Becoming A Model On Visible Restraint
Frequently Asked Questions
I’ve decided I want you to tie me up and photograph me. Will you do that?
That’s a simple question with a complex answer. There’s no nice way to answer it. While I play with a huge variety of guys, I don’t photograph everyone I play with. There isn’t an objective measure of photogeneity, either. Sometimes I don’t know if I’m going to be happy with a photo session until we’re in it. Mostly, this is about the subject’s comfort level with the camera. Camera-friendly bondage subjects have a natural approach to being photographed that some people just can’t manage. So the answer to the question is “Maybe.”
What are the requirements for getting bound and photographed for Visible Restraint?
• Visible Restraint is a site that centers penis-having folks in erotic situations.
• You must be 18 years of age or older.
• You must have a valid, unexpired photo ID. This could be a driver’s license, passport, military ID or state-issued ID. Onsite at The Treefort, I can photocopy your ID. Occasionally, for off-site shoots, I will need you to e-mail me a scan of your ID. I always require a photocopy or scan of your ID before a shoot can proceed.
• You must sign the Visible Restraint Model Release (which you can find here).
Is this a paid modelling gig?
Nope. I don’t get paid for access to Visible Restraint, either. I don’t monetize this in any way.
What steps need to happen before I can get bound and photographed?
• Contact me.
• If I haven’t already met you, I need to meet you before we do any bondage. If you're local, this meeting will be in person and in a neutral public place. If you're out-of-town this meeting can happen via Skype or another online meeting platform. This complies with the agreement I have with my husband and our lawyer. Exceptions are made for people with whom I have mutual real world friends.
• We’ll need to fully negotiate our expectations prior to the session. This is the part where we talk about what’s going to happen in our session. Any questions about sexual activity of any kind should be answered here. I am only interested in fully-consensual BDSM activities.
• I suggest you read my very short essay Getting Ready For Rope Bondage.
• Show up to our session on time, completely sober and in relatively good working order.
• On the day of the session, I’ll collect your completed and signed model release and a copy of your photo ID. If you scan your ID for me in advance, I should see the original on the day of our shoot.
Must my face be visible in photographs?
Nope. The model release defaults to my not being able to show your face, but I prefer to show faces. A willingness to allow your face to be shown will move you up in my list of priority bondage models. Just the same, I have lots of hoods if you don’t want your face shown in photographs. If you don’t want your face showing, don’t initial the paragraph of the model release that allows me to show it.
Can I have copies of the photographs you take of me?
Download digital copies of your photographs from visiblerestraint.com. I’ll make sure you have instructions. If there’s a huge mass of them, I will set up a Dropbox folder for them and share the folder with you. Use them anywhere you want.
Will we have sex in our session?
I don’t fuck guys who aren’t my husband. But, really, any other activity is on the table. I like a lot of stuff and I’m not easily shocked. I definitely take requests. We’ll talk about that in our negotiation. This isn’t a business transaction. We can do whatever we both want to do.
How will my HIV status affect our bondage?
It shouldn’t. The STD risk from bondage activity is incredibly remote. Don’t worry about it.
What if I have to cancel our session?
This isn’t a business situation. We don’t have a client/provider relationship. If you have to cancel our session, I’d love 24 hours’ notice or more. But I understand that emergencies sometimes happen. They sometimes happen to me, too. Let’s just try not to be irresponsible about it.
Where will my photographs appear?
The model release grants me full and irrevocable rights to the photographs. If you don’t want your bondage photographs to appear on the internet, do not sign the model release. If you don’t sign it, we won’t be having a photographic session. A model release isn’t a requirement for play without photography, but, if you don’t sign a release, I won’t get the camera out when we play. If you do sign the model release, your photographs will, at minimum, appear on visiblerestraint.com which is very social media friendly.
Does my real name have to appear with my photos?
No. The model release has a line that asks for the name you prefer associated with the photographs.
How does a session typically work?
We start by talking. I’ll ask some health questions (history of injury, chronic conditions – anything that might be useful to know before stressing your body with bondage). I’ll refresh my understanding of our negotiations. I’ll probably ask if you’ve eaten recently and how well you slept the night before. Then we play.
I’m really new to all this. Will I be okay?
YES. I tailor everything I do to both your experience level and your interest. During the session, if anything seems to be going wrong for you, all you have to do is to tell me that it’s going wrong. I’ll either stop entirely or make appropriate adjustments, depending on your needs.
What happens when a session is over?
We’ll end by doing more talking. I’ll ask how the session was for you and if your body feels pretty much as it did (or better than) when you arrived for the session. I’ll try to contact you the next day to check in with you again. Sometimes the rush of body chemistry and emotions that come with these activities can keep us from making an objective appraisal of how things went. After that, all that’s left (hopefully) is to plan our next session.
When will my photographs be available?
I can never promise how long it will take to get the work on the website, but I almost always have them posted within a week of our session.