things I would do if you're a nsfw/kink creative now because I've been eerily prescient about every single wave:
a) get a personal site with your own domain you own. now. not a carrd or third party squarespace. not next week. now. get it online with ugly-ass html but get your links there.
b) if you have the money: join one or multiple of eff.org / cbldf.org / freespeechcoalition.com
partly because they're actively fighting this, partly because they have members-only Lawyers You Might Need. Hint. Hint. Canary.
c) Write Down Those Lawyer Contact Numbers in meatspace. phone number of a real human being especially on paper, On You.
I have been in contact with lawyers for a few months now as my doujin circle knows. this should be telling you Many Things.
d) www.ecrater.com is where i'm going to be tentatively testing a shop because i like the fact you can *not* have payment processes and order digital/physical products via purely mail order.
(... be prepared for this to fall through too in the next 1-6 months.)
e) friends and followers of nsfw artists who earn most of their income through it: now's the time to support them. they're going to need the grace and financial flexibility especially mental health wise. domain/shop transfer/refund/therapy bills ain't free.
check in on them, and often.
f) get a VPN, use it daily to acclimatize, have them on your hard drive, several VPN's preferable. this is for the age verification laws coming. Start reading up on secure, privacy-focused infrastructure (prioritize email > website > shop in that order).
eff.org has a *ton* of resources.
g) prepare for discord and tumblr to be hit in the next wave. have alternatives *and actively start using them* if they're mission critical platforms for you.
I've played with matrix though I quite fancy IRC. if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
I say these things not to fearmonger but to give yourself the maximum amount of time to prepare. the pendulum *will* swing back. it did with the 80's moral panic. it will for this too.
I'm gonna be real with you, i don't think weirdo kinksters should be considered acceptable collateral damage when banks/credit card companies enforce adult content bans on sites like patreon and ko-fi
I straight up don't think banks should be able to enforce adult content bans, no matter who it affects.
Speaking as a weirdo kinkster who makes adult content.
We are not collateral damage, we are the targets.
But I don't like the implication that there's some adult content it's OK for banks to censor. That's just not what their role should be.
Sex workers should be able to get paid. Kinksters should be able to sell kinky content. Porn stars should be able to get paid for making porn.
If you're worried about adult content that involves minors, I agree that shit is bad. But we already have laws against that, and, importantly, IT SHOULD NEVER BE THE BANKS DECIDING TO ENFORCE THAT.
Banks should never be in charge of judging whether something is 'immoral'. Like, they do not know what that word means.
if banks get to decide who is a Good Person that they have to deal fairly with, and who is a Bad Person that they get to close the account on and pocket all that bad money that was earned immorally..... like. do you see why this is a problem.
Just to clarify, there's a bill that would STOP credit card companies from controlling who's allowed to spend money on porn or "risque" (read: queer) content. If you don't think big business should be able to tell you what to spend your own damn money on, call your senators and reps to let them know! It's the Fair Access to Banking Act, H.R.987 in the House, S.410 in the Senate.
Banks and credit cards should not be in the business of making moral judgments about what their customers spend their money on. Their job is to facilitate transactions, period. If it's not illegal, then they should have no say on who buys guns or porn or junk food or any other thing somebody might decide is objectionable.
this is an american bill about american companies that, as usual, effects people worldwide. if you're statesian, here's a chance to make something decent of it- put pressure on your politicians to pass this bill and protect queer porn and art, especially transfeminine porn and art!
this includes your queer Manga and books, as well as your right to own Frazetta prints, Hilda Pinups,
Or yes, even porn. All those sexy commissions of OCs or fan faves. Or whatever other sex work you pay for. Most of my own feelings entirely aside, I deeply demand they deserve respect as humans which includes getting PAID FAIRLY for Services Rendered, in a safe manner.
things I would do if you're a nsfw/kink creative now because I've been eerily prescient about every single wave:
a) get a personal site with your own domain you own. now. not a carrd or third party squarespace. not next week. now. get it online with ugly-ass html but get your links there.
b) if you have the money: join one or multiple of eff.org / cbldf.org / freespeechcoalition.com
partly because they're actively fighting this, partly because they have members-only Lawyers You Might Need. Hint. Hint. Canary.
c) Write Down Those Lawyer Contact Numbers in meatspace. phone number of a real human being especially on paper, On You.
