brnbch said:
How do you guys recruit models? Ads alone or do you go out and procure them
It's hard enough to find a super ticklish girl that will let you tie & torture her.... let alone will let you film and publish her
In the past I've mostly used ads on billboards and in papers. However, this last year or so I hired most of my models through a small local club that helps models and photographers meet. I'm not a photographer, but the club owner figured that since I needed models and since my project is pretty harmless there was no problem with me becoming a member. While the models from that club are less likely to be ticklish than the average person who answers one of my ads (which specifies that the project is about tickling), they are much more likely to be reliable. So when one of them does turn out to be tickling, chances are good that a video will come out if it.
Still, believe me, finding good tickling models isn't easy for me either. I don't exactly live in the ideal city for this. My models are pretty much all decently ticklish, enough to justify making videos with them, and some are much more ticklish than average. But the "super ticklish" ones are very rare, or at least hard to find and convince to pose. And as you say, the fact that the purpose of the shoots in to distribute the models' images in a commercial context makes things harder. However, there are some factors that compensate for this when you're doing it in a business context compared to just finding some models to tickle for the fun of it:
1) The models get paid;
2) It's done in a professional, fairly business-like context, as opposed to simply hiring some girls for some personal tickling fun. They know why the customers buy the videos, but the adult aspect is minimized during a shoot. They don't feel like someone is "getting off" on tickling them right on the spot. Sure, I'm there during the shoots, but it's not the same thing. I do enjoy tickling, but to me a shoot is serious work, first and foremost. I have to act professionally and respect the models at all times. While I admit there are times when I manage to get over the stress of shooting a video enough to actually enjoy the show, I'm always in control. Besides, there's a related issue to take into consideration:
3) During my shoots, the models are almost never alone. I also tend to do very little tickling myself, letting the models tickle each other for the most part. This makes a model feel safer and more comfortable than if she were alone and if I were all over her. After all, physical contact from a semi-stranger who happens to be a guy, while in bondage no less, can be rather intimidating for some people. This isn't an issue for everyone, and some producers have a lot of success with models that are just fine with it (just think of TIB from TC). But when you work with ordinary people it can often be a delicate issue.
I'm sure I could think of other factors, but the above are those that come to mind right now. My point is, while it's true that posing for sessions that are filmed and used for sale isn't for everyone, the special circumstances of a commercial video shoot can make it easier for models to accept.
