Monthly Archives: October 2012

equipment, Sex Work

Best Equipment For The Job: Lighting

By Sydney Screams

If you’re doing more than webcamming, you are going to need good lighting. Most cameras require better lighting than what the average person happens to have at their home; floor lamps and table lamps tend to only have one, low wattage bulb that doesn’t give off enough light needed to produce a quality image. You’re going to need better (and more) equipment than a few standard home lamps, and you’re going to have to pay for it. As a producer or self-producing model, lighting is key. Luckily, there are several options depending on your budget and your needs. Ask yourself a few questions before you choose what to buy: Do you travel a lot? What is your budget? How many lights do you need? How many lights do you have space for? How many people are you generally shooting?

Saving by buying one light is a great way to start, although you’ll find that buying individual lights will quickly add up since kits tend to be cheaper options. My personal two favorite budget brands for lighting are Cowboy Studios and Smith Victor. Both offer budget lighting (although you may not initially think so based on the $100-700+ light kits). Both Cowboy Studios and Smith Victor offer a range in lighting kits that may or may not include a carrying case (a must if you travel a lot), and include anywhere from one light up to four lights. Although you may think that you only need one light, you’ll then have the problem of shadows. You can easily start off with one light (around $90 for a 5 bulb light with soft box and light stand) and then add a second once you are able to afford to do so. However, if you can afford to go ahead and get a 2-3 light kit right off the bat, I recommend doing so! Smith Victor offers a 1250-Watt 3 light kit (2 regular lights, plus a hair light, 3 stands, umbrellas and carrying case) for around $275 http:// www.amazon.com/3-Light-1250-Watt-Thrifty-Mini-Boom-Carrying/dp/B0000AJB80/ref=sr_1_10?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1347385444&sr=1-10&keywords=victor+smith+light. Alternatively, Cowboy Studio offers a 3300-Watt 3 light kit (2 regular lights, plus hair light, 3 stands, 3 soft boxes and carrying case) for $250 http://www.cowboystudio.com/product_p/vl-9026s-b85w.htm . With video lighting, avoid getting a lighting kit with less than 1000 watts. While you may not need 1250 or 3300 watts that come with either of these two options, having too much light is better than having not enough. You can always turn off a bulb or two, whereas you can’t always add a bulb or two.

Having good lighting makes the difference between “eh” and “wow!” quality when you are selling clips. Your customers will notice a difference and trust me when I say that nobody complains about better quality content. Just a tip: You don’t need to shine the light directly on yourself unless there’s a soft box or umbrella, but bouncing light off the ceiling will provide you with clean, soft lighting. Having good, soft light will make the HD look better, but also soften out your skin, which in turn makes you look better! Win!

Sydney Screams: Fetish Model, Clip Producer, Adult Actress, Radio Talk Show Host

Clips, Fetish Model, Internet, Sex Work, Webcam

Camera-Ready: Makeup Tips

I thought having a series of posts on how to get yourself ready to film clips or for camming would be fun since these are things I’m always thinking about. What to wear, how to do my makeup, props, etc. I think I may have tried it all so hopefully the shortcuts I’ve learned can make your day a little easier!

So let’s talk Whore Paint, shall we?

Makeup for the camera can be quite different than your everyday routine. I know for me, when I do my regular makeup where I’ll be seeing people face-to-face, I aim for subtle and try to go for the fresh-faced look. But when I’m filming or going on cam? Completely different. The main reason is, no matter how good of a camera you have or how fantastic your HD recording is, it takes SO much more for your makeup look to “pop” and translate to video. BUT just because it takes a little more effort to look “made up” on camera, doesn’t necessarily mean you need to actually *apply* more. Through trial and error (LOTS of error) I’ve figured out how to look done up without completely covering myself head to toe in face paint by utilizing a few tricks.

Don’t pile it on. Use the least amount of product with the most amount of impact. This means using better quality, higher pigmented products so you can use less of it and be less susceptible to having it run or smear while you work. Plus, less makeup = less clogged pores and easier to remove at the end of the night. Higher quality doesn’t need to mean expensive though (stay tuned for a post on some awesome products for less!) and you can find most of the good stuff right at your drug store. Seriously!

Moisturize and prime! A good moisturizer will change your life, followed by a good face primer. Together, they’ll give you an awesome canvas to work with as well as help keep what you put on, where you put it. Just please remember to give both of these products time to set up in between applications. Wait at least 5 minutes after applying moisturizer (longer if you can stand it) before applying primer and then wait again at least 5 minutes after applying primer before starting your make up. I usually do these steps while I’m doing my hair so it doesn’t feel like forever while I’m waiting. That and because I have no patience whatsoever.