I have been in contact with lawyers for a few months now as my doujin circle knows. this should be telling you Many Things.
d) www.ecrater.com is where i'm going to be tentatively testing a shop because i like the fact you can *not* have payment processes and order digital/physical products via purely mail order.
(... be prepared for this to fall through too in the next 1-6 months.)
e) friends and followers of nsfw artists who earn most of their income through it: now's the time to support them. they're going to need the grace and financial flexibility especially mental health wise. domain/shop transfer/refund/therapy bills ain't free.
check in on them, and often.
f) get a VPN, use it daily to acclimatize, have them on your hard drive, several VPN's preferable. this is for the age verification laws coming. Start reading up on secure, privacy-focused infrastructure (prioritize email > website > shop in that order).
eff.org has a *ton* of resources.
g) prepare for discord and tumblr to be hit in the next wave. have alternatives *and actively start using them* if they're mission critical platforms for you.
I've played with matrix though I quite fancy IRC. if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
I say these things not to fearmonger but to give yourself the maximum amount of time to prepare. the pendulum *will* swing back. it did with the 80's moral panic. it will for this too.
Hi!! Thank you for spreading the good word about ring lights! I'm an onlyfans girl, and I was JUST gifted a ring light. While using it I noticed most of you said, it's just not consistent enough for distance. Otherwise I've been using this bonkers bright lightbulb that I don't think is supposed fit in this lamp? It's definitely harsh and casts weird shadows. What can I do to make it work better for me? Should I get a second bonkers bulb and do the 45° thing? Or is the bulb itself the problem?
Idunno if you answer these kinds of questions, but I'm glad you're on tumblr doing your thing!! Thank you for your time!!
Sorry for the delayed response. I hope you don't mind, but I looked at some of the free photos on your Fansly. It looks like you have some really nice window light at your place.
You can actually leverage that as a light source. If you were to hang tracing paper in front of one or both of those windows, you'd essentially have two giant softboxes. The tracing paper would help give you some privacy and allow you to get closer to the light. You can also layer it if you need more diffusion. And tracing paper rolls are fairly inexpensive.
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You could also use a white bedsheet or maybe a translucent shower curtain. I've also seen photographers use sheer curtains. You might even be able to make those look attractive and a permanent, convenient lighting tool.
I prefer tracing paper because it diffuses the light very uniformly while not knocking down the intensity a great deal. You can also DIY it into a frame that is easy to take on and off your window.
Then you can experiment with angling yourself towards and away from the window light, and I'm betting you could get some beautiful results. You could even use those windows as nice backlights.
I think the big mistake people make is that they don't realize how close lights need to be in order to look their best. Ring lights look best at only a foot or two away from the face. Their entire design philosophy was created because it was hard to get a camera close to something without it blocking the light. If the camera isn't in the way of the lighting, then you no longer need a ring light.
Even with the window light, you need to be as close as possible. Lights almost always need to be uncomfortably close.
The ring light is still useful. As long as it is close enough you can do some nice head and chest shots. But you can also modify the ring light to work as a normal photo light. A white shoot through umbrella can do wonders.
I literally just taped it to my ring light and got a much softer light.
As far as the smaller lamp, that probably isn't going to be great for a main light, but it could work as a backlight or an accent light. Regular light bulbs, even really bright ones, are nowhere near as powerful as video and photo lights (or the sun). So even if you bounce them off a wall or put diffusion near them, you'd have to be super duper close for them to do much. The little reflector will help concentrate and focus the light, giving it more power, but it will still be underpowered for good photos. You could try the umbrella trick and see if it gives you good results, but it might be hard to keep it attached. Especially when the lamp heats up.
