Meet the Artist - Andrew Mann

Ladies and Gentlemen of Castle Drachenfels,

It is time for a new episode of Meet the Artist. Today we are going to meet a photographer from Canada, who is very well known for the amazing symmetry and perfect setups in his BDSM artworks.

Please welcome: AndrewMannPhoto



Toshi81: Thanks for joining us, Andrew! Please introduce yourself to the members of Castle Drachenfels

AndrewMannPhoto: I am a Toronto based amateur photographer, recently retired from my day job. This leaves me much more time for photography.

Toshi81: First of all, I am very excited about your history and your background as a photographer, before we start talking about your art and the BDSM aspect of your photos in particular. How and when did this all start? Do you still remember your very first camera? How did things evolve from there?

AndrewMannPhoto: I got my first camera, a Nikkormat film camera and 4 lenses, around 1970. Shortly thereafter I built a darkroom for developing my film and making prints. I photographed everything from landscapes to portraits, my children growing up, friends' weddings, and the occasional nude. However, until I took some courses in studio lighting and workshops in nudes about 10 years ago, I hadn't photographed any nudes for many years.

About 8 years ago I built a fully equipped studio in the basement. Now, I have women coming here to model for me from cities across North America, and one even came from the UK.

Unlike many other photographers of erotic and fetish nudes, I choose not to limit my work to younger women with perfect bodies. I work with women of all ages, right into their 60s, and all sizes and shapes.



Toshi81: This group is all about high quality BDSM art, which means, that you are one of our most beloved Stars, providing excellent photos of lovely females in BDSM situations. Your photos have always got a very powerful look, which brings me to the idea, that you share the same extraordinary passion for BDSM with most members of this group. How did you find out about this preference?

AndrewMannPhoto: I found out about BDSM by accident, from a model who responded to my invitation to shoot art nudes, and then suggested certain bondage poses. I had no idea how to do that. She made me curious, so I started reading, looking at books and internet sites, and finding that I liked what I saw. I also started looking for models in the erotic and fetish styles.

BDSM is a bit of a misnomer, by treating as one subject both bondage/dominance and sadism/masochism. I am not interested in S&M, and never leave marks on the skin of, or inflict pain on any of my models. I am only interested in the B&D part.

Within B&D, I see bondage not as an end in itself, but a means to an end. I don't spend hours doing elaborate and beautiful Shibari rope work. Rather, I use bondage to create helplessness: an erotic giving up of control. Many powerful women - business executives, lawyers, teachers, nurses and doctors, psychologists - enjoy the relief of giving up control while being naked and helpless, provided that they can trust the photographer to do two things. First, to ensure their faces will not be identifiable in the photographs, and second, to keep them safe when they are helpless.

When we are shooting, I only keep the models helpless for a few minutes, just long enough to light, focus and shoot the pose before moving on to another pose.



Toshi81: Your photos often reveal a great symmetry, as if you took a great time of the photo shooting to arrange a models arms, legs and all visible parts of her body in the exact order you want them to be. What does symmetry in art mean to you?

AndrewMannPhoto: I alternate between carefully executed symmetry, which to me is very eye catching, and equally careful asymmetry. Shooting a diagonal, or an S-shaped pose is also pleasing as a graphic. None of this is by accident, as my photos are compositions.

Toshi81: Some of your photos depict women, who are happily surrendering themselves. They seem seem to enjoy their own submission, as well as the way in which you highlight their natural feminine sexiness in your photos.

AndrewMannPhoto: Almost all of my models have partners, usually male, but sometimes female. All of my models have some ideas of what they want their photos to look like, to please their partners, as well as the audience for their photos on line. The best models for me - regardless of their physical appearance - are submissive exhibitionists. They greatly enjoy being photographed in their submissive poses, and their photos show this.



Toshi81: It's a joy to watch that! But it makes me wonder, if that's one way for you to recruit new models? Do these lovely women actually send you applications in order to get a feeling of this?

AndrewMannPhoto: Sometimes I find the model, sometimes she finds me. When I started shooting B&D styles I recruited with difficulty because there was little I could show a prospective model. It is a lot easier now, because of my large body of posted work, both here and on Fetlife.

Before every shoot I have a phone call with the model, to get acquainted, discuss her comfort level and limits, what and when to shoot, etc. I also ask whether there is any part of her body she does not like. That enables me to plan to present that part of her in a flattering way, often with extensive retouching in Photoshop.

Toshi81: For bondage your seem to be using heavy metal restraints instead of ropes most of the time. I love that and find it very exciting, but I am still very curious about your reasons for this. How come your bondage models are put in chains instead of ropes mostly?



AndrewMannPhoto: To do a good job with ropes takes a lot of time in rigging, and you can't keep someone tightly bound in ropes for long without risking circulatory and nerve damage. In my few rope bondage shoots working with riggers, I sat around for 30-40 minutes while the ropes were tied, then had only a minute or two to try to light and shoot the model, and then have to get her out of the ropes fast. At the end of a 3 hour shoot the result will be only a few usable shots. I am too impatient for this.

As well, showing the rope art is not my main goal, showing voluntary giving up of control is. I can do this a lot faster and safer with chains attached to cuffs. The chains clip on and off in seconds, and do not restrict circulation or press on nerves to cause numbness. I end up with many more usable, erotic photos. And there is no one more helpless than someone restrained by cold steel chains strong enough to tow a ship.



Toshi81: Where do you take your inspiration for your BDSM artworks from? Are there any books or movies which have inspired you a lot?

AndrewMannPhoto: I have not found any books or movies that inspired me. I read, but did not like 50 Shades of Grey. If your readers have any suggestions to send me, these would be appreciated. My main inspiration comes from the models themselves. They are often bursting with good ideas. However, I sometimes get ideas from other photographers here and on Fetlife.

Toshi81: Let's talk about another thrilling aspect of your photography. You tend to expose women in a very powerful way. You seem to include their vulva and even the labia as if they were design elements of your art. What does that mean to you in art as well as in a BDSM context?

AndrewMannPhoto: I try to have my photos show two aspects of the woman: the physical and the emotional. In photos where the model is shown helplessly restrained with spread legs, the openly accessible physical aspect is the vulva. To have that fully exposed while fully restrained is the ultimate in vulnerability.

At a deeper, emotional level, the subject of the photo is trust. At that level the model is saying "I trust you to expose all of me and put me in an open position where I am helpless to prevent you from doing anything you want to me." That is a powerful expression of submission, but the trust has to be earned.



Toshi81: How do you like the Deviantart Community? Do you get a lot of feedback? Are there other artists or users who deserve to be mentioned here, because of their great art or their work in the online community?

AndrewMannPhoto:  I have been happy with the Deviantart community, which provides me with a lot of comments on my photography. I am also grateful to moderators of the various DA groups, as you people do a lot of work for us, often with little or no thanks or recognition. Among many others, I like the work of the following DA photographers: johntisbury, gsphoto and his Musemara, IsabelleAshworth, absonderland, amelkovich, Tarasov and sianna.

Toshi81: Last but not least. would you like to say something to your fans at Castle Drachenfels?

AndrewMannPhoto: Keep on watching my profile. The best is yet to come.

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Credits: All photos belong to AndrewMannPhoto