you provide costuming for boudoir shoots?
A) We don’t. You are expected to bring what you want to shoot in but at the consultation we will absolutely give you ideas on what to bring/wear. Normally, especially for boudoir, we are going for a certain look and that will absolutely be discussed. We encourage you to bing more options rather than less and we can go through what you bring on the shoot day.