shibari session with my muse : Anaïs loved this intricate ropework locking even her fingers … we didn’t know it would be our last shooting day !

150 images starring Anaïs
#shibari photo series is available to download

Let’s share session 287-01, fully reposted in a single archive : you will get the pics previously added and commented on ILFG. I also included one black & white folder + the classic version (SD), which contains more shots than a selection of my favorites released in premium quality.
PHOTO SERIES
shibari images commentary @ilovefrenchgirls
You probably know that preview picture which is still used on Wikipedia to show the artistic side of bondage. This photo series is one of my favorites, for many reasons … artistically & emotionally. I was in a creative mood and the result reached my expectation with a nice harmony between the pink dress & my brown background. Anaïs played a lovely doll with several expressions : seductive woman to fearful girl.
We spent a very good day shooting with a german fan, we shot some great pictures but, unfortunately, it was my last session with Anaïs. Few days later, I was informed that she wanted to stop for personal reasons … modeling isn’t easy and I know being exposed like this has always been complicated for the girls.
Her decision wasn’t a surprise, several weeks before, I suggested a break to Anaïs when I started to feel the situation was problematic. She and I knew this day would come. I understood her choice and we found the right words to end the story.
10 years later, we still keep in touch and our memories are still enjoyable. Anaïs has been a constant source of inspiration and she brought a lot to my work. I explained it many times on my old blog and it should be the same here too … for now, I let you download those pics focused on japanese bondage also known as shibari or kinbaku. You should like it !
MORE ABOUT THE SESSION
shibari & bondage @captiveculture
I browsed my email archives before writing this additional commentary : our exchange with Anaïs has been complete & respectful, like these two years shooting together. Some details will remain between us, her decision was the consequence of several things related to the private life of Anaïs that I will not mention here.
It was complicated for she & the period didn’t help : Anaïs decided to stop because being in front of the lens became too hard. As I wrote in the text below, it’s not easy to be a model, even more so when you expose almost everything. Every story has one end & we knew it would happen but some issues accelerated her decision.
We had scheduled one shooting day with Mina on October 20, two weeks after this last photo series together. Anaïs & I talked about it meanwhile but there were some strikes in France … we were not sure she could come to my house & that’s how I shot Mina alone on saturday. All week, Anaïs tried to manage these issues in her private life. She made several decisions, I have been one among others.
I understood every single word coming from my muse … you know my state of mind previously described in some other articles. So, I prefer to write more about our last time which has been one good day : the preview picture is still used on Wikipedia in 2024 & we can be proud about it.
Anaïs was wearing a silk dress bought together : we went to Paris to do some shopping in the asian quarter & found this tight outfit. I got the idea to add the white stockings a few days before our session but Anaïs was unsure about it. Finally, we decided to use these nylons with some french underwear … we tried to mix it with one pair of baby pink shoes : the result isn’t bad but I didn’t have a lot of heels compatible with this dress. Anaïs brought her personal touch with these fluffy accessories in her hair which added an interesting style to the whole look.
All this was a nice way to modernize this asian dress, low-cut & short enough to reveal the top of these white stockings which were some of my favorites. I love how Anaïs could show her suspenders sitting on the leather chair… it’s always so suggestive ! She found some expressions, a mix of innocence & sadness contrasting with the outfit chosen to start our rope session.
We took a lot of pin-up pictures before bringing the ropes : I knew Anaïs would leave this dress after a while & that’s why it was important to make her wear some lingerie. We had one guest in the room coming from Germany : it gave more time to Anaïs … as I often say, being almost naked in front of the lens isn’t a natural act : it’s also a bit less neutral when there is an unknown man watching you.
My fan loved photography & japanese culture : we talked a lot & he was very cool with Anaïs during the whole day. I invited him to come back later for more shibari sessions in 2008 : he has been one of these lucky men who met Anaïs & Mina, taking some pictures while they were in my ropes.
I don’t know why my ropework started to play with the hands & fingers of my muse … she was looking like a doll trapped & tortured by an intricate game of postures. That’s something I did again later but, unless my mistake, it was the first time we explored this path. I was in a creative mood : we built knot by knot this portrait picture you can see on Wikipedia as french shibari …
I captured some beautiful ropemarks after Anaïs got released from the ropes. We loved it so much we did several pictures of my muse before to go further in our session. Anaïs played the shy girl after she left her silk dress … exposing her bum to my lens. I tied her arms in a more comfortable position & outlined her breast with the ropes.
