Category Archives: Rants and Ramblings

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Best Selling Photo Sets – Updated

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Back in Febuary 2013, we did a blog entry on the 10 best selling photo sets in the Bondage Warehouse. More than 4 years later, we thought we would take another look and see what has changed. Amazingly, there have only been 3 changes on the list and Ashley Adams continues to appear surprisingly often. As we mentioned back in 2013, this is interesting given Ashley was not with us long and was not particularly popular, at least in terms of the amount of feedback we got on her at the time.


Top 10 selling photo sets in the Bondage Warehouse now and back in February 2013:
Current all-time best selling photo sets:
1) photo set # 00617 – Kylie Adams & Sophia Mills
2) photo set # 02175 – Avalon Sieva (new on list)
3) photo set # 00425 – Ashley Adams
4) photo set # 01007 – Kylie Adams & Sophia Mills (new on list)
5) photo set # 00084 – Ashley Adams
6) photo set # 00124 – Ashley Adams & Lisa Star
7) photo set # 00768 – Ashley Adams & Callie Chase (new on list)
8) photo set # 00215 – Ashley Adams & Lisa Star
9) photo set # 00036 – Ashley Adams
10) photo set # 00284 – Britney Damon 		Best selling photo sets back in February 2013:
1) photo set # 00617 – Kylie Adams & Sophia Mills
2) photo set # 00124 – Ashley Adams & Lisa Star
3) photo set # 00425 – Ashley Adams
4) photo set # 00036 – Ashley Adams
5) photo set # 00084 – Ashley Adams
6) photo set # 00109 – Lisa Star
7) photo set # 00284 – Britney Damon
8 ) photo set # 00035 – Lisa Star
9) photo set # 00215 – Ashley Adams & Lisa Star
10) photo set # 00253 – Lisa Star
Best selling Photo Sets – All Time
 
Kylie & Sophia		  
Avalon Sieva		  
Ashley		  
Kylie & Sophia
Ashley

Now of course the all-time best selling list is biased toward photo sets that have been on sale longer. So we decided to look at the top 10 best selling photo sets over just the last year. Not surprisingly, the results are quite different. Almost all the model names are different and more recent iconic Imago Studios’ models such as Katherine West and Yania Fernandez appear. Not surprisingly, at least to us, is Selene Silva appearing multiple times. If she had stayed in Vegas, we are certain she would have gone on to be one of our most popular models. We do find it interesting that both in the all-time and in this list, the overall bias is toward models that only worked for a short time. Is that because they have so few sets that each set gets more “hits” than models who have a lot of sets for sale, or is it a nostalgia for rarities?

Best selling photo sets over the last year (Sept 2016 through August 2017)
Photo Set 02725 – Avalon Sieva
Photo Set 02793 – Selene Silva
Photo Set 02780 – Katherine West
Photo Set 02892 – Cydel Jimenez & Julia Dixon
Photo Set 02706 – Yania Fernandez
Photo Set 02832 – Elizabeth Howard
Photo Set 02834 – Selene Silva
Photo Set 02655 – Avalon Sieva
Photo Set 02559 – Selene Silva
Photo Set 02175 – Avalon Sieva
Photo Set 02500 – Yania Fernandez
Photo Set 02859 – Julia Dixon
Photo Set 02163 – Ashley Adams & Callie Chase

Best selling Photo Sets – All Time
  
Avalon Sieva		   
Selene Silva		   
Katherine West		   
Cydel & Julia
Yania Fernandez

Note: All these photo sets, plus hundreds of other photo sets, full length videos and video clips, can be downloaded from our Bondage Warehouse site.

Vault Section to be Updated More Frequently

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Good news for members! For the next several months, there will be additional Vault updates added to the Imago Studios Members’ Area each week. We are doing this to shorten the time when photo sets are unavailable on either Imago Studios or the Bondage Warehouse.

The original purpose of the Vault section was to give new members a chance to see some of the older material they missed before they joined. It was also a way for us to give our older material a second showing. New photos would remain on the site for a few weeks, eventually be removed, then reappear in the Vault a few months later. But over the years, the gap between when a photo set left the new photo section and reappeared in the Vault has dramatically increased. It now stands at nearly 15 months! But now we have the Bondage Warehouse, which is where all our older material is available for individual download without any membership requirements. So our intention is to do additional Vault updates for the foreseeable future – at least until we get the gap down to only a few months. That way, once published, a photo set will almost always be available on either Imago Studios or the Bondage Warehouse.

Membership at Imago Studios is such a Bargain!

