Have you ever wondered what it would be like to hold a photo fashion shoot for about 15 to 20 beautiful, sexy scantily clad girls? It is unlike something you will have ever seen or experienced in your life – especially here in Pattaya.
We’ve been through a few of these photoshoot scenarios. Hopefully this little blog post plus promo video is going to give you some insight from behind the scenes of what takes place on a Digital Mints photoshoot.
When we meet Digital Mints followers they typically like to ask about certain models and what the studio shoots for Digital Mints are like. Now we completely get their excitement in wanting to know what happens. We usually get the same questions laced with wide-eyed anticipation of sexually charged and fantastical stories that are going to blow their minds – only to have those expectations deflated. So, before we even finish answering their question they’re asking for the Check-bin… no, no we’re kidding. In all honesty the first time was super fun, cool and amazing but it is a job and a job we love doing.
These shoots are certainly good times along with memories we’ll never forget. We can understand the reasoning behind their thinking… a studio full of sexy, beautiful Thai-girls from the bar all ready to get hot and steamy for the camera – in essence, yes that happens but at times there’s a level of frustration that can become constant miss-communication.
There is a team effort involved here with shoots like this. Our customers entrust us to produce something new and fresh – and most importantly they all want original content. To make this happen it’s all about proper logistics and collaborating with a business that wants to take the image of their Agogo to the next level.
99.9% of the bar’s or Agogo’s in Pattaya take all their photos inside their venue. The girls posing with their sexy dance moves on the stage. At the same time capturing the party atmosphere in the background with customers having a great time. There’s nothing wrong with this approach – it’s great – and visually it’s needed to sell the place… but it’s the same style that’s been done for the last 15 or so years. We always look to do something original, something that goes against the grain.
IRON Club Pattaya already had a reputation as one of the best Agogo’s on Walking Street. It’s been around for over 10 years and established itself as one of the big player’s on the street. It had some of the sexiest and beautiful girls working there, it had hard-hitting music and the only place to have a nearly 20′ wall sized LED screen inside the club. A very cool structural feature about IRON (great for taking photos) they had the highest ceilings for a GoGo. This was an opportunity to utilize a very good lighting system where we projected more of a nightclub feel to it.
We had been working with IRON Club for just over 8 months at this point and built an amazing relationship with the Dancers. So we proposed the idea to take the girls out of IRON – out of the unpredictable and chaotic environment of the club and into a more controlled photography studio environment and see how they perform.
We have years of experience doing studio photography and it’s what we are familiar with but the majority of the girls from IRON hadn’t been in a controlled studio environment before. This was a different ball game for them because photographing them in the club they have a bit of an advantage. Depending on how many drinks they’ve had they’re less inhibited, the loud music helps them to be more playful so the posing is easier and they’re more flirtatious towards the camera… which is all good. Anything that gets the model to perform and bring out the needed emotions for the camera is welcomed.
In A Controlled Environment
When the girls arrived at the studio they were clearly excited to see the big lights, the c-stands and backdrops. They individually kept taking selfies in front of the studio equipment and then they started taking group shots together. It was a good sign to see them all feeling comfortable and at ease because for some the studio can be very intimidating.
For operations like this we need: the mamason to: coordinate all the girls to get to the studio on time, hair & makeup done, wardrobe, order food, drinks and booze (yes they will drink and a lot). There are constant adjustments to hair, lighting set design, style and posing. Oftentimes the girl may be beautiful drop dead gorgeous and her selfie game is top notch but it is quite different from taking directions in a professional studio setting.
A lot of businesses have a fear of taking risks or changing the formula. IRON Club was great because they trusted us with their brand and image to create something that no one else in Pattaya had attempted to do.
