How to shoot great porn.

[Paul Markham]

Unless you're shooting at the Playboy level, photographic skills are minimal. Added to that with todays cameras it's hardly rocket science to get an image in focus and exposed properly. So there will be little talk, unless asked about this. might go into lighting a little.

A camera doesn't throw a moody, doesn't have a period, a row with her boyfriend, or Dad, it doesn't turn up thinking you're a pervert or loser either. In fact it's always there ready, able and willing to do as you ask it. And finding a good one, is child's play.

Models OTOH can be sweet hearts whose only desire is to please you and sleep with you. But not until you have learned how to operate each one differently. Or she/he is only there for the money, doesn't give a fuck about you, your work or making you money.

So off to make a cup of tea this is going to take a long while to complete.

De man will bump it to keep it going.

[Paul Markham]

This is entirely one man's view of how to shoot good porn. My only qualifications are making a lot of money doing it for 35+ years.

Where to start?

I suppose the best place is what to shoot. DON'T ask on GFY what's the best niche to shoot these days. It implies you can shoot anything by pointing a camera at a couple of naked people and that's so online 1995 it's amazing people still ask. Ask yourself what would you like to shoot, what do you like, what turns you on and do you know what it is about it that turns you on?

Simple saying is "Vegetarians make lousy butchers."


So let's assume it's amateur, it can be anything and just using it as a start point. Define what "Amateur Porn" is really about. An amateur shooter, shooting porn. A decent shooter shooting amateurs. One partner shooting the other partner.

This is only my opinion, yet it has to appear the model is doing it for free, having fun and giving his or her all to the scene. Much like this girl.












OK maybe not in the teen stockings, but she's clearly having a lot of fun. And enjoying herself flashing and the photography is minimal. Could it of been taken by a lover?

Lunch time.

[DamianJ]

[Paul Markham]

If a surfers initial impression of a site or sample is important, a models initial impression of the person she's going to naked and share her emotions with, is even more important. Well I think so.

Requires more than showing flesh. It needs the models to show emotions all the way through the scene. Be it a girl who is clearly trying to get fucked. Like this and I make no apologies for the quality. Had major problems getting Czech girls to talk like this in English.

Later I will show you a video of one who could.

Amateur teen masturbating. Still uploading so don't be too fast.

Getting a girl who has never done porn to be this natural and communicative is the key to all good porn. Whether you're shooting Amateur or Playboy level it needs an untrained person to be real. This is how I did it.

I always did a casting, unless the girl was highly recommended. Even then if she was travelling a long way, I asked her to come the night before so she could stay in her own room and be fresh for the morning. The real reason was to bridge the gap from being a stranger to someone she can share something with.

On a casting I'm always please to see every girl who turns up, greet them with respect and consideration. Offer refreshments if possible. Explain everything that will happen today and then explain all the work to her. I lead the meeting in a gentle way, with humour. I act as someone who has done this 1,000 times before and still glad to be doing it with her.

Then ask her for her input, any questions and then ask her what she would be comfortable doing. If she chooses something we can both profit from, we go to take some nude pictures. I NEVER EVER ask if she's comfortable with stripping off. Because if she's not, she's in the wrong business.

Take some test pictures and here I'm showing I know exactly what I'm doing. I direct her with the ease of someone who knows what he's doing. Yet give her all the help I can to come out well. Teasing, flirting, flattery etc.

When it comes to the actual shoot, it's rinse and repeat. We work together.

The most important thing is to understand who the girl is. A scared little mouse like Lola. Or a tigress like Fleur who has no intention of letting me get away. She's the half cast girl. With some girls you can do the most outrageous things, with others you can't, with some you have to build their confidence, with others take them down a peg or two.

Fast forward to 4.30 to see how I did it with a girl we both knew well.



OK a bit over the top with Sandra, but she doesn't mind and joining in. That's why I do it, shooting porn is team work. Even more so when it's solo girl.

Will write more on this as it's the essential part of most good porn.

