I wanted to do a shoot that took me completely out of my comfort zone to an area of life I had no knowledge or experience in. I contacted a dominatrix who I got to hear of from a mutual friend with a view of taking some photos for my specialist location brief. We arranged to meet a few weeks later to discuss the idea. She was willing to go along with it so we arranged a date. She discussed in detail what she does and gave me links to various websites were I could learn about what it was she did, she is what is called a CP, which stands for corporal punishment. Clients come to her to be caned, slapped etc in a safe environment. She was quite clear that she didn't want to be recognised in the photographs or the environment in which they would be shot.
After researching various photographers (see different Posts) I decided I would do the shoot as a documentary piece, I would shoot as it was happening and images would come straight from camera with just a conversion to black and white done in photoshop and cropping were needed. I want the photos to be as natural as possible, I don't want them to look cheap or trashy or to embarrass the people who have agreed to me coming into a very private world and letting me photograph it. I want to show a glimpse of this life without actually identifying the people in it.
I would be using my Nikon D5100 with a Tamron 18 - 200mm lens, as the lens has no image stabilisation I would be taking a tripod to try and eliminate as much blur as possible. No lighting would be used so that the images are presented in a realistic documentary environment.
The Shoot
To say I was nervous was an understatement, I entered an environment so far removed from my life with both excitement and trepidation. Here are the final 10 images I have submitted which show a small slice of the CP world:
Blazers & School Caps Hung By The Door
Tying the Buckles
Who's been a naughty boy?
A big collector she showed me a collection of cuttings she had which I arranged into the above collage and photographed
Removing stockings and suspenders, a sign that the session is over
Slapping
Getting ready to play
Another of her collection signs and canes on a bench used for restraint
From a different angle
As it happens!
(this image has come back from DS with A horrid Green Tinge To it)
Evaluation
This wasn't the easiest of assignments to undertake, I had no previous knowledge of this world or what to expect when I got there so I just went with the flow and photographed what I saw. The main room had very little light whilst the conservatory attached had what can only be described as a flood light in it with the blinds drawn. I took dozens of photographs, some worked being converted to black and white and others clearly didn't and worked far better in colour. I'm quite pleased with the final images and have achieved what I set out to do, I've produced a brief glimpse into the world of CP without it being tacky & cheap whilst not giving away the subjects identity or location. The exposure isn't as great as id like it to be on some of the images but in my opinion documentary photography of this kind can allow for such small flaws in the technical side because of the subject matter. I've shot various pieces from a variety of different angles and compositions. Having a little knowledge now of what goes on I feel I can only improve further the more I get to know about them, I was quite hesitant at times, not something I'm usually familiar with feeling! This will be developed further as we have agreed to it becoming a longer term project for the both of us, separate images not shown here are being used by her for her website. I have enough material for an exhibition, I may also send some of the photos to the specialist magazines in this field.
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