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A one month membership at Imago Studios cost $42.95. We realize that is not an insignificant amount of money, but if you enjoy our material, is a true bargain. Here are several reasons why:

1) The Members’ Club contains over 100 hours of video. If you purchased all those videos individually at our Bondage Warehouse site (which you actually can’t – see below) you would pay over $4500. If you bought them from our C4S site, you would pay well over $5000 (which you also cannot do since we stopped updating C4S in August 2021). Even if you wanted less than 1% of the video in the Members’ Club, it is still cheaper to buy a one month membership than to buy the material individually. In other words, you only have to want 8 or 9 of the over 1000 videos in the Members Club to cover the cost of the membership – everything else is a bonus! And new video material is added multiple times each week!

2) In addition to all that video, Members also get access to hundreds of high quality photo sets with new photo sets added multiple times each week. If you bought the same number of photo sets individually from Bondage Warehouse, you would spend several hundred dollars just for those!

3) Much of the material in the Members’ Club is not available anywhere else. For example, the Members’ Club contains over 1000 Behind-the-Scenes videos. Only 107 of those are currently available on the Bondage Warehouse. In addition, the 100+ Challenge Videos and dozens of recently released Quick Take videos are only available in the Members’ Club. Yes, most of this video material will eventually be available in the Bondage Warehouse, but it may take months, if not years, to get there. The new photo sets appearing in the Members’ Club will take nearly a year to appear in the Bondage Warehouse!

4) Members get a 10% off coupon they can use on all orders they make at Bondage Warehouse for even more savings.

5) If you remain a member beyond the first month, your monthly fee drops to only $32.95, a 25% savings!

But of course, if you just don’t like memberships or subscriptions, you can always buy a la carte from Bondage Warehouse and get exactly what you like!

Happy Anniversary to us – 18 Years on the Web!

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It just occurred to us that August was our anniversary month. We can’t recall the exact date, but sometime in late August 18 years ago, Imago Studios made its first appearance on the web. We had been around for several years before that, but not with our own site.

Eighteen years is a long time – so much has changed and so many people and other sites have come and gone. We have enjoyed success far beyond anything we could have dreamed. But most importantly, we have made some really good friends along the way.

And by the way, we are not going away – we think we still have a good 10 or 20 years left! 🙂

Molly Bronte – 16 years ago today!!!

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A very happy anniversary to the incomparable Molly Bronte. It is hard to believe, but she first worked 16 years ago today – July 30, 2000. To be honest, we don’t remember many specifics about that day – we actually remember her initial interview a few weeks prior more vividly. At the time, Molly was just 18 and completely new to modeling. We could never imagined that we would still be working with her 16 years later. She has done more photo sets and videos than any of our other models – by far. More importantly, we would have never guested we would have formed such a good and lasting friendship. She is really a very cool person.

Molly 16 years ago and earlier this year.

        

Is Bondage Photography a Dying Medium?

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With an Internet loaded with millions of bondage images and websites, one’s immediate response may be something along the lines of ‘no way’. But if you look a bit deeper and pay attention to current trends, the answer may be far less clear. While the first bondage photograph was probably taken not too long after the camera was invented 🙂 , bondage photos produced for commercial purposes didn’t really bloom in the United States until the 1970’s with the start of companies such as HOM, TAO, Harmany and a few others. Of course, the images of Irving Klaw and John Willie predate those. And in Japan, the magazine Kitan Club was publishing bondage photos as early as the lates 1940s/early 1950s. For several decades, these magazines were the primary source of bondage imagery. While most of these companies also produced bondage videos, bondage magazines lasted until they were killed off by the explosion of bondage websites starting in the early 2000’s. At first, almost all of the commercial bondage sites were photo membership sites with very little or no video content. Bondage videos were still sold mail order. With dial up, delivery of video of any size or quality via the web was just not practical. But Internet speeds have increased dramatically. Storage fees for the massive amount of space required by high quality videos became totally inconsequential. Now it is possible to download or stream a full length HD quality video in minutes. Clips4Sale and tube sites have made it possible for just about anyone to mass distribute videos.

This technology driven change in the way bondage material is distributed is all well and good, but it is also changing the nature of what is being produced. Many producers are forgoing bondage photography all together and producing only videos. This is understandable as that is where demand appears to be growing the fastest – for video, not still images. Some have started using video grabs or still images taken with video cameras, but the quality is nowhere near the same. Nor is the “feel” that such images have. It is hard to describe exactly, but they just seem distant, bland and flat. A well staged and thought out bondage photograph conveys so much more than a video grab ever will – even an ultra high quality video grab. Really good bondage photography is an art form, not just a secondary product of a video shoot. In a well done bondage photo set, the staging, background, posing, sequencing, lighting, etc., all work together to draw in the viewer in a way video grab from a video session can’t. Don’t get us wrong. Bondage videos are great. But they are a completely different medium from bondage photography and unfortunately, it may be slowly driving photography into extinction. What currently seems to be left is only a small number of producers creating still bondage imagery as the primary goal, and even fewer that do it with any actual skill or forethought. Most is just poorly done and little more than a byproduct of a video shoot.