[DamianJ]

Originally Posted by DamianJ

[Paul Markham]

Assessing who a girl is when you first meet her is a talent you can use in shooting porn or in meeting girls in bars, pubs, etc. The difference is in the porn field you're the one in charge. To be in charge without appearing over the top or dominate is simple. She has to respect you as someone who knows what he's doing, done this 100 times before and that she's safe with.

Meeting them on your turf makes this easier. Have lights set up, mike stands, camera on a tripod and all the paraphernalia of what's needed to shoot porn. You need to look like a professional that knows what he's doing.

You need samples of your work on hand or if pictures, maybe something nice hanging on the wall. It was easier when we could have magazines laying around with our shots on the covers and sets inside.

You take the piss out of me for not knowing how a computer works, or Magic Join links. I'm not a girl about to work with you naked and alone. Or a pro who has been shot by people like me who do know how to shoot porn. Her first impressions of you are paramount if you want to create good porn.

[CurrentlySober]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

This is entirely one man's view of how to shoot good porn. My only qualifications are making a lot of money doing it for 35+ years.

Where to start?

I suppose the best place is what to shoot. DON'T ask on GFY what's the best niche to shoot these days. It implies you can shoot anything by pointing a camera at a couple of naked people and that's so online 1995 it's amazing people still ask. Ask yourself what would you like to shoot, what do you like, what turns you on and do you know what it is about it that turns you on?

Simple saying is "Vegetarians make lousy butchers."


So let's assume it's amateur, it can be anything and just using it as a start point. Define what "Amateur Porn" is really about. An amateur shooter, shooting porn. A decent shooter shooting amateurs. One partner shooting the other partner.

This is only my opinion, yet it has to appear the model is doing it for free, having fun and giving his or her all to the scene. Much like this girl.












OK maybe not in the teen stockings, but she's clearly having a lot of fun. And enjoying herself flashing and the photography is minimal. Could it of been taken by a lover?

Lunch time.

Paul, not trolling - Really - But...

Why... OH, WHY... ??? (during this set) did you waste the opp to maximise the potential sales???

I'll explain...

SHE ISNT WEARING UNDIES!

Why not have her in undies, grab a few pics with them in place - Grab a few more with them pulled to the side - Then... and only then... Remove them?

To not have her in them at all, even to begin with... is (IMHO) 'Suicide' when it comes to maximising potential profit?

The more variation in a set, the more potential value in sales... If she was my model, I'd have had her shot 100 more pics - WITH PANTIES ON - AT THE SAME TIME - to be able sell to the upskirt market?

Would have taken all of 5 mins more during the shoot?


Again, NOT TROLLING, but as another shooter... WHY???

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by CurrentlySober

Paul, not trolling - Really - But...

Why... OH, WHY... ??? (during this set) did you waste the opp to maximise the potential sales???

I'll explain...

SHE ISNT WEARING UNDIES!

Why not have her in undies, grab a few pics with them in place - Grab a few more with them pulled to the side - Then... and only then... Remove them?

To not have her in them at all, even to begin with... is (IMHO) 'Suicide' when it comes to maximising potential profit?

The more variation in a set, the more potential value in sales... If she was my model, I'd have had her shot 100 more pics - WITH PANTIES ON - AT THE SAME TIME - to be able sell to the upskirt market?

Would have taken all of 5 mins more during the shoot?


Again, NOT TROLLING, but as another shooter... WHY???

It's just the intro to a full magazine set.

Do you mean like this?

http://www.bargainbasementcontent.co...ils.php?id=808

http://www.paulmarkham.com/details.php?id=799

http://www.paulmarkham.com/details.php?id=2458

[CurrentlySober]

[QUOTE=Paul Markham;19299636]
Do you mean like this?

Yes and No..

I mean, why shoot ANY model, purely without panties, when you can shoot both pantie and non pantie, at the same time, for very little extra time, and hit BOTH markets, both pantie and non pantie, for ZERO extra cost?

[CurrentlySober]

Proof I am not trolling - Quick analogy...

You are a Taxi driver in London. I get in your cab, and ask to be taken to Cornwall.

