Advice to all shooters, with pictures and video samples.

[Paul Markham]

I am not the best shooter on the Internet. In fact I'm a poor photographer and it's an insult to all photographers call me one.

I am pretty good at one type of porn.

So here is me following someones advice to start a content thread.

Shooters when you are shooting two people making love or having sex follow a simple rule.

SHUT THE FUCK UP AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

The fantasy is not that the girl/girls/guy are looking into your camera all the time, they are hot fucking each other because they are easy to fuck. There are a few instances where the models can look into the camera.

For instance.















There are very good reasons why the models should not be looking at the camera throughout the scene.

It is not about them trying to get you to join in. They are doing it because they want to fuck, they will let you join in and a few looks should be enough to convince the viewer they are welcome.

The models are showing the viewer the action, so he can enjoy watching. They know he's there.

There is nothing more off putting, guaranteed to slow you down and put you off your stride than some idiot shooter telling you to stop and look or smile into his camera every 5 seconds. After a while you are going through the motions and all thoughts of fucking are gone. It becomes cold and wooden.

Getting a look that hits the viewer with the idea that the models want to fuck him as much as they want to fuck each other is tough, trying to get the models to look at you all the time makes it harder.

Nothing sells as well as people fucking because they are horny, what's the odds of this happening if the shooter stops it every 5 seconds to get a smile.

I will now search for a video clip that shows what I'm talking about.

[gooddomains]

some true words

[Paul Markham]

A video showing what it's like when you let them get on with it.

Susane having fun.

Will try to find some more, tomorrow. Going home.

[basschick]

well-put and thank you, paul! porn where the girl is always looking/smiling at the camera drives me fucking nuts.

[Klen]

You still create good pictures no matter are you bad or good photographer.

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by basschick

well-put and thank you, paul! porn where the girl is always looking/smiling at the camera drives me fucking nuts.

I get bored with a lot of the smiling, most of it is so insincere. The trick is not to tall a girl to smile but to make her smile. Then is has meaning and warmth, add the nude erotic element and that makes a picture porno.

[CaptainHowdy]

Great tips! ...

[scottybuzz]

cool pics

[Zoose]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

I get bored with a lot of the smiling, most of it is so insincere. The trick is not to tall a girl to smile but to make her smile. Then is has meaning and warmth, add the nude erotic element and that makes a picture porno.

Thats very true. IMO 90% of porn sucks because it's all faked and it's obvious. The porn that gets me off to this day is the stuff where the chicks pussy is genuinely wet, no lube, and she's truely enjoying herself in the scene. Find talent with true chemistry between each other, tell em to get into it - fuck like they would if noone was watching, and you'll make a killing.

Edit - That video was a great example of what I'm talking about Paul, nicely done .

[PhotoGreggXXX]

have to agree Paul,
We've noticed that POV porn sells the best lately. Don't show the secondary guy or girl, just the doing her thing.

Shot over 150 scenes for www.pornpayouts.com
8 niche sites, all pov where the girl talks to the camera like its the guy watching and the conversions are way crazy

[squishypimp]

you have some of the best content Paul

[pornpf69]

those are some really nice advices!!!

[Roald]

Great advice Paul, as always!!!

[Harry Red]

did you learn that Czech language, paul? How do you communicate with the chicks ove there?
===
Just curious...

[BLish]

i wanna see your examples of when they should not be looking at the camera.

[Roald]

Ok so they don't need to look into the cam right? Then why are the Bangbros sites such a big success? Those girls look into the camera all the time right? Plus the shooter is talking quit a lot in the vids.

[latinasojourn]

true, but depends on the scene and the psychology of the shot.

hard to explain, but there are times when a shot is enhanced with the girl looking into the lens.

but it will not be a jovial or light hearted look; it will be a serious or moody, or passionate look.

look in a victoria secret catalog to get the idea.

if you are simulating POV the girl should look into the lens in many shots.

and i must say, if you are lighting the studio with this sort of hard hospital operating room light whether or not the models look into the lens ain't so relevant, because the lighting is all wrong for erotica.

[jonesy]

Markham the Master Marketer

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by Zoose

Thats very true. IMO 90% of porn sucks because it's all faked and it's obvious.

Then it's not porn it's just images of naked people, meat.

Originally Posted by Zoose

The porn that gets me off to this day is the stuff where the chicks pussy is genuinely wet, no lube, and she's truely enjoying herself in the scene. Find talent with true chemistry between each other, tell em to get into it - fuck like they would if noone was watching, and you'll make a killing.

Edit - That video was a great example of what I'm talking about Paul, nicely done .

Getting this is what makes the difference between something that converting 1-200 and 1-2000.

The surfers that sign up do know the difference, getting models to perform like this is porn.

