A lot of guys aren't going to realize just how important that point is.


Personally I would keep it non-alcoholic, at least before and during a shoot. There are other ways of loosening up a model and making her feel relaxed, as you've covered in other parts of your posts.


There's nothing wrong with taking some time a night or two beforehand and writing a script. This is another pet peeve of mine. With much of today's porn too many shooters try to "wing it" and also have their talent do the same, but unless you're super quick-witted (which most aren't) they end up stuttering and fumbling around for things to talk about, they talk when they don't need to be talking, stupid nervous laughter ensues, then with the dumb annoying questions and cheesy commments, and on and on. UG! Enough yapping already, get on with the show! is what the viewer is screaming at their monitor.

I say to the masses; try being imaginitive. Sit down, think about what you can write down in the way of dialogue that will make the shoot not only more interesting but go smoother. Then when the girl is sitting there waiting between takes or whatever she has something to look over and keep her occupied.

Can't write a script? No time? Pay a writer to do it. I could bang off short scripts by the dozens in my sleep, I'm sure there are several others here who could as well, and for a reasonable price.


If there was a bible for porn shooting this would be the first commandment.

Great tips in this thread. Looks like I have most stuff covered.

I love the posing book tip. Thumbsup!

I couldn't care less about shooting porn. I just want some great shots of my kids and I'm happy.

This is brilliant Pauly. I tell you off for pretending you need new glasses and explain that you should offer tips.

http://www.adultmarketing.co.uk/2010/04/marketing-fail/

I explain the first thing you should do is to post here offering tips.

2 days later you Post Here Offering Tips.

I am SO GLAD you took my marketing advice to heart. Nice one.

1) Start a photography tips section on GFY and post in it once a week with tips. You have a lifetime of experience. So I would focus (hah) on that, rather than your horribly unlucky personal life.

I posted that about 4 days ago, and now I see you taking my advice to heart. Brilliant. Let me know if you pretending you need glasses is more or less effective than this.

xxx

Paul is too old and almost dead to care about shooting kids.

Actually, I'm pretty sure he has a young one of his own.

I really like the way Jules Jordan shoots. Something about his choice of angles and positions.

awesome thread, this really should be one of the GFY Educational series :thumbsup

On my sets for the coochie light we use a bendy neck desk lamp with a white balanced light bulb in it and plug it in with a light extension cord and either I or my videographer wraps it around their arm and then holds the camera OR just set it on the floor and angle it the right way....

Pretty good info though... keep it coming... oh and definitely don't work with strippers or escorts unless you know them real well. Escorts especially don't have the right mindset from my experience... plus not all but many have that worn out look that isnt good for porn...

:2 cents:

Lighting is the key to getting good stills and video. It takes skills, but with todays digital equipment there is no excuse.

Sadly too many wing it.

Spot on. An 8 year old daughter.

Everyone has to start somewhere. :)

Shooting it yourself
 

Some of this info might be out of date as cameras have progressed since I wrote it.

How many times have I heard ?It would be cheaper if I shot for myself? Well I sat and looked at the cost and I kept the bottom line as low as I could. Others will come out with different totals and are welcome to offer budgets.

Here's a shopping list of essentials.

Camera, lights, light meter, locations, props, models.

Stills Camera. $1300
Video Camera $2,000
Studio Flash lights. $500
Flash meter. $300
Location. $80
Props, $20 a week.
Photography books. $100
Models $500 a day for solo girl.

Why so much?

Well you need a good digital camera that is going to take the picture when you shoot and keep taking them. Some have a delay and some even stop to download from the camera buffer to the chip. The model will think you a complete fool if you turn up with a camera that looks like you are an amateur. The Nikon D70 looks excellent value.

I also included $2,000 for a video camera assuming you want videos as well. There are a few at that range that will do the job.

Flash lights. You need to control the light and camera flash is not easily controlled, plus as the batteries run down you are waiting for the thyristor to recharge. Studio lights will fire and recharge in 4-6 seconds. Umbrellas are good; a soft box is better but more expensive. Don't try bouncing off the wall because you will pick up the colour of the wall. $500 could buy you a second hand pair of lights, I?m trying to keep costs down.

Flash meter. You have to control light to take a picture, even an amateur one. A flash meter will tell you what the light is doing, so you can set the lights and camera accordingly. Again it also makes you look professional in front of the model, essential for a newbie.