I wanna go the normal way, M4 - M5 - Local roads etc... I also wanna stop for 10 mins at a services, on the M4... ? How Much?

You say... $3000 - I accept...

BUT before we pull away, I say I have a pal, who also wants to goto Cornwall... He will share the cab with me, but wants to stop for 10 mins at a services on the M5...

How much for him as well? He asks if you will take him for an additional $3000?

Your gonna say yes! Its the same cash again, for a small variation, in a job you are doing anyway...

Maximise profits - Maximise revenue...

Thats all I meant... Same deal -nPanties - No Panties. Do both, sell twice. Do just one - Sell once...

[Paul Markham]

[QUOTE=CurrentlySober;19299668]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

Do you mean like this?

Yes and No..

I mean, why shoot ANY model, purely without panties, when you can shoot both pantie and non pantie, at the same time, for very little extra time, and hit BOTH markets, both pantie and non pantie, for ZERO extra cost?

It's a good point and I'll ask Eva.

The market we were going after was magazines who wanted pics of girls flashing. If we weren't going to shoot a full set, this fitted their needs. We shot for magazines first, then for the stores and lastly the sites.

I see your point and on most sets we did that.

Don't think you're trolling.

[CurrentlySober]

All good mate - I suppose that back then, you didnt NEED to maximise...

You shot pretty much to order, or with a guaranteed sale (if only due to lack of product)

Cause I started a bit later, but before the net, I always used to try and maximise my possible sales - I had too

But for a noob today, looking at this forum for advice, it would have tobe... EEK EVERY POSS PENNY FROM EVERY SHOOT !

Or, your dead in the water

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by CurrentlySober

All good mate - I suppose that back then, you didnt NEED to maximise...

You shot pretty much to order, or with a guaranteed sale (if only due to lack of product)

Cause I started a bit later, but before the net, I always used to try and maximise my possible sales - I had too

But for a noob today, looking at this forum for advice, it would have tobe... EEK EVERY POSS PENNY FROM EVERY SHOOT !

Or, your dead in the water

There were lots of people who were trying to get into the magazine sets side. They simply were not good enough. No sale was guaranteed until it hit the presses.

As for maximising. We shot girls for a magazine set and also added into the set. Single shots for phone sales, cover shots, 17 T-Shirt set, soft set for the UK, harder set for EU and US, vibrators shots for the stores. The idea was to do it in an hour at a nice steady pace, sometime lights had to be moved, make up retouched and in the early day film loaded. Viv Thomas level was looking to do calendar, advertising, etc shots. We had to cover all the poses, dressed, undressing and nude.

[Paul Markham]

CurrentlySober has a good point about maximising profits. So let's go to structuring a scene to cover all the bases.

You need to identify your market. So for this I will assume it's for online porn. Whether you sell to others or use it on your own site there are some common areas to cover. The fundamental two are for the consumer and promotion.

Scenes for a consumer have to be varied. Whether it's different rooms, locations outfits and models. Or different ways to approach the same niche/style of porn. Every scene has to be different or they all start to blend into one another. Trips to villas in hotter climates, girls around a pool, shooting in the woods, forest, etc. All these things lead to a better over all product.

Repeating the same scene on a different sofa, in a different pair of undies with a girl who is churning out the same scene over and over again or even a different girl churning out the same scene over and over again. Gets bloody boring after 20 scenes for a member. Getting a girl to reveal her personality and do the scene for herself and you is a great way to achieve a different scene with every girl. Still not enough for todays spoilt consumer. You need to step up a level to keep member interested. Or coming back in the future.

Promotion in todays saturated market is essential. So when shooting a scene think about how you're going to get something out of the scene to use purely for promotion. It can be BTS content, or a little clip at the end with the girl telling everyone what a great day she had, an interview or why she loves porn work.

When shooting Astral Blue content I got the girls to do a little clip at the end of the scene or day. This is one.

Ami going home. Well she wasn't as she was staying the week with me.

The editor didn't cut it right. But it shows what a great day she's had, how much fun she had and most importantly it brings her across as a real person and not just a vagina.

Dog walking time. Will post more later.