Foundation or no? I personally do NOT wear foundation when I work because I have really sensitive skin (read: break-out prone) and I want to minimize the layers of products on my face. I prefer to use a really good concealer to highlight areas that need it and a matter bronzer powder to shade or contour other areas. A good concealer that matches your skin tone can help hide any imperfections without covering your entire face with it like you normally would with foundation.

Waterproof and Long-wearing? YES! I know it’s a no-brainer but raccoon-eyes are not the business so invest in a good, waterproof set of products. Waterproof mascara, eyeliner and lipstick will make your life so much easier. I mean, who wants to re-do their whole face halfway through their cam shift? Not this girl. Plus, there’s nothing worse than getting red lipstick all over yourself after a particularly hot scene. I once filmed a breast worship video in a bright yellow bathing suit and in playback I realized that I must have touched my lips at some point and got red smudges all over my tits and bikini top. Definitely changed the marketing description for that video, that’s for sure.

Lashes. Like everything else, this is a personal choice. I really love to wear them if I have the time to apply them. I feel like if I wear lashes, I don’t have to wear a ton of mascara to get the look I want especially since many times, too much mascara = flaking, which sucks. Plus, on cam, with the right pair, it just looks like you have really lovely eyes. It’s not super obvious that you’re wearing false eyelashes like it tends to be when in-person. So like I said, personal choice on whether to wear them or not but I think they look lovely when done right and if you have the time for them.

I hope some of these tips help you with a place to start or maybe build on the routines you already have in place. I know that makeup and skincare go hand in hand so next time I’ll be talking about how to keep your skin looking fantastic after all these days of wearing makeup! (Lord knows I’ve done it wrong enough times to write a book! ha!)

What kinds of makeup tricks have made your life easier when you’re in from of the camera? We’d love to hear all about them in the comments!

Savannah Darling: Fetish Specialist, Webcam Mistress, Phone Sex Operator, Professional Domina

Clips, Internet, Marketing, Sex Work

DMCA Do It!

We all hate it when people steal from us. Make your living on the internet or advertise your sex work business on it and you can bet at some point someone will share your files or  steal your photos. It’s depressing and it can seem overwhelming to stay of top of the details of protecting your content but its worth the effort. This is how you make a living and I know it feels like  you’re playing whack-a-mole and you are. It’s a never ending process protecting your content but its part of doing business. Protecting your cash flow matters. I put together a little introduction to protecting your work, I hope you find it helpful.

Send out DMCA take down notices

This is the best thing you do. Send out a DMCA take down notice. Send them out and send them out as soon as you find out your file is being shared on some dirt bag file sharing site or as soon as you find out some body is pretending to be you by using your photos online.  My pal Johnathan over at Plagiarism Today has some stock letters you can use when sending out your notices. In fact read his whole site, there is a lot of great info there.  Remember every site has their own special requirements for a DMCA notice and if you don’t meet them they will ignore your notice. Read their policy and give them the info they want, in the way they want it. Be it email, fax or snail mail. Make sure to include your name address and phone number (I use my Google voice number and my working address) Tell them you are the copyright holder and give them the links they need to remove the content. It’s tedious and annoying but stay on it and send them out, it works. Don’t forget to follow up and send them a second or third or 50th notice if they don’t take action.

Monitor your content

Goggle yourself, set up alerts for your name (remember to include misspellings of your name) and check it all the time. A lot of the time I find out a file is being shared because a fan tells me. I always reward them with a little something for looking out for me, they can be your best resource for finding out your files are being shared. You can also hire a company to monitor your content for you, but that can be expensive. I would do a cost benefit analysis before I went that route, make sure its worth the money you are spending on it. Sometime it is, sometimes its better to do it yourself.

Watermark your content and embed your copyright

I admit it, I’m guilty of not always doing this, especially when I first started out. But don’t make the same mistake I made in the beginning and watermark your shit! It’s important. You can also embed your copyright when creating a Mp3 and add it to the hidden data on your photos. Again it’s time consuming and annoying but make it part of your habit, when you are creating content. Watermark like it’s second nature. Not only is having your watermark good for driving people who might see your stuff somewhere and drive them back to your site to find out more about you, but you can use that in case you get into a fight with some turd site who doesn’t want to remove your content from their site.

People stealing is always going to be a problem but its worth the time and effort to stay on top of your content. I wouldn’t suggest getting into a pissing match with any of these file sharing sites or boards, just do what you need to do behind the scenes. It’s not worth a loud messy frustrating fight or possibly putting a troll target on your back, but it it worth the effort. Make it.

