NSFW NYC BDSM OK?

December 27, 2008 5:19 AM

NSFW – My efforts to find non-dungeon-y locations for bondage-related photography in NYC (Manhattan, specifically) have been less than fruitful. Help! Very long question inside.

My photographer/rigger and I travel to NYC quite a bit. When there, we always make sure that we get several photosets and videos in of me in various bondage-situations (for my website). Unfortunately, we’re usually limited to where we can shoot, as the only place to do it is in the hotel room or at a friend’s house we might be staying at. This doesn’t exactly take advantage of the rich architectural, social or just sheer quantity advantages of the city.

I’ve been running a “Call for locations” on my site that seems to work well for everywhere but the NYC area. I also have posted to craigslist a couple of times in the “adult gigs” section (I’ve pasted the posting below, Although I left it out below, I use a reply-to address hat is of my domain, so people can see the site before they write), but it gets tepid response, I’m not even sure its posted in the right category. What I do is not S&M-y so I’m not really looking for dungeons.

I will be in NYC for 3 days in late January and would love to find a a couple of places to use while in town.

Does anyone know of a good place to put this info so an NYC audience could notice it?
Heck, do you have a location that would fit the bill? If you don’t want to post here, ny email is in my profile.

Thanks!

The CL ad:

Female Bondage Model Looking for Locations for Photoshoots (Manhattan)
I'm always on the lookout for cool, unique, interesting, beautiful places that I can use as locations to shoot my bondage galleries and videos in which I am tied up. These galleries and videos are seen on my site.

If you have one that fits the bill, my photographer and I (and possibly another model or two :-) will come to the location and you will get to sit in and see the photo shoots take place. You might even be asked to help ;-) I'm always on the lookout for cool, unique, interesting, beautiful places that I can use as locations to shoot my bondage galleries and videos in which I am tied up. These galleries and videos are seen on my site.

If you have one that fits the bill, my photographer and I (and possibly another model or two :-) will come to the location and you will get to sit in and see the photo shoots take place. You might even be asked to help ;-)

Don't worry, you will not appear on camera. I'm looking for locations, not models.

I'm looking for:
-Warehouses
-Offices
-Great City Views
-Views of Central Park
-Boats / Yachts
-Elegant Architecture

Basically, anyplace you can think of that would look great with me and another model or two tied up in it :-)

XOXOXO
-Sandra

You email must contain:
Your age
Photos of the location
Tell me what makes it so unique.



Fine print
1)You must be 21 years old or older (Proof of age required)

2) You must own, lease, rent or be 100% authorized to utilize the location you submit, and sign an affidavit to such.

3) In exchange for you providing the location, you will be allowed to be, and expected to be, present during the photography and videography that takes place. No other compensation, be it monetary, service oriented or of any other kind is implied or offered.

4) Confidentiality & discretion is assured.

posted by sandra_s to media & arts (8 comments total)

With regards to the ad, offering some cash might pull in some offers. :)
posted by Solomon at 6:30 AM on December 27, 2008

I can't imagine why BDSM fans aren't jumping up & down with excitement - I am, but have no place to suggest/offer. :-(

Have you tried posting on BDSM forums?
posted by IAmBroom at 7:55 AM on December 27, 2008

1) Does it only have to be Manhattan? Some people in Brooklyn and Queens have amazing views from their rooftops of the Manhattan skyline, which I think would look pretty amazing in photos.

2) Does it have to be free? I had a friend of a friend who had an amazing loft in Brooklyn that he would rent out for photoshoots occasionally. It was even outfitted with a ton of gear (most notably an examination table). Pretty prucey, but I see there are craigslist ads for loft rentals specifically for photoshoots that may be in a reasonable range for you.
posted by piratebowling at 9:23 AM on December 27, 2008

I'll have to agree with piratebowling. Nothing's free, unfortunately, especially in New York City. Time is money, right? Sometimes, just getting to watch isn't enough.

If you can pony up a little money upfront, that might be a better option. Either that, or try the BDSM forums. Although I'm not from the city, I tend to take your opinion on this: New York is a huge city. Isn't there a place for a girl to get tied up for a few hours?
posted by SNWidget at 10:03 AM on December 27, 2008

In NYC space is expensive. Some cash would help.

Most people rent, so the whole "you need to have documentation of this, that, and the other" is going to turn a lot of people off because no one is going to call their landlord to get permission to do a bondage shoot.

& in January, you're not going to get a lot of outdoor suggestions.

I have to second the idea of opening up to Brooklyn or Queens.
posted by sondrialiac at 10:32 AM on December 27, 2008

Though my house is not architecturally interesting, I'd be more than happy to let somebody take bondage pictures here for free. But your ad, as written, makes me feel like there's something else going on that I don't understand (like I'm missing code words for a community to which I do not belong,) so I wouldn't answer this.

I would take out the smileys and definitely strike the offer to let the owner of the place join in. It sounds like a backdoor escort ad, or like you're trying to shoot a live-action porn movie.

Short version: before you pony up money, why not try a more straightforward, professional approach? Treat it like you're looking for a location, and quit winking and nudging. Something simply like, photographer and model in search of interesting architectural locations for adult photoshoot.

(Feel free to explain what kind of photos here.) We will take up X amount of time, X number of people will be involved, owner is welcome to supervise the shoot. We will bring our own equipment, and clean the space before we leave.
posted by headspace at 10:35 AM on December 27, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm with headspace on this one: If you present yourself as professional, to-the-point, and friendly, you'll most likely attract responses from similar folks. However, if your post is vague or leaves room for "creative interpretation" (wink-wink, nudge-nudge), you'll lose your target audience and/or encourage the usual Craigslist creeper contingent, particular if you add cash to the mix. *shrug*
posted by fracas at 11:47 AM on December 27, 2008

ditto headspace, and seconding fracas about the *wink-wink, nudge-nudge.* also, if that's a direct cut-and-paste, you seriously need to edit the redundancy ('If you have one that fits the bill' x2, 'cool, unique, interesting, beautiful places that I can use as locations to shoot my bondage galleries and videos in which I am tied up. These galleries and videos are seen on my site.' x2, 'You might even be asked to help ;-)' x2.) it actually reads like you're just trying to get traffic to your site & drum up business ... of some sort or another.
posted by msconduct at 4:01 PM on December 27, 2008 [1 favorite]