However, if you use the lamp behind or off to the side of you, it could act as a nice warm rim light. Putting a nice highlight on the edge of your shoulders and hair. I still think it might be underpowered though. Which is why using it as an accent light in the background might be its best function.
I think people often neglect their backgrounds. But using lights to highlight shelves and cool objects is a great way to create a vibe with your background.
Gerald has some soft light coming in from the left and right of his background. He has some orange accent lights for his shelves. Thinking about your scene holistically can really elevate your photos.
I think the window lights with diffusion in front would give you the highest quality results with what you have now. But you can't take photos/videos at night.
I think if you are going to keep making photo and video content regularly, the best thing you could do is invest in a proper video light.
This is going to be a mouthful...
A COB LED continuous video light with a Bowens mount.
Because of the mount, you can turn this single light into any kind of light source you need. You can put an umbrella on it. You can put a softbox on it. It comes with a reflector that you can use to bounce it into the ceiling or off a wall.
The only downside is it can take up a bit of space when a modifier is attached. If you use an umbrella modifier, you can easily break it down when you aren't using it. But if you get a softbox, you will basically have this big light taking up space in the corner.
This one by Newwer is probably the cheapest that is still good quality.
It is a budget brand, but they have a decent reputation. If you are willing to spend a little more, you can get a Godox. The light will look the same, but they are a more mainstream brand. And if you want to make sure the light is dependable and long lasting, Amaran makes very high quality lights with solid components.
So, good, better, best as far as reliability. But the quality of the light will be about the same.
I think the Newwer is a good "first" video light. It is bright. It has a Bowens mount. And it is "bi-color." This means you can change the warmth of the light to match the other lights in your room. So if you have a lamp in the shot and it looks blue, you can choose a warmer color temp to match the lamp and make it look warm again. Or if you have sunlight streaming in through the windows, you can match the light to that as well.
You will need to do some learning for a light like this. But if you put a big umbrella or softbox in front of it, you will get nice, soft light without much effort. If you have the space, there is no more versatile light for your purposes.
As far as modifier options, since you probably want to do full body photos, the bigger the better.
If it were me, I'd get this one.
(You shouldn't get this one. I am a crazy lighting guy who likes crazy lighting stuff.)
The product photo gives no sense of scale, but it's literally the size of a mattress. You could light 2 people, head to toe, with nice soft light.
This one is a more reasonable size. It would be nice and soft for one person, but still acceptable for two people. It's still quite huge, but not "mattress" huge.
But most softboxes do not break down easily like umbrellas. While they are more suited for lighting entire bodies than a circular umbrella (they have less spill and more control), the big and unwieldy nature is not something everyone wants to deal with.
So a simple shoot through umbrella that breaks down easily is where I would recommend you start. And then you can upgrade to a softbox later on as you learn how to use the light more proficiently.
You can find umbrellas for 10-15 bucks on Amazon, but a high quality one isn't much more expensive.
And if you want to get something a little bigger...
This reverse umbrella is a very reasonable price for 7 feet of soft light goodness. It's nearly mattress size, but it breaks down for easier storage.
Oh and you'll need a light stand. Don't forget the light stand.
AND... then you can use your ring light for other things. It can be a hair light, or an edge light. You can do that cool halo effect I did.
So you'd have a 2 light setup with a lot of room to grow with various modifiers.
To review...
Window light with tracing paper or sheer curtains can give you beautiful light without much expense.
If you want to make use of your ring light, just add an umbrella to get soft light.
Use your lamp as an edge light or accent light in the background.
And if you want to invest in a powerful, versatile light, there is no better start than a COB LED continuous video light with a Bowens mount.
And remember, all of these light sources can be mixed. A video light as your main light with your windows as a backlight could look very cool.
And a lot of people are happy to hear I am not dead.
I have not stopped posting in over a decade, but I sort of retired from the viral comedy I used to make, so I guess it makes sense that people haven't seen me around as much.
My personal tumblr is @sirfrogsworth where I post more frequently. And I have a photography Instagram here. But I promise I am still alive.
ANYWAY...
This post has made me think deeply about porn lighting.
And I thought even deeply-er about how I would actually light a porn.
