Cliff James is a UK-based photographer who has specialized in glamor, fetish, BDSM, Female Domination, and spanking. More on Cliff’s life and work can be found on his blog, and his contributions to a collection of classic British spanking videos can be seen at Top Marks Videos.

Cliff, what sparked your interest in photography, and when did you first start shooting photographs professionally?

I’ve been interested in corporal punishment as far back as I can remember, and used to buy spanking magazines such as Janus and Kane.

Many years ago, I tried my hand at writing short spanking stories to earn
some extra cash and sent them to various magazines.

Mostly they were rejected, though I did have a few published in the magazines Privilege and one in Februs.

I also took them to George Harrison-Marks, who published Kane Magazine.

George asked if I was interested in typing out the handwritten stories
he wanted to publish. I said I was, and that if he wanted, I could put them in columns so he could physically cut and paste them onto the
layout board of the magazine. This I did for many issues. At this time, I
met his daughter Josie, and we became and are still good friends.

It wasn’t long after that George sadly passed away. At the time, Josie wasn’t interested in spanking and planned to close the magazine, but she received so many phone calls asking if she was going to carry on with the magazine she asked me if I wanted to have a go at putting one together. It was a huge Yes! from me. Two videos had already been shot and we still had material for the first magazine I put together.

The magazine went down well so we planned to carry on.

It was when we wanted material for the next issue of Kane that the photography started. A model called Brandi, who had been in George’s videos had been booked to do an interview. Not having a camera at the
time I borrowed my mom’s, though I didn’t tell her what I was going to use it for. Come the day, the interview over, Josie said she had to go to the shops, so I was left to spank and take pictures of Brandi and her reddened bottom. After that, I invested in a decent camera, lights and the works and took the stills at video shoots.

Who were your artistic influences?

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve always had an interest in spanking, so I wasn’t influenced by anyone. If I had to choose an artistic influencer I’d have to say Janus magazine when laying out Kane.

You have shot many, many Femdom Mistresses over the course of your career. Who were some of your favorite Femdom Mistresses to photograph and why?

Believe it or not, I worked for an Islamic country’s flag carrier as an aircraft spares and technical equipment buyer. Every day I purchased The Daily Sport newspaper, which was always filled with topless and nude girls. Teresa May frequently featured.

I met Teresa at an Erotica exhibition in London, where she had a stall with some other models, where you could have your photo taken with them.
I had my photo taken, and Teresa gave me her business card with her fan club address on it.

As luck would have it, we received a letter at the Kane office asking if we had any photos of Teresa. Although she had been in a couple of
George’s videos, we didn’t, so I wrote back to the guy and gave him her fan club address and sent a copy to Teresa. To my surprise, she
telephoned me and suggested we meet up. I was in heaven.

My favorite Mistresses, I have to say Teresa May, though I also photographed Mistress R’eal, who was amazing, though sadly our
personalities clashed. I have nothing against the lady, in fact, surprisingly I still have a soft spot for her.  A gorgeous blonde Sam
Johnson made two Fem Dom videos for us as Mistress Samantha. One of her lines was, “Fucking the maid of honour.” The way she said it sent a shiver down my spine. It’s become a standing joke now when I say, “Say it again, Sam,” she knows what I mean.

I was also lucky enough to photograph Lucy Bailey when she was a spanking model; she now goes as Mistress Sidonia and has her own Female Domination website, The English Mansion. If you had asked who I wish I had photographed, it would be Mistress Eleise de Lacy. We had a business arrangement some years back. Mistress Eleise is gorgeous and a double for the late actress Veronica Lake.

Last year, you wrote on your blog about your frustrations with having your work removed from eBay and the eventual closure of your eBay account.

How have you seen the rules around selling photographic images in the UK
change, both on and offline, in your time as a photographer?

What about the removal of your photographs from seller’s platforms like
eBay is most frustrating or concerning to you?

eBay is a pain! I still sell on there, but only non-nude and none topless. It’s so frustrating as eBay agents give you conflicting information. I was told you can sell topless and nude if you sell them as art and the content isn’t sexual, and put NUDE in the item specifics.
I did all of this, but still had listings removed. It’s weird that there are many images that look like readers’ wives that show everything and
AI-created images listed as art! I’m too old to fight anymore, and my life is worth more than a few pennies made on eBay. My wife and I make our real money with a business as far away from adult as you can get.

It’s the start of a new year. What are you most looking forward to in
2026? Do you have any new projects coming out or plans that you are
excited to share?

I’m now retired from the adult industry, apart from promoting adult
affiliate content and my legacy content on clip sites, so no new projects
I’m afraid.

A big thanks to Cliff James for answering my questions about his very interesting life and work! Please check out Top Marks Videos!