At Imago Studios, we continue to produce both and we do so separately. Photo sets are shot exclusively. or at least primarily, as photo sets and video stories are shot primarily as video sessions. Of course, there is some overlap. We do occasionally shoot behind the scenes video during a photo set, or afterwards as a quick take video. And we do shoot stills of video sessions in order to advertise the videos. But we approach shooting for the two mediums differently. Our thought process for shooting a photo set is entirely different that how we approach a video. The final photo set is intended to be a unique stand alone presentation. But we fully admit we are now producing far more video, and consequently less dedicated still imagery, than ever before. The demand seems to be mostly for video and it appears to be growing.

So is bondage photography a dying medium? Do people still have a strong interest in seeing quality still images? Or is such interest fading as the allure of video grows?

        

Over 100 Quick Take Videos in Members’ Club

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The Members’ Club now has over 100 quick take videos, all that have been released thus far. We have already started to add the older videos to the Bondage Warehouse. Soon we will start to remove the older quick take videos from the Members’ Club as new ones are released. If you are currently a member, make sure you save the videos before they disappear. If you are not currently a member, now would be a great opportunity to join and get all the quick take videos for one low price. After a video is removed, it will be available for individual purchase in the Bondage Warehouse, but the per video cost will be significant compared to the cost of a membership.

Watch short sample clips from all the quick take videos.

Which Model Would We Most Want Back?

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     The other day we were talking about old models and one of us asked which model from our past would we most like to have back, assuming they were still as we remember them. Without hesitation or question, we both answered Dina Davis. For those of you who have not been around all that long, Dina worked for us from May of 1999 to July of 2004, when she moved backed home, got an advanced degree, married, and started a family. She was a fun person to work with, physically beautiful, incredibly sexy in the way she carried herself, highly flexible, and a great actress. She made any outfit look good, from simple blue jeans, to a fancy dress, to lingerie or nearly nothing at all 🙂 She appeared in 36 of our feature length videos – more than any model other than Molly Bronte. Interestingly, Molly and Dina often worked together and there was definitely chemistry between the two. We have teased Molly that we think Dina had a bit of a crush on her 🙂 After Dina moved, we kept in contact with her for a few years, but eventually lost track of her. But if we were to list models that have been critically important to our success, Dina would be at the top.
        
        

What’s “up” with new memberships?

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The trend in membership numbers over the last few years has generally been down for a variety of reasons. But last month we unexpectedly had a surge in new member sign ups. In July, we had more new members join than any month since January 2011. And if you exclude that month, you have to go all the way back to May 2006 to find a single month with more new member sign ups. So what happened? Did we get linked someplace new or mentioned in some forum? Did a bunch of new people just discover us? Or did a bunch of previous members suddenly remember us? Are the new video sections getting people’s attention? It is probably a combination of several factors, but regardless, it was nice to see. Thanks guys 🙂

Bondage Challenge Video – We Need Your Ideas

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As previous blog entries have covered (and sampled), we recently added the Bondage Challenge Video section to our Members’ Club. Now we would like some ideas from our members as to what they would like to see. A challenge should feature just one model, be something that can be set up and shot in 15 to 20 minutes, and not require a lot of expensive props or locations. The rules of the challenge should also be easy to replicate from model to model. The more unique or devious a challenge, the better, but it needs to be something that is possible for the model to do, as well as safe. We know you have active imaginations – let us know what you think!

Discounts & Special Offers Going Unused

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We offer several discounts & special offers that routinely go unused. Not that we mind making the extra $$, but numerous people are missing out on potential savings, so we thought we should point them out.

– When you join our main membership site, Imago Studios, you will be emailed a $10 coupon that can used toward any purchase of $15 or more in either the Bondage Warehouse or the DVD Cart. The coupon code will be in the welcome letter you receive after you join – so you have to provide a valid email address. This coupon can be used only once.

– In addition, when you join Imago Studios, you will have access to another coupon code that is good for 5% off any order in either the Bondage Warehouse or the DVD Cart. This coupon is valid as long as you are a member.

– On the Bondage Warehouse, if you spend at least $55 in one transaction, you automatically get a 10% volume discount. Many people place orders for just under $55 or place multiple orders in quick succession and never realize this potential savings.

– When you place an order at Bondage Warehouse, you will receive a coupon via email (if you sign up for the newsletter) for 10% off your next order if placed within the next 5 days.

– We always have at least two full length video and one short story video on sale. These sale videos are list on the Imago Studios home page (under “current sale videos”) and under “Specials” in the Bondage Warehouse.

Black Models – Where Has the Love Gone?