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by PhotoGreggXXX

have to agree Paul,
We've noticed that POV porn sells the best lately. Don't show the secondary guy or girl, just the doing her thing.

Shot over 150 scenes for www.pornpayouts.com
8 niche sites, all pov where the girl talks to the camera like its the guy watching and the conversions are way crazy

Getting the girl to talk to the camera as if she's talking to a lover or at least someone she wants to see jerk off is a niche I did years ago. Problem is being in Czech the girls don't speak English well enough.

Look at the Video Sample clip. It's where the rapport with the camera can work. But tough to do, unless the girl is actually a lover.

OK forget about the accent and stockings.

[LadyMischief]

Ewwwwww do all european stunt cocks have such ugly penises?

I agree though people in the scene should focus on each other not on the camera. Makes it hotter.

[Dragar]

nice where is the to close anal shot?

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by LadyMischief

Ewwwwww do all european stunt cocks have such ugly penises?

Only women and gay guys notice.

Neither of which feature as big clients of mine.

[NinjaSteve]

true! nice one

[Libertine]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

Only women and gay guys notice.

Neither of which feature as big clients of mine.

Actually, as a straight guy, I did notice how ridiculous the second cock looks. Made me feel good about my own cock

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by BLish

i wanna see your examples of when they should not be looking at the camera.

OK. The truth is very little. You want them to generate communication between the models so they can get on and fuck, not keep interrupting them with "Look at me and smile". So the shots I showed at the top are ones out of five to seven at the most in a whole set, while they are having sex. When she has a facefull of cum she can look and smile at the camera.



















Generating this level of passion is what makes it pornography.

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by Dragar

nice where is the to close anal shot?

In the site, those shots are for members only.

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by latinasojourn

true, but depends on the scene and the psychology of the shot.

hard to explain, but there are times when a shot is enhanced with the girl looking into the lens.

but it will not be a jovial or light hearted look; it will be a serious or moody, or passionate look.

look in a victoria secret catalog to get the idea.

if you are simulating POV the girl should look into the lens in many shots.

and i must say, if you are lighting the studio with this sort of hard hospital operating room light whether or not the models look into the lens ain't so relevant, because the lighting is all wrong for erotica.

Very true.

There are times when the look to the camera from a couple will enhance the scene. It's about telling the viewer the participants know he's there, know he's watching, teasing and inviting him to join in. It can be a smile, it can be a horny look.

If you have ever been involved in group sex, any number above 2, and watched people make love you will know they will look over to you and the look will say "Keep watching then come and join us". Getting that look is tough and by constantly telling the models to look into the camera you can lose the thought you are trying to show. Lust.

As for the studio lighting. The flash lights we use in the studio are flash lights we shoot at F9 to F13. We need to shoot at this level to get the magazine sales. The studio lights are low so models do not get eye strain or small irises.

Of course we could shoot with a low flash light and a slightly more red tint, it's not hard to do, in fact getting it right is tougher. But that would kiss goodbye to the magazine sales and even though we know magazines are dead, losing money and totally irrelevant to the porn industry, they pay up to 10 times the amount a custom set will go for.

[Lykos]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

OK. The truth is very little. You want them to generate communication between the models so they can get on and fuck, not keep interrupting them with "Look at me and smile". So the shots I showed at the top are ones out of five to seven at the most in a whole set, while they are having sex. When she has a facefull of cum she can look and smile at the camera.



















Generating this level of passion is what makes it pornography.

mmmm,lovely work

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by Lykos

mmmm,lovely work

Thank you Lykos.

Will be posting some more later today.

[Paul Markham]

One more thing. If you shoot video with girls using a vibrator, check it works before you start, the batteries are fresh and make the girls turn it on.

[Paul Markham]

Another little point or two, if you do get the model to look at you in solo or couples work, make sure they turn there faces to you as much as possible.

When we talk or look at someone we like we turn our faces to show it to the people we are communicating. When we want sex with that person we definitely want them to see our faces.

We don't look out of the side of our eyes and squint.

When doing couples work get the models to kiss properly at the beginning of the set, this gets them working together, gets the rapport going and warms them us. GIRLS LOVE KISSING.

And it's kissing between lovers, not how I kiss my 4 year old. It's intense, passionate and for real.

[Paul Markham]

Which are the best girls, the ones in the middle or the ones at the end?



Wrong



Right



Right





Not quite right, IMO.

[Hotrocket]

I agree with you Paul..its one of my pet peeves about current porn..

Originally Posted by QuaShe

Ok so they don't need to look into the cam right? Then why are the Bangbros sites such a big success? Those girls look into the camera all the time right? Plus the shooter is talking quit a lot in the vids.

Most Bang Bros sites and the vids they produce are based on the general concept of some guy out on the street finds some hottie, convinces her to come back and fuck on cam..they are very much like audition vids..and the viewer knows this going in so it works in that situation.