I think it would be an interesting challenge but the one time I took a topless photo I was uncomfortable the entire time. I suppose that is something I'd have to get used to with experience, but I'm generally more interested in other types of photography.
But light is light, and I am always happy to help people get better results. I've even thought about starting a consulting business where I help people pick out lighting and gear and advise them how best to use it for their circumstances. I think there are a lot of small creators who could seriously up their production value with a small investment and some knowledge. YouTubers, streamers, and OF models who want an edge.
I'll try to give some general advice in this post. But if anyone is interested in a more specific solution, feel free to message me.
This post is about lighting entire bodies.
Quick review...
Large light source = soft light.
Small light source = hard light.
You can make a light larger by moving it closer, adding a modifier (softbox/umbrella), or bouncing it off a surface.
You make the light smaller by moving it farther away, adding a reflector, a grid, or a snoot.
Most lighting is designed for faces and maybe torsos. But when you need to light entire people, you are going to need more than a ring light. Ideally, you are going to want a light source at least as big as what you want to light. You'll notice a ring light is a little bigger than a face. A beauty dish covers head and shoulders. An octobox is roughly the size of a torso. After that, modifiers can get large and unwieldy, so you may have to think about bouncing light off walls and ceilings.
I was going to show some examples, but then I realized Tumblr would give me the naughty tag for this post. So I'll try to be creative about keeping this safe for work.
First, let's quickly expand on why ring lights are not ideal for photos and videos of entire bodies that are... comingling.
Ring lights are not bad. They were just designed to do something very specific. In the beginning, they were actually used by dentists to help photograph teeth without any shadows obstructing the view.
The magic of a ring light is shining light from all directions from the camera's POV in order to get a shadowless effect. You also get circle catchlights in the eyes which some people enjoy.
In order for this to work, the camera needs to be in the hole, and the light needs to be close enough to be directional.
The inverse square law says that when you move a light farther away, all of the photons start to spread out. Imagine a donut expanding inward. Eventually the hole in the middle closes up. It becomes no different than any other light at that distance. And since it has that hole in the middle, there is less surface area casting light.
Depending on the size of the ring light, you're only going to get those special, shadowless lighting properties for a head and chest photo. You might be able to get the boobies within the effect if you have a larger ring light, but it is mostly meant for faces.
Just to compare...
Ring light on the face, close up, with camera in the hole...
Ring light far away, off to the side, camera not in the hole...
You can see her. She is lit. But that ring light "magic" is no longer happening.
It's less flattering.
"Flattering" in the photography world just means that detail and textures are going to be less prominent. Flattering light is not inherently good or bad. If you want to show off a cool pattern or texture, or even a grizzled old man's face, you might actually want a hard light look. Hard light can also be very dramatic and boost contrast, but you may need heavy makeup or flawless skin (or just retouch it afterwards).
Small, hard light causes dark, crisp shadows. Think about what a wrinkle is. A fold in your skin causing a shadow. Think about what a pore is. A pit in your skin causing a shadow. The darker these shadows, the more apparent they are in the photo.
You can even enhance this effect by using "raking" light. Which is just hard light at a steep angle.
If you imagine this was a face or acne scarring or cellulite or a throbbing, veiny bicep, this might look rather unflattering.
Raking light is still useful in a lot of applications. Art conservators use raking light to analyze brush strokes on paintings.
So all types of light can be used for something cool, but unflattering light usually isn't ideal for skin without expertise on how to leverage it.
The good news... if you use your ring light straight on, even from a distance, you can minimize the crisp, hard shadows in places you don't want them. The more raking or off-axis the light, the more flaws will be exaggerated.
You can also attach a cheap shoot-through umbrella to enlarge the light source and soften it.
The bad news... small far away lights increase specular reflections. If you have shiny skin, this may cause big spots of glare. It can also reflect harshly off moisture. And if you are hot and sweaty... for reasons... you might end up looking a little rough.
John Mulaney discovered this when he gave an outdoor speech in front of a distant spotlight.
People thought he was back on drugs.
Nope!