When all the girls we’re ready in their uniforms – they looked great but now it was showtime. Before every shoot in the studio we always gather everyone around for a brief meeting. We really want to get it through to them that is completely different than being in the club environment – this is where they can really shine. We give a quick and dirty explanation as to what each light in the setup will be doing. How the soft boxes to their left and right will create a nice rim light effect on their sides, how the key light will provide fill and the backdrop light and so on…
Surprisingly, they’re all actually very interested in the technicality of the shoot. A lot these girls watch their favorite YouTuber doing makeup tutorials and behind the scene videos of photoshoots. So here in our studio they have the opportunity to perform in a professional studio environment.
We also let them know “that at times they are going to feel weird, silly and maybe even a little stupid but not to worry because we will be making silly and stupid faces and poses in the process so you won’t be alone.”. We try to explain that its okay to be like this and that they have to remember its only for a moment but most importantly it makes the photo look cool. After we can all laugh together.
The one thing we don’t want is for the girls to feel tense or ‘on the spot’ in front of their friends or camera – the best part is the girls all support each other as they go up for their shots which is nice. It’s always good to let the girls know that they’re not alone up there in front of the camera – we stress that very fact. We tell the girls we’re here to capture the cool and sexy side of them and create photos of themselves they never thought possible.
The Vision is to Be Original
What we wanted to avoid was that cliché style of photography known as ‘Glamour photography’. Its a category that’s kind of old and outdated. We needed bold, fashionable and fresh and its exactly what we got.
Bold – in the sense of a Vegas style feel to it with the girls exuding sexiness and confidence.
Fashionable – clothing can’t be too revealing it has to leave enough room for the imagination.
Fresh – It has to be completely original in style and execution for it to stand out from the rest of the other bars/ Agogo’s in Pattaya.
How we wanted to approach the style of photos was to create something that obviously has never been attempted for an Agogo in Pattaya or Bangkok. A lot of businesses have a fear of taking risks or changing the formula. IRON Club was great because they trusted us with their brand and image to create something that no one else in Pattaya had attempted to do.
The focus obviously had to be on the girls but it had to be in such a way that a definite ‘WOW’ factor had to hit hard and in a very bold way. We wanted to experiment with 2 – 3 different styles. We wanted one set of images to be bright then moody and then the last set to be fashionable but in good taste.
The above photo was actually inspired by the famous Steven Steigman’s photo taken in the 1978 ad for Hitachi Maxell, which would later be known as the Blown-away Man
We knew we the girls were loving the photos because all 15 of them, and staff where huddled around the Retoucher watching the photos coming in Tethered to the computer. It was nice seeing their reactions and excitement as they we’re all “oohing and ahhing” wanting to take photos… but we felt bad as we wouldn’t let them take or share any photos online. This was a top secret photoshoot that we wanted to keep under wraps so we get most out of the shares and reach for IRON Club.
We definitely felt this project featuring IRON girls was an original and completely different style; it grabs the viewers attention in a subtle, sexy and powerful way. The final results got us the responses we wanted from both the girls, the management of IRON and most of all – the fans and followers of IRON Club.
In the time after having the girls in our studio and getting such amazing results – we have continued on with several other studio shoots with other bars that wanted something to stand out as well. We will be doing future posts on them here for you to read about.
It wasn't all Digital Mints...
It should not be overlooked that there is also high stakes pressure and stress to get each job done right and we always aim to deliver better than what the client requested. When things are planned properly we can operate efficiently but there is always something that goes wrong and you have to be ready to adapt and overcome the challenges that pop up from out of nowhere.
This post is from the IRON Club shoot we did for their anniversary party. We had about close to 15 girls in studio and with the help and assistance of Manager Kob who also made it a good time. The girls showed up for the shoot at about 5 pm to get ready and did not end up leaving until 4 or 5 am in the morning. And it’s not what you think lol. There were some delays but when things got going we got what we needed and the girls didn’t want to quit.
They were less inhibited and had some good liquid courage to fuel the fun. So what photographer in their right mind would pass up an opportunity like this if presented? It was so much fun and even though IRON Club had to shut its doors due to the economic effects of COVID 19 we miss the place and the staff as one of our favorites.
Did you visit IRON Club when it was open, did you have a favorite girl or party night story? Let’s us know in the comments below.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.