Jenny DeMilo: Dominatrix, GFE Escort, Fetish Clip Producer, Phone Sex Operator and Hypno-Domme.

Clips, equipment, Fetish Model, Sex Work

The Best Equipment For the Job: Buying A Camera

By Sydney Screams

Choosing a camera for work is no walk in the park. You have a lot of options out there to choose from, all of which will have positive and negative aspects. Cheap is very appealing, hence the popularity of the wave of handheld cameras similar to the FlipCam, but the quality of these cameras is low. These cameras are fine to start off with, but be warned: you’ll be upgrading within 6 months to a year. If you can afford to do so, hold off until you have more money saved so that you can get a better quality camera. If you need a camera that is great for both photos and videos, a point and shoot is good option, although not your best investment option. A good point and shoot will run anywhere between $200-500. The microphones on point and shoots are generally awkwardly placed where you will more than likely cover them up if someone is holding the camera for you. The sensor is not as good (or large) which means even on HD settings, videos will come out grainy if lighting isn’t perfect. The plus side of point and shoot cameras is that many are now water proof, drop proof, crush proof, etc, so if you’re like me and want to record yourself in the shower, you can do that without having to be super careful! Or you can film giantess clips and jump on your camera without worrying about breaking it. Canon’s Powershot D20, Olympus TG 820 iHS, and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20 are all waterproof and shoot 1080p HD, and all run around $300-350.

When looking for a camera for both photos and videos, getting a DSLR is your best investment. Both Canon and Nikon make great beginner line cameras that take 1080p HD video as well as good quality images (as long as you have good lighting!). The problem with the lower end Nikon cameras is when shooting at 1080p, the camera will automatically stop shooting at the 5 minute mark. The other problem with DSLRs is that you should expect to dish out at least $700- 1000 for a kit (both camera and lens) plus the cost of SD cards (you’ll need either 32 or 64 GB ones if you’re shooting 1080p HD), an additional battery, and a carrying case. You can find bundles on both Amazon and Ebay, but make sure you’re buying from a verified seller! You can find used DSLRs, but be sure you’re getting one with video capabilities! Not all DSLRs have that capability. If you don’t know how to use a DSLR, expect to get one from Canon’s Rebel line (such as the EOS Rebel T2i) or Nikon’s D3200 or D5100. These offer fully automatic and fully manual modes and are considered the most affordable and user friendly. With a DSLR, you will want to get a microphone that you can slip into the hot shoe, as the microphone on the DSLR is mediocre at best. Luckily microphones aren’t expensive and some bundles even come with them now! A DSLR is great if you’re running your own site that requires the need for both photos and videos. Remember that photos make for great teasers or advertisements! When shopping for used equipment, check out Canon’s or Nikon’s Refurbished Store or B&H’s online used store.

If you want a video camera that is strictly for video, there are a few things you want to make sure you get. 1-a threaded lens (so you can add wide angle or zoom filters. Look for “filter diameter” when you’re looking at the specs), 2-a hot shoe (so you can have an on camera light or on camera microphone), 3-multiple SD card slots OR internal memory PLUS an SD slot (in case you run out of space on one, it will automatically switch to the second one without skipping a beat), and 4-the ability to use different size batteries (ie, no battery slot cover). When it comes to a strictly video camera, Sony and Canon are the leading companies, although I personally recommend avoiding Sony as once you start using Sony you are stuck with their products (their video cameras do not use standard memory cards, instead a Sony only memory card that cannot be used on non-Sony products). A video camera can be much cheaper than getting a DSLR, but again, you have to worry about quality and the lower end ones don’t always have the threads on the front. I cannot stress the importance of those threads on the front—most video cameras don’t zoom out far enough to accommodate the average size 12’x12’ bedroom. A wide angle lens then becomes a must so that you can fit yourself into frame properly! Canon’s Vixia HF M500 has allows for SD and SDXC cards, lets you choose which format you record in and runs only $550. If you can really afford to splurge, Canon’s Vixia HF G10 goes above and beyond with manual modes (both exposure and focus), has internal memory plus allows for dual SD or SDXC cards, allows for a larger battery for longer run time, and is my personal video camera wet dream (can I point you to my Amazon wishlist right about now??). It runs $1300, but is well worth it based on the quality you’ll get.