Location. Well you could use your home, it can save a lot of money, but there are drawbacks. you need to keep decorating or every location will start to look the same, very boring for the member. You're allowing strangers, who are in need of money, into your house. some might bring a boyfriend are you going to be able to watch them ALL the time.

Clothing. Many girls who turn up to be models are broke. So don't expect them to come up with large suitcase different clothing. You need to buy some clothes, as a back up, don't risk ruining a shoot because all she turned up with is the clothes she's wearing. She definitely will not turn up with vibrators bedspreads, throws etc. You need to provide them.

Some models today will have a suitcase full of clothing which could be suitable, but this is risky. Be prepared.

Photography books. You are going to need to know a little about photography and cameras so I put in $100, sound investment.

Models. Well this is varied depending on the quality of girls you want and where you are. In the mid west it would be cheaper than LA, but how many mid west girls are there who want to model nude and erotic? So I put in a figure of $400 a day and it will always be cheaper to book them for the day and shoot everything then move on.

Now you have all that, practice until you have shot exactly what you want, I recommend starting out with your girlfriend or even a giant teddy. Both cheaper than practicing with models. All you want to do now is get use to the equipment. Wait a little while before you get the naked women in. LOL

So I know what you are about to say, ?I only want to shoot Amateur?. Well here is the truth from a guy who can shoot amateur for a day and earn a lot of money from it. The ?Amateur? the surfer wants to see, most of the time, is the model not the photographer. The appeal is a girl doing it for the fun, kicks and sex. The fantasy is she's the girl next door being rude and fucked the shooter afterwards because she's ?EASY?.

So you need to create the right impression with models. The impression you're a professional guy shooting amateur style, not a pervert who gets off seeing them naked. To look professional you need professional equipment. You have to be able to use the equipment well. It's easier to control equipment than a model, trying to work out how to use a camera, lights, direct a model and make her look ?HOT? all at the same time is a nightmare, get rid of one problem so you can concentrate on the other one.

What the model thinks of you is the look you will get on her face and we read those looks. Ever met someone for the first time and know they like you or dislike you straight away? You read them without even knowing it. Good porn is a girl looking like she wants to fuck YOU, not just a picture of a girl with her legs open. This is the difference between a photographer and a pornographer. What the surfer does not want, is to jerk off to a picture of a girl who thinks he's a total loser.

So I would say shooting 8 sets or videos a day would be maximum, getting one model a week would be a stretch but can happen. So shooting 50 models a year, 8 sets a time, you have 400 sets. Nice target but in truth totally unrealistic for a newbie to find that many girls and shoot that much ?Average? content. So let?s say you do 300 in your first year. Some struggle to shoot 300 in a year.

So that works out to equipment and books $4100, props $1,000, locations I've calculated you could shoot half outdoors $4,000 and $20,000 for the models. Total cost $29,000 for 300 sets. With a few bits and pieces you are at $96 a set. Good price for an exclusive set. And look at all the naked women you got to see!

I've assumed you have Photoshop because you will need it to correct and crop the images. Plus a computer and editing program for the videos. A days shoot should take you a day to correct and re-size the images, might be more if you do not get your camera and the lighting right. Plus a day to edit the videos. So what are two days a week worth? If you can convert 5 a day by submitting reckon $300 a week, another $50 a set round price $143. Still cheaper, than anyone good will shoot for.

Of course I have not included any of the ?Hidden extras? like agents fees, advertising to find models, interviewing them, a lap top for when you travel to a location and have assumed every set is usable. Plus if you are in the US employing a lawyer, getting a license to shoot in a location and insurance. I know you were not thinking of these things, but if you have a problem you will wish you did get them. What if a girl hurts herself on a shoot and contacts a lawyer, you could be facing massive costs. These costs you can decide for yourself to take on or ignore.

In your second year you can save the cost of buying equipment, but then in the third year you may need buy new cameras.

hey thanks for this thread. i have subscribed.

Someone was asking about equipment.
 

It was in reply to someone asking about shooting DVD medium quality

If you're looking to shoot DVD medium quality and don't have a very firm commitment on sales here's an option to try first before spend 1,000s on equipment.

Hire it. Look in Yellow Pages or in the SEs for companies that hire out professional video equipment, in YP it's under Video Services as I remember. Explain what you need the equipment for and they will give you first hand advice and the cost of hiring is a fraction of the buying price and you don't risk buying the wrong equipment.