I selected the garter-belt for its beauty but, when I bought this piece of french lingerie, there was no bra available. That’s why Anaïs is topless for the second part : visually, it would have been better with some white lace over her nipples. Of course, partial nudity is more appropriate for a tied girl & it has also been an eye catcher on some pictures in the end.
One of my favorites is one shot captured from the floor, focusing on the feet of Anaïs. Her ankles are bound together : through the nylons, you can see the toes trying to find a point of support as she tenses, leaning back against my leather chair. These legs are immobilized by one tie linking the ankles to her back, this length of jute is between her buttocks & join the crotch rope.
For me, this specific picture works better because you can guess her naked breast in the background, nicely blurry by the depth of field. Her expression also adds some erotism to the scene : Anaïs looks between pleasure and pain … one state deliberately stylized to evoke an intense situation. You can see on the final pictures she didn’t lose her smile even if the crotch rope was teasing her lips & a bit more.
CONCLUSION
any question ? leave a comment !
We took the time to talk & chill before to continue our shooting day with another photo series focused on rope bondage. Our guest brought us one japanese schoolgirl uniform that Anaïs enjoyed wearing to be tied : we didn’t know it would be our last time together. I should have a look at my archives & edit some behind the scenes because we took a lot of cool pics this afternoon.
After the session, I quickly posted on my blog one picture of these two shibari photo series. Anaïs got these files directly in her email box & she loved this shot with the silk dress. I also messaged our guest to know if his trip back to Germany has been safe & we also exchanged about his own experience with us.
I explained to this man Anaïs enjoyed our shooting day even if she had some difficulties being topless in front of him. Reading his answer, it seems I managed the situation live, probably asking him to leave the room while I was binding Anaïs. We must have had a discussion together because there is no capture between #8976 & #8977 in my original archives.
18 minutes off camera which allowed my model to relax before continuing our session : maybe I also recommended shooting this part with my lens only while our guest used its own device to capture some memories earlier.
2007, October 16 : ten days after our shibari session & five before Anaïs decided to stop, I wrote another email to my german friend who was initially one of my contacts on Flickr … here are my words :
« French girls are finally very shy except in their private life. That's funny because they are comfortable with shibari, fetish, piercing or other things, but not with their own body and nudity. For Anaïs, she thinks too much : I love this girl because she has a strong mind & that's one thing we share … our brain is our weakness, we think bad about ourselves. She doesn't have a lot of good reasons for being so mad about her body. Anaïs is nice but she doesn't understand it. I know the pictures we took together helped her in the past, but since one year, it's been giving her a lot of stress too … that's not easy. When you start as a photo model at 19, your body changes in 2 years, you do a lot of things, and you start having some regrets. It's not easy to be comfortable with all this, especially when modeling is an extra for you. »
I have been surprised to read these lines describing my state of mind & level of understanding at this pivotal moment, when Anaïs was struggling with too many issues in her public & private life. I felt responsible about one side of this equation but my vision was, of course, incomplete … Anaïs explained to me the weight of these other things that made her decide to stop exposing herself. As I wrote previously, I have been one of these changes she needed to feel better.
It took a lot of time, her path has been long but I know she finally found another way. We are still in touch in 2024, each of us thinking about the other one. The distance didn’t help to keep one direct connection but we try to keep an eye on our lives. I couldn’t say why … we shared a lot of memories in two years under the spotlights & some others after she left the light but we also have been able to be respectful despite our thoughts.
Communication is always important, even more when the situation is complex. Anaïs & I knew this experience would print our minds : our story is full of moments imbued with subtle emotions … all these photo sessions in two years are the testimony of one part of us, almost two decades ago.
I almost stopped shooting for several weeks after she informed me : the strikes & my mood took me away from the lens. Only one session on December 15 before starting 2008 with Angelina & Noémie. I hope you will appreciate these pics : as usual, you can click on the download icon below, uncompress my zip file on your device before to enjoy your viewing. Please note you can also use the magnifying glass icon (top of this post) to browse this session online …

287-01 OFFICIAL ARCHIVE
by Jerome Duplessis
b&w-version
classic-version
premium-version
shot on 2007, October 06
published on Captive Culture