I will say tho that I still find it irritating, even in that realm..and especially Sanchez for Bang Bros, he needs to STFU! he's a non stop motormouth..and ruins the scenes with his goofy laugh and stupid hand in every shot..enough already with that shit! lol

and while I'm on this subject same goes for the videographers who you can hear breathing louder than the talent fucking in the vids!

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by Hotrocket

I agree with you Paul..its one of my pet peeves about current porn..



Most Bang Bros sites and the vids they produce are based on the general concept of some guy out on the street finds some hottie, convinces her to come back and fuck on cam..they are very much like audition vids..and the viewer knows this going in so it works in that situation.

I will say tho that I still find it irritating, even in that realm..and especially Sanchez for Bang Bros, he needs to STFU! he's a non stop motormouth..and ruins the scenes with his goofy laugh and stupid hand in every shot..enough already with that shit! lol

and while I'm on this subject same goes for the videographers who you can hear breathing louder than the talent fucking in the vids!

One of the problems is simply the sponsors are not paying the shooters enough. The pressure on the shooter to get work done in a day leaves little time for the finer points.

I was going to post about videographers.

GET A FUCKING OFF CAMERA MIKE, ID DO NOT WANT TO HEAR YOU BREATHING, THE ZOOM GOING IN AND OUT OR A CLICK EVERYTIME YOU TOUCH THE CAMERA. IT'S ALL OFF PUTTING AND WILL LEAD TO LIMP DICKS AND SHORT RETENTION.

Also the golden rule with the zoom button is;

LEAVE IT FUCKING ALONE, YOU'RE MAKING ME SEA SICK.

*End rant*

[Paul Markham]

Casting are your best chance to establish who is in control of the shoot. As it's your money it should be you.

It's also your chance to decide if the model is going to be any good for your work. This is how we do it and I have used the example of girls.

Greet the girl as if you are pleased to see her, common decency. Then tell her EVERYTHING about how you work, it's important that she thinks you have nothing to hide. Tell her what she COULD be doing, the final choice is hers. Tell her how you work, what you shoot, how you shoot it, the style you work in, the hours she will be there, EVERYTHING.

Then ask her if she has any questions and answer them truthfully, if she thinks you're lying you will lose trust.

Then ask her to FILL IN FORM TELLING YOU A FEW BASIC DETAILS AND THEN WHAT SHE WILL AND WILL NOT DO. We ask them to write YES or NO or MAYBE on the form to the different categories of work we do. A form can be shown to her later as "Well on the casting you said you would do it" Rarely comes up when they know what they wrote.

This is your chance to win her trust, respect and confidence, use it.

Some girls or agents won't turn up for castings, telling you it's a waste of time. Which means you book them on their terms and they don't get a lot of work from going to castings. Figure that one out.

You can also offer the girl a few hours work on the day of the casting if she brings her IDs, some will and some will not.

As I said this is how we do it, others can do it differently.

[d00t]

A great read Paul

You definately know your shit - well done and thank you!

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by d00t

A great read Paul

You definately know your shit - well done and thank you!

Been doing it donkeys years, I was in porn pre video, and little has really changed.

I made all the mistakes and learned from them. Just showing people not to make the mistakes I did.

[Paul Markham]

Who finds these tips useful when shooting or buying content?

[JimiJimi]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

Who finds these tips useful when shooting or buying content?

great tips, thanks for sharing

[Halcyon]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

Only women and gay guys notice.

Neither of which feature as big clients of mine.

I disagre with this point...but wholeheartedly agree with the original post. I HATE hearing the cameraman. Especially when they are joking and making the vibe less sexy. Or worse, when their hand reaches out and grabs her tits from behind camera.

[BitAudioVideo]

Originally Posted by Halcyon

I disagre with this point...but wholeheartedly agree with the original post. I HATE hearing the cameraman. Especially when they are joking and making the vibe less sexy. Or worse, when their hand reaches out and grabs her tits from behind camera.

thats the best thing about mikesapartment!

[JP-pornshooter]

nice post and good advice.
a magazine editor once told me that the people buying their magazine were usually guys, with a shy personality and as a result somewhat lonely. to make up for this void in their lives, they buy pornographic magazines. these guys prefer girls who look sweet and natural, who makes eye contact with the viewer, and who smiles, the smile is the sign we are friends..
it was nice of the chief editor to inform me this little insight, the sets i send to him always have girls smiling in atleast half the photos.. and he always buys..
recently i heard from one of my porn (sex scenes video) clients that they are starting to see a trend where they want the guy's personality as much as possible out of the scene..the viewer doesnt want this distraction of a guy..
for this client i always shoot some positions with eye contact, otherwise he does not buy it..
so as much as we can agree that we dont like eye contact, perhaps "we" are not the "target audience" for the market..