Here's a list of what you need to be looking for in terms of equipment.

Pro cameras will include things like inter changeable lenses which is essential depending on the location and content. 2 x 3 pin sound sockets with adjustable levels, a proper white balance button, Zebra Stripes for lighting and time coding which is useful when editing. You need to decide if the content warrants two cameras or one.

Lighting again this depends on the content, quality and locations. The 2 options are a "Kino Flo" type system, which is daylight balances fluorescent lights set into a frame or the traditional tungsten based system. Kino Flo is a nightmare to control and direct for a truly quality product however easy to use. It's already diffused and the use of 2 or 3 will eliminate any shadows. Also they have the benefit of not getting hot which is a problem in the summer or small locations. Their great for small rooms. Useless in large unless you have a lot.

Tungsten are going to give you more control, easier with color gels and a better quality light. Their draw backs are the elimination of shadows, you need to diffuse the light and know what you're doing. They get hot so don't burn yourself. In small rooms shooting, during summer hard core it needs pro models, especially guys who can work under the heat.

For a truly good product an assistant to hold a light on the end of a boom to work as a "pussy light" is a benefit.

To get a good product good lighting is essential. You need to make sure the images are lit as you require to get a sharp image, eliminate shadows unless required and ensure against "Flair" which is reflected light bouncing back into the lens and giving a soft out of focus appearance. Depending on the location back lighting is again essential to separate the models from the wall behind. Set your light and experiment until you have it right.

Sound is important. 1 or 2 pro rifle mikes on stands or booms is what's needed. I have always had problems with the radio mikes and would recommend cable mikes attached to one camera. One mike goes over the action and the other, if you go for two, on the end of a boom to catch things like the sound of a vibrator or the sex. Have the main camera man use head phones so he can monitor the sound.


Stills. Are very important for a set of good box cover shots. Box covers sell DVDs. Or for tours.

Camera. I've always likes Canon or Nikon and not totally sure of the latest model and prices, being house bound for a year, a Canon D20 always did us proud.

Strobe lights are required for indoor stills and the location, style and quality will dictate how many you need. 3-4 lights on stands with either soft boxes or umbrellas is about right. Use a light meter to balance the lights to the required levels as a histogram is not going to give you enough information and not give you a reading for reflected light from different spots on the set.

Setting lights again varies according to the location and it's essential you get some back light, side light and high lights to get good box cover shots. Sadly the magazine market market is screwed which was always a good place to sell a set shot before the video. As far as makes are concerned I've always used Muliblitz. But they were was used for magazine shoots and in the days before digital we were often shooting 360 to 540 frames per set which would blow many lights or just take too long for the lights to recharge.

Can't think of anything else to add and the budget to buy this will be substantial. So as I said unless you have the market set up for sales hire it first.

To sell in the DVD market the distributors are looking for a theme that has not been done to death and models who are not on loads of other DVDs. Plus a level of quality of shooting and action they know will sell. Having the first 3 titles and able to show you will produce more is also essential. It's an extremely tough market to break into as established producers are already there before you.

To shoot content for a porn site, set your budget to what you can afford, get down to your nearest good amateur photography store and try the equipment out. When editing compression and sizes can determine the quality of the finished product as much as the equipment used. Most people I've met shooting for the net now are using good pro/am equipment. Also knowing how to light will help.

All the right equipment and knowledge of how to use it will not ensure a good product. I've seen BBC trained technicians go GAGA the moment the models show their boobs and the action suffered. The action is what will ultimately sell a product.

Sorry for the long winded reply but shooting medium quality DVD content is not as easy as giving you a shopping list of kit. And might end up in you buying the wrong equipment for you, so hire it in the beginning.

Used to shoot a lap dancer who was a delight to work with and be with. We had a fling. :winkwink:

And in the 70s to 80s a lot of the top models were doing escort work. One gave me a freebie when I got her pictures into Mayfair. She said it hiked her price. :winkwink:

But in the main steer clear of strippers, lap dancers, hookers and live cam girls. Especially when you're new. There are good ones but you really need to sort them from the bad.

Do locations Matter?
 

This was my reply to a thread on another board about locations.

EVERYTHING MATTERS.

There's always the bathroom and rental houses or apartments, woods, parks, car parks, get a cheap hotel room (as someone suggested), empty trains, the middle of nowhere, quiet town centers at 6am on a Sunday, garden sheds, in the car. Be imaginative and have fun

The Adult Internet gives the surfer a never ending supply of options to jerk off to. If your site does not hit him as THE PLACE to spend money now then he will go spend it somewhere else.