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In a comment on the May 29 new photo update blog entry, someone remarked about how infrequently our black models get any positive feedback. This is something we noticed a while back, but the remark still got us to thinking. Many years ago (>10), black models were hugely popular, which is one the reasons we did so many black model themed videos (IS10, IS28, IS37, IS43, IS57). All these videos sold well and we specifically sought out black models to work with. Then, starting about 5 or 6 years ago, black models suddenly started getting less popular, even though we were working with some amazingly beautiful and personable black women (e.g., Augusta Jones, Misherlae Raines, Sabrina Hernandez). Sabrina, in particular, is one of the best models we have worked with. In the last year or two, the interest in black models has disappeared entirely, despite us continuing to work with some fantastic ethnic ladies such as Cody Blue and more recently Josephine Marloe. Josephine’s perfect body and amazing sex appeal is beyond compare, but she gets almost no feedback and her videos do not sell anywhere near the level of those featuring white models. This is something we find utterly amazing as Josephine is just flat out stunning. When we post our update previews, comments about the black models are almost non-existent. As the commentor noted, the lack of any positive feedback is almost absurd. It is almost as if people go out of their way to ignore them. In fact, response to black models has gotten so cold that we recently decided to stop working with them for the time being. We have recently turned down the opportunity to work with some very attractive black women, and as much as we would love to bring Josephine or Cody back, there really is no benefit in doing so. So all this makes us wonder – where did the love for black models go? And more importantly, will it ever come back?

Imago Studios 15 Year Anniversary!

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On the 23rd of May in 1998, fifteen years ago, we did our first shoot in Las Vegas with Alexa Close. Our actual website wouldn’t go live until August and we had already published several photo sets and two videos featuring models we had worked with while living in NY through Harmony Concepts (but under the name Imago Studios). But that material wasn’t shot with any intention of releasing it on our own. And of course, we had released numerous photos of Dianne under the name the waDeRers through Harmony well before that.

But for us, that shoot with Alexa marked the true beginning of Imago Studios because it was the start of something new. We were shooting with every intention of starting our own site and our own company.

We never imagined that fifteen years later we would still be going strong, and would have become one of the largest and most successful bondage sites on the web. Over those years, we have worked with more than 200 models, released well over 100,000 photos and nearly 300 storyline videos, plus over 650 behind the scenes videos strictly for our membership site.

In a post on our message board in August of 2008, we looked back over our first 10 years and listed some of the things we were most proud of. Looking at that list, we have to say those elements are still what we take the most pride in.

Number one of course would be our amazing models. From Alexa and Mia, to Molly & Britney, to Ginger & Yania, and the many other girls between, we have had the privilege of working with some beautiful girls who are also sweet, friendly and a true pleasure to be around.

We still can state that we have never missed an update – for 15 years! We doubt many other sites can honestly make that claim.

We’ve seen many changes in technology over the years, producing video in a variety of formats: VHS, DVD, CD, downloadable WMV or MP4, streaming video, and digital rights rental. What the future will hold, well, certainly we cannot say! But we will continue to adjust to the needs of the changing world, whatever it holds.

So stay tuned – Imago Studios will be here for a long time to come!

Best Selling Photo Sets

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While looking at video sale stats, we also looked at the numbers for photo set sales on the Bondage Warehouse. Now these numbers are obviously biased towards sets that have been available the longest as we are always adding new sets, but we were still amazed to see the almost complete dominance of one model – Ashley Adams. Now Ashley was certainly an attractive girl, but she did not work that often and she was never particularly popular, in part because she never did video.

Our top 10 selling photo sets on the Bondage Warehouse:

1) photo set # 00617 – Kylie Adams & Sophia Mills
2) photo set # 00124 – Ashley Adams & Lisa Star
3) photo set # 00425 – Ashley Adams
4) photo set # 00036 – Ashley Adams
5) photo set # 00084 – Ashley Adams
6) photo set # 00109 – Lisa Star
7) photo set # 00284 – Britney Damon
8 ) photo set # 00035 – Lisa Star
9) photo set # 00215 – Ashley Adams & Lisa Star
10) photo set # 00253 – Lisa Star

  
Kylie & Sophia		   
Ashley & Lisa		   
Ashley		   
Ashley
Ashley & Lisa

Note: All these photo sets, plus hundreds of other photo sets, full length videos and video clips, can be downloaded from our Bondage Warehouse site.

Video Sales – The Not so Hot

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While looking at what are our best selling videos, we also took a look at which were our not so hot videos. These numbers are complicated by the fact that many of our videos were not available for long periods of time, either because they were never made available on DVD when we discontinued VHS tapes, or because they were not added to the Bondage Warehouse right away, or because they were simply discontinued. But none of the following were blockbusters: IS42 – The Soccer Star, IS137 – Heavy Metal, IS79 – Dream Master, IS99 – Spandex Damsels, and IS32 – Dream Therapy/Renter’s Dilemma.