When you’re shopping for any camera, I always recommend going into a camera store or electronics store to hold them. See what feels best in your hand, see which ones have the easiest controls for YOU to figure out. I’ve been using cameras pretty much since I could walk, so what works for me may not work for you. See how the picture quality looks in the store lighting conditions. Double check to make sure the front of the camera has threads so that you can screw on a wide angle lens. Whatever you do, DO NOT BUY IN STORE unless you’re getting a really great package. Have an idea of 4 or 5 cameras you’d like to look at when you go in, and know what they’re going for on Amazon, eBay and B&H with or without a bundle (SD cards, an additional battery, case, tripod, etc). If, in the off chance, the store you’re at can offer you the same price with the same bundle, by all means, go ahead and buy, but generally speaking, you’re going to get a better deal online. Remember that stores generally only carry the latest models, but going back a generation or two will save you anywhere from $50-200. Before you buy a camera, be sure to check out the reviews online, specifically dpreviews.com for any “photo” cameras (DSLRs or point & shoots only) where you can do a side by side comparison of specs and features.

Sydney Screams: Fetish Model, Clip Producer, Adult Actress, Radio Talk Show Host

Clips, Internet, Marketing, Sex Work

4 easy ways to increase your clip sales

Everyone wants a lot of sales when they make clips. Be they straight ahead porn or doing what I do, selling fetish clips and mp3s. It’s always a happy day when a clip suddenly skyrockets and you begin seeing some serious pay off for all your hard front end work. Make no mistake about it, the front end work on selling clips is voluminous. There’s lots to do, filming editing, marketing promoting and when you’re just starting out it can be overwhelming at times. I know when I was first starting there was a lot of trial and error until I finally found my clip making groove. I was lucky enough to have some solid advice from a few ladies who really knew what they were doing. They steered me right and i’m thankful for that, it saved me time and in this business time is almost always money.  Not every one has a porn goddess willing to share a little of the wealth of clips making knowledge in their back pocket so heres a few tips that should help increase your sales straight off. Different tactics work for different sites so give them a shot, massage then to suite your niche and your style. The key point here is you gotta try stuff and then monitor the reactions.

1. Write good clips descriptions

Seems simple enough but even someone like me who writes for a living in the mainstream world had to figure out that a good description will sell even a mediocre clip. Doest matter if it’s in a first person style or third person, give it a little life. Don’t just say “Me sucking cock”  and hope it gets bought. Say something more like ” I love the feel of a long hard cock slipping down my eager waiting greedy cock-whore mouth so much, let me show you how much!”  Also think keywords, when writing your descriptions. Think about how potential customers would  search for the kinda clip your presenting and incorporate those terms into your descriptions. Then watch your sales increase.

2. Create your own animated gifs to upload

Lots of sites will auto generate animated gifs for your uploaded clips.  Do not use that function!  It’s never flattering and it rarely presents you in a good light. They are random pulls of stills from your clip and most of the time they get you mid blink! Create your own animated gif and upload that. You can decide whats enticing, whats flattering and present the clip in its best light. Some sites (one my favorites too) don’t give you the ability to upload your own animated gifs so you don’t have the option. In that case cross your fingers and hope for a good presentation. You can also do what I do, lobby them to make that option/function available to you. Sometimes sites will take your thoughts and requests into consideration when adding functions, especially if you can show them how it would make more money for you both.

3. Upload often

Upload, upload, upload! The more content you make, the more you can upload, the more you will be seen as someone who always has something new to offer, the more often people will visit your store.  This is the best way to increase sales, be prolific and create as much content as you can. That being said I know It’s not always easy to make a lot of content, lots of things get in they way, from not feeling inspired, to having a bad hair day. One trick is making your clips available in different formats. Create several different formats of of the same clip and viola!  One clip turns into 3 and you can have something to upload two extra days. Some clip stores will let you schedule your clips to go live in advance, take advantage that function and schedule your clips. Try it out at different times and see when you make more sales. Are you popular mornings? Late nights? I once had clips upload once an hour for 24 hours to test out when I got the most traffic. I learned a lot that day.

4. Keep your clip store designs clean and readable

Just because there are 10 different design functions available to you doest mean you should use all 10! Sometimes less is more. Keep your backgrounds clean so you can read the text on top of them. When good is amazing, mind blowing clip descriptions going to do for you if no one can read them because you have a busy background in 12 different rainbow colors making it impossible to read. Not everyone is a designer and its easy to get carried away, try to keep  it neat and clean and simple. Sometimes one sizzling hot photo at the top of your store is enough to make them scroll to see what you have to offer. Don’t forget to add an email address, a twitter if you have one (and if you don’t get one!)  and if you make custom clips mention that in your studio description. Customs clips are a great way to increase your bottom line, if you don’t make them, think about adding it to your repertoire

 Jenny DeMilo: Dominatrix, GFE Escort, Fetish Clip Producer, Phone Sex Operator and Hypno-Domme.