These are the things that matter on a porn shoot and help you sell in a VERY competitive market.

Models.
Mood of models on the day.
Shooter.
Mood of shooter on the day.
Niche.
Shooters knowledge of the niche.
Location/scene setting.
Props/clothing
Cameras.
Lighting.

I put cameras and lighting at the bottom because in todays world, so long as you're not shoot Playboy level everyone should do reasonable job. And yes sometimes we get it wrong.


________________

This was my reply to someone asking this question.

We are talking about pornography not photography, so different mediums. Think along the lines of an author uses a typewriter but not a typist. Think about it, you use a camera to create the image in the viewers mind.

If you don't have a laptop or a computer close by get one or practice close by one until you know the lighting you need. But if lighting is not your strength get it until it's acceptable and practice getting the niche right, don't aim at Playboy style.

Look at doing an "amateur" style of porn. Motivate and direct the model to be at ease and natural. Go for a single flash light shot onto an umbrella or soft box and remember the settings and readings on the Histogram. A single light with an umbrella will cost $1,000 absolute max and there are cheaper ones.

Shooting with a strobe light puts you in control of the light and you can set it for an amateur effect very easily. Practice is the key.

Props and clothing are pretty simple.

Knowing the niche should be easy if you're shooting it. If you don't know it why are you shooting it? Look around at the successes here, they know their niche.

Directing a model to do as you need is the tough one and even people with years of experience find it tough at times. This is a competitive market. If you can't convince the surfer who buys, he's usually an expert on his favorite niche, he will not buy, you can't afford the traffic and you're left with the 95% telling us it's all down to traffic. Because you need loads of it to get a sale.

The above is a generalisation, but look at the sites that convert and ask yourself if it's because they have the niche right or thousands of surfers? The great ones have both.

Some would say "If you can't afford a laptop or computer to check the exposure, you should not be shooting." Of course I would never say something like that though. :winkwink:
_______

Nice thread. I would at least put reasonable lighting at number 2 and glamour lighting at the bottom. Differentiate the two. Decent lighting is so important. Seen way too many badly lit scenes.:2 cents:

A well lit bad scene is still a bad scene. It's just easier to see how bad it is. :)

Shooting porn with couples.
 

Keep the replies, comments and questions coming so I know you're still interested. LOL

Still very much the same message, know you niche, know your models and know how to get what you need from them.

There was a statement made by a sponsor that frankly pornographers have always known and should not need saying. He said it like it was something new. I'm taking it a bit out of context to fit this.

"Consumers want to see cleaner images and more realistic sex. A lot of reality sites are doing better than the ones that offer up just staged sex." All commercial porn is staged and this includes reality porn. Unless you're too stupid to realise girls do not get into vans with strangers and let them fuck her for the hell of it. Even porn a couple shoot of themselves to post on the Net is staged."

What he was trying to say is the consumer wants to see girls doing it for real, having fun, giving the impression they will fuck the viewer if he were there, losing themselves in the sex and cumming with a bang. They want to see her pleasure herself or and her partner for real. This can be done in a $2 million "staged production" or a $100 shoot. It's down to the shooter to make it happen.

So how do you get couples to do it for real?

Simple answer is you tell them or tell them to go home. You're in charge and they work for you. In the last 30 years occasionally I've had to stop and tell the models that if they really don't like what they are doing the door is not locked. It's the last stop you go to but it's always there. You can tell when shooting the stills if the models have any attraction to each other. On a two girl or boy girl shoot you can always decide to send one home and shoot solo. Three models can become two models, nine girl can be six girl.

Shooting people who are cold detached and "professional" is going to lead to shooting porn that does not arouse the buyer. In todays market he can find tons of that on Porn Tube sites. He needs to see a lot more to make him pay.

Start off with a lot of kissing, girls like kissing and it is the best way to arouse them. Shoot them being stroked, licked, caressed and aroused. The clit has a mind of it's own and like boys the little head can rule the big head.

Don't let them stop every shot, tell them to do it while you shoot and move, tell them to keep moving tongues, fingers hands so you can get a lot of shots to choose from. If they do it like wax dolls you have a problem. I've had girls tell me they don't kiss for real on stills but do on video. I tell them I need the shots different and alive and I don't shoot models who don't kiss on stills. They change their rules, just do it with a smile.

