Frequently Asked Questions

I charge at an hourly rate of $250/hour or daily rate of $1000/day. I may require a minimum number of hours or days to cover any travel costs.

Rates include all time spent on site. This includes time to set up, perform ties, the duration of the photo shoot, and untying. Simple ties take 5-10 minutes and more complex ties take 10-20 minutes to perform. Multi-part ties can take up to 30 minutes.

If you plan to shoot for more than 4 hours in a single day, I also offer a fixed daily rate. This is ideal if you are working with multiple models or plan to shoot in multiple locations with several different ties.

I am located north of Dallas Texas, but I regularly travel for photo shoots and events.

Travel costs are factored into my daily and hourly rates. Depending on the cost and duration of travel, a minimum number of hours or days may be required.

That’s going to depend on how many ties you want to shoot. Some ties are simpler than others and only take 5-10 minutes. Other ties are quite intricate and require 10-20 minutes.

So imagine that you have a client who wants to try 3 different looks, 2 that are simple and 1 that is more complex.

1. Look One: 5 minutes to tie, 20 minutes to shoot, 5 minutes to untie.
2. Look Two: 10 minutes to tie, 20 minutes to shoot, 5 minutes to untie.
3. Look Three: 15 minutes to tie, 30 minutes to shoot, 5 minutes to untie.

That’s just shy of 2 hours.

Know what ties you want ahead of time and let me know. This allows me to prepare in advance.

This isn’t a requirement, but it will help you get the biggest bang for your buck. Even if you narrow it down to 6 ties you like and you only end up using 3, that’s a huge help.

You can view my catalog of ties on my instagram.

Then we can save time by tying and shooting at the same time, but you get the basic idea. If you have questions, hit me up on the contact form and let me know what you’re trying to accomplish. I’ll work with you.

I would need to be on site to perform the ties in person and just prior/during the shooting session. If you want to learn how to perform shibari, you can always book a shibari class where I can introduce you to the art.

Before you go and buy a bunch of rope and try this for yourself, please review my safety page first to see why you want to work with a trained "rigger" (like me).

Yes.

The ties themselves are very customizable. The more customization you try to put into ties, the more of a puzzle the “rigger” (that's me) has to figure out. Small customization make sense, and I often do slight improvisations to speed things up or to achieve a certain look.

My recommendation is to take a look at my catalog of ties first before worrying about customization. I already know a wide variety of ties.

Yes, you can choose your own rope.

As I grow my inventory of rope, you will also have more access to colors, materials, etc. I also have amazing ultraviolet nylon ropes which look phenomenal under black lights (I have black lights too).

You can also use different types of rope, but there are some limitations to consider:

Synthetic ropes, like Nylon, have a “polished” look, are shinier, and are softer on the skin. If you want strong contrast and vibrant color, nylon will pop out better in photos.

Organic ropes, like jute, hemp, and cotton, have a “raw” look, tend to have small frays, are flatter in color and shine, and feel like actual rope against the skin. These look great in black and white photography, or with a “rougher” aesthetic.

Yes.

Contact me for more information related to class pricing. Price will depend upon size and duration of the class.

I prefer to co-create with photographers. I find that most photographers have a particular look to their work and I want to honor that. I trust that you are equally or better suited for determining the aesthetic, lighting, environment, scenery, and style of a photo. I trust that I am equally or better suited for performing shibari ties.

My primary contributions are bringing shibari equipment (ropes, mannequins, pulleys, etc), performing the ties on the client, and then helping to make adjustments in the shots as needed.

I’m also happy to get creative and share in the ideation and vision-casting process.

Yes as long as your rope artist is well learned and has high awareness. The best litmus test is to ask a rope artist to explain the mechanics of their ties.

Most of my shoots use a form of aesthetic shibari, which simply means that its emphasis is on being visually appealing. My goal is to make shibari accessible to first-timers, and to aid in that goal, I have come up with several ties that are incredibly safe, comfortable, and beautiful.

That being said, if you want to experience kinbaku - tight rope binding - I can facilitate that as well.

If you're still concerned, please check out my safety page.

The short answer is yes.

The long answer is yes, assuming your client is light enough (most shibari suspension models are closer to 110 lbs), you have a sturdy structure to suspend from, have enough space to accommodate a person suspended in midair, enough time (and budget) to afford these more complex ties, and that I have the equipment necessary to perform the tie and provide the necessary safety.

If we were to ever do a suspension shoot, we would want to use hemp because it has greater tensile strength. Sorry, no nylon rope here unless it’s strictly decorative.

Be prepared for me to ask a lot more questions before I agree to doing a suspension shoot. A lot of the traditional bakushi (riggers) refused to do suspension for a reason.