The girls are not meant to constantly be looking into your camera, it breaks them away from the other people in the scene. There are a few selling shots that need to be captured, they don't mean she looks at you all the time. The guy is there for the build up and his dick, he rarely features in the scenes. Exceptions are Gonzo where it's about the guys getting laid, but not many. When the fucking starts keep the camera off the guys face as much as possible is the general rule.

When shooting the video and the models are getting going keep it soft so they can build themselves up, you can edit it out, and let their sexuality develop. Once it's there remember the girl can cum and cum, shoot her cumming and don't change position half way through. Boys cum once and a good reason to use only professionals who can control themselves.

Shoot as much as you can and except for the cum shot and maybe a few others, keep yourself to yourself. Nothing kills a scene faster than a shooter stepping in every 5 minutes. It's about them not him. Exceptions are few.

The main thing to remember is though she is not looking into the camera she's aware you're there. She is showing you what she's doing. Normal sex is pretty boring for those watching a porn film, the models are putting on a show for you. Yes you because you're in the room. The viewer is harder to relate to than you. Well he should be.

A good boy or experienced girl will know the shots you require, if they work for you a lot they know how you work and what you want. If they're new make sure they know before they start.

Keep the replies, comments and questions coming so I know you're still interested. LOL

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

How to shoot porn and erotica.
 

Just a few points. Today's surfer is totally spoiled for choice, he can find most porn everywhere with a few clicks. Free porn is flooded and shows no sign of abating. Showing him something that makes him stop and think he wants to see more of THIS work, is the key to making him pay for a membership.

Today getting models to open their legs in front of a camera is easy, getting them to open their minds has never been harder. The female model of today has few skills, she has been taught bad habits and is often flooded with offers of work. She often does not care if you shoot her or not. Your job is to get her to work the way the surfers in the niche demand.

So to the pointers.

1) Body language. Go pick up a book on it and read it from cover to cover, then read it again. So much of producing content relies on what the model thinks of you, even before she takes her clothes off, it's essential you pick up all the hints her subconscious is giving out by how she reacts to you. On a casting you can tell if she's going to be a good model or a bad one for you. Because the agent sent great pics of her by someone else does not assume she will react to you the same way.

Know what your model is thinking and know how to change her thinking to suit you and your work before the shoot starts.

Then use the body language tips you have learned in your shooting. The way a person stands, addresses us and thinks will make a difference to your shoot. REMEMBER THIS. Everyone is unique, what will turn me into your friend might turn someone else off. You need to be flexible enough to cope with the shy ones and the over confident. Plus a lot more personalities.

If you're producing content remember you're the boss. You pay the model. You can make her feel you think it's good to work with her, be careful you don't convey that she can do it as she pleases. You direct she does what you tell her.

2) Know your niche inside out, if you don't the guys spending $30 a month will. Study the niche and think to yourself what you're trying to create, if it's amateur it's about a model doing it for the fun of it for a friend, partner, lover or even someone she will turn into a lover.

Know every shot and angle you want to create, have examples of the pics or videos you want to create WITH her. Point out the vital points you need her to do to hit the niche and style on the head. If she does not do it with digital it's easy to stop and show her where she's doing it wrong. Or maybe you're doing it wrong. She can't work in a vacuum she needs you behind the camera motivating and guiding her. You shape the shoot if you're in charge.

If you want crazy amateur girls shots, be crazy and a bit lively yourself. If you want hot and erotic, be hot and erotic yourself, if you want flirt and tease flirt and tease her. Always respond to what she does. Never ever work cold and detached. But don't cross the line of having her think you only want to fuck her. Tough line but it can be done.

This is a very controversial point here and on many boards with computer operators. It's never a point with pornographers, we know what we need to go to get the job done. Here's the reason why you need to think about how you work. Porn shot cold is cold porn, porn shot hot is hot porn, what do you think converts the same traffic best?

A few pointers.

NEVER EVER tell a girl you only shoot porn for the money and it never turns you on. She will not believe you and think you're a perv or worse still she will think she can do it cold. Tell her, with a smile, you're a pervert who does not know one end of a camera from the other and yours does not work anyway. She will immediately think you're a cool guy and definitely not a perv.

Before she's naked pay her a compliment, can be her eyes, her hair or her shoes. Girls love compliments that are true. So when she's naked you can do it again. There's a big gap between telling a naked girl she looks good and has a nice rear to seducing her. You're a professional shooter, you've seen dozens of naked girls and it's your job to know what is good. Do it with a smile and say it off the cuff, then get on with setting the lights or giving her the outfit she's to wear.

When she's working if you want to both work cold and distant to sex then you can. It's not professional and it's not amateur. You need to motivate your model or models to give you the performance that will put you above the 100 other sites going for exactly the same traffic with exactly the same content, OK different girl or sofa but still the same content. For most models, give her the confidence in you that you will not jump on her and yet she is still attracting your attention and getting you going. This has worked on top models like Vida Garman and Lucy Gresty and the girl next door who was shy and nervous. GIRLS LIKE TO BE FLATTERED AND FLIRTED WITH.

There are a few who you will need to challenge and "throw down the gauntlet". They are very sure of themselves, they have been turning heads since they were 14 and think you are just another guy who will hit on them if they do nothing. Tell them something like the girl last week was doing something that was so great and she should try it. These are tough ones to crack and getting them out of their shell is a job professionals have problems with. The results can be spectacular if you do.

Fucking Awesome thread Paul... I am now ready to shoot the bitches dead...

Thank you JB.

I have repeated some of the info in the posts because it needs to be repeated and it can be seen from different view points. There is no "right" way to shoot a model. Just loads of wrong ways. :winkwink:

Do you have a posing book that you can recommend? Or did you create your own?

This is missing video lighting equipment.
If think for people who are just starting out and who are on a budget, buying video lighting equipment instead of studio flash lights is a better idea.
It's all about the video today. Also, if you shoot both video and pictures, you have to build two different settings or at least stop shooting video to take pics.
All too often, people are not able to get enough light into their videos and it looks mirky.
The setup you describe above will lead exactly to this problem (unless every video shoot is done outdoors)...

I created a few of my own to the styles I shoot from magazines. They tend not to publish 100 images so it's easy to pick out tho best ones.

You're right I did miss out video lights. So add them to the list. It's no good trying to do it without the right equipment these days because you're competing with people who have the right gear.

Add to this video lights a $1,000 if you're not working in a barn and a mic with a lead or radio mic. Not sure of their prices.

Davy brought up a very good point there and unless you're shooting the absolute basic GF or amateur content you need to think long and hard about your budget. I wrote that piece a few years back, now in 2010 unless you have the right equipment you're going to struggle.

Maybe others would like to comment on this and what a basic kit of equipments would cost today.

Great thread... keep it going...

Thank you. While people read and reply I will keep it going.

In the morning I will build a better budget as the one that was quoted was out of date and the business has moved on.

I can see no makeup artist, hairdresser, stylist in your cost list - do you use any?

if i wanted to shoot really extreme porn like meatholes or facialabuse, which country is best to operate in ?

Paul, say you want to shoot a video and a picture set of it. How to do it? First shoot the video than have a break and after the break shoot the pictures? Or shoot the pictures while shooting the video?

Yes we do. If you want something decent it's essential.

I can see you guys are on the button. :winkwink:

great advice in here, thread bookmarked :thumbsup

Ask a lawyer.

Sorry that's the best advice I can offer.

So as promised I'm going to give a budget and links to the type of equipment you should be buying. Trying to keep it to the minimum without going into the realms of cutting costs at the expense of the content.

Equipment

Stills Camera. $1300 Nikon D90 Digital SLR Camera with Nikon AF-S DX 18-105mm lens This looks like a really nice camera. There are cheaper ones but I feel this is the better one. You will need to add the price of flash light if you want to shoot outdoors and use it for fill in flash. Otherwise you will be bound to places with power so you can use you studio lights or suffer from heavy shadows. Even working indoors a camera mounted flash light can be useful for shooting couples and lighting all the places that need to be shown. Experiment with this set up to get great stills, for tours.

Video Camera $2,000 Sony HVR-A1U Camcorder - professional - 1080i - 3.0 MP - 10 x optical zoom Without going over board on the budget this looks like a great buy. Not sure about the camera mounted mic. Try it out and see how it works. You will need to add the cost of an extra battery and a tripod of mono pod. Unless you have rock stead hands.

Studio Flash lights with accessories. $2000 Multiblitz Profilux Plus 400 Essential 2-Light Kit (100-260VAC) There was so many options here I was spoiled for choice. Ranging from a few hundred dollars to thousands. I went for Multiblitz Profilux because I have used them and some of the cheaper options looked very under powered IMO. You can use the sync lead the kits come with or invest in a couple of auto triggers that mount on your camera. Use one at a time and keep the other handy in case it goes down. Don't be caught out. More options. My advice is to go to a shop and see what suits you.

Video lights with accessories. $1500 Studio & Location Lighting:Flat Panels:Spectrum Flat Panels We've been using these systems and in normal rooms they're good. In large rooms you need a lot. The downside is controlling them and they're large. If shooting HD you need a lot of good light to bring out the best result. There are some cheaper options do you need to search around and again get to a proper shop to try them out.

This looked like an alternative that might suit some. Have no personal idea how good they are. Any one here use them? 3000 Watt Photo Studio Lighting Softbox Video Light Kit Boom Set & Carry Case - 15 Photo Bulbs

Flash meter. $234 Shepherd Polaris Dual 5 Digital Flash Meter with 5 Degree Spot Meter Attachment A flash and light meter gives you control over the light hitting the models and light being reflected into the camera. You need to take readings from all main points on a model, head to foot and especially the important bits. :winkwink:

Learn to control reflected light as well, this will give you sharp images if done right or fuzzy ones if done wrong.

Mic and boom $900 Sennheiser ME67/K6 - Shotgun Microphone Basic Kit This is similar to the ones we use and excellent. They come with all you need except a stand or boom. But I did like this one as well. Neumann RSM It's only $6,000. :winkwink:

NOT A LOT OF CHANGE OUT OF $8000 But you need to buy all this only once every few years. :Oh crap

On the day costs.

Make up artist Prices vary according to location and experience. They are essential if you're shooting anything but the very basic stuff and don't mind shine on the model, zits, models make up being ghastly, etc.

Location. $80 Again prices vary. When I wrote this I was replying to a thread about amateur using their home and cheap locations. You can keep down the costs in the summer by working outdoors. A good location with a pool will cost. A villa for a week can cost $1,000s. Again this depends on where you are and you needs. We can rent an apartment here in CZ for from $200 a day.

Props, $20 a week. You will need to keep buying things like clothes and toys for the models. Some will bring there own and some will turn up in the clothes they're standing in. Budget for it. $20 a week is minimum.

Models $500 a day for solo girl. Or up to $2,000 a day for HC with anal. Every one will tell me they can get them cheaper or pay more. So again this depends on your needs and location.

How important is it to have the right kit? That depends on what you want to shoot and how well you want to do it. But even with all this you can still cock it up if you don't know how to use it and direct models.

I'm surprised no one has even commented on the budget I presented.

.........

The camera is not so important. If you want to shoot fancy fish-eye photos, you need a full-frame camera, of course.
But having a good lens is more important than the camera. You'll be shooting at ISO 100 the whole time, anyway.

Seems to be much too high. It's a two-light kit, with 400 Ws each.
I have one 500Ws flash, and I kind of regret purchasing it. Indoors, I always use it at 1/8 of its power (the lowest setting) which limits the things I can do with it.
I'd say rather get more smaller flash units @ 200 or 250 Ws than bigger ones.

I've never done video lighting. But what keeps you from buying some cheap daylight bulbs and screwing them on a plate of wood?
I test-ordered a $15 5400K bulb. Didn't last very long (I used it to light my room). But still, it's only a matter of buying enough of those things to get some light into the scenery.

For somebody who's starting out, I would actually advise to drop the studio flash equipment and go with video lights only.
1) Flash lighting needs more experience.
2) You have no immediate results with flash lighting. With constant light, you can see the effect of the light immediately.
Depending on the type of pics that you want to shoot, video lighting could already be sufficient.

I am leaning out of the window again with the following comment.
But is a flash meter really necessary? You'll see the histogram on your camera's display, so you should be able to correct the exposure without the meter rather quickly.
Far mor important is a gray card, imho.

What about wireless clip-on mics? Are they used in porn? Probably not, with people being naked all the time. :1orglaugh
But using a mic with boom also means having the need for an assistant. Okay, if you are not shooting in your home studio, you'll be in need of an assistant anyway to set up and move the equipment. But still, it's additional costs.

Before all that equipment is bought, one should have a clear idea on how to sell the produced content.
I see a lot of people doing mainstream photoshoots with models from modelmayhem etc. and I have no idea how they sell their pics.