It was just a warm night and hard light reflects sweat and moisture very intensely.
The next day under soft studio lights, he either sobered up overnight...
Or people sometimes fail to realize just how much lighting can affect one's appearance. (This was during a rehearsal so he wasn't even wearing makeup yet.)
Soft light is flattering because it reduces and fills in shadows and evens out specular highlights.
Many people think diffused light is soft light. But any large light source will produce soft light. Diffusion is just a tool to help create a larger light source.
But if you put diffusion on a tiny light...
It ain't going to be soft.
People also assume that soft, flattering light is "better" and that isn't always the case. Sometimes soft light is kinda boring.
The hard light photo is much more interesting and dramatic, but you can already see how much shinier her forehead is. If her photo was taken with hard light directly after... sweaty activities... it would probably not be as appealing.
And that is why most pornography is blasted with soft light.
If you actually ignore the porn and pay attention to the quality of the lighting, it is usually pretty boring and flat. But it is very soft and very shadowless.
I call this "sitcom lighting."
Light is blasted everywhere from all directions. Sitcoms did this because they needed every place on the set to have adequate lighting for every camera position.
I suspect porn adopted sitcom lighting for two reasons.
1.) Porn directors want you to be able to see *everything* very clearly no matter what angle they point the camera. No body part is to be mired in shadow.
2.) If you blast light from every direction, you get a super ring light effect where all shadows are minimal. So wrinkles, pores, veins, sweat, moisture are all reduced. It's super flattering but a little dull.
This is accomplished in a few ways.
Have you ever noticed a lot of higher budget porn videos take place in nice rented houses with a ton of windows?
Ted Cruz knows what I'm talking about.
That's because all of that window lighting is essentially one big light source.
Imagine those windows as softboxes. You are just filling the room with soft sunlight. But if you actually go outside, the sun becomes a small light source with harsh shadows. You need the windows to "modify" the light and make it large and homogenous.
So if you have access to a space with a lot of windows and you don't mind being naked in front of them, you're all set to porn.
The next technique is to just use huge softboxes and umbrellas all around the room.
This is my 7 foot umbrella that I got for under a hundred bucks.
I mainly use it for outdoor lighting.
But, I mean... it'd be great for other stuff too.
And then there is bouncing light. This is how you get truly huge light sources. You can shoot lights into walls or up into the ceiling. This is especially good for videos in bed.
You can combine window lights, giant umbrellas, and bounce lights if you want.
I was watching a Gerald Undone video where he toured the Gamers Nexus studio. Steve clearly didn't know anything about lighting. And so he just put lights EVERYWHERE from every direction.
He accidentally porn lit his studio.
One difference you might notice between Steve and the young woman who is innocently talking on the phone and definitely not about to have sex with her stepbrother...
She seems a little more... smooth.
A little less... 4K.
Enter soft focus filters!
Soft focus is sometimes called the Vaseline effect or the Barbara Walters effect.
This is a filter you can put on your lens to knock the detail back a bit. It keeps everything in focus, but smooths out the edges a bit.
An optical Facetune, if you will.
It tends to look a little more organic and authentic than digital smoothing. But you have to pick the right strength or you will end up making everyone seem like they are glowing like Barbara.
If I am being honest, I don't really like standard porn lighting. But it is hard to suggest something better. Video is just difficult to light artistically without a budget and a lighting expert. When you look at how movies are lit behind the scenes, you can see how complicated it can get.
So I'm afraid I can't give specific advice on how to artistically light porn. It depends on the room and the vibe and what gear you have to work with.
The best I can do is to advise you to get a very large light source as your main light. If you don't have a large white wall or ceiling, you'll want a 7 foot umbrella or the biggest softbox you can afford. And then I would add backlighting. I think that is the element a lot of porn is missing. Shining light from behind and creating nice highlights can really elevate things. You can even make the lights part of the video.
Erotic still photography is a little easier to pull off without much experience.
There are two popular forms of boudoir photography.
There is dramatic side lighting as you can see with this pussy.
And there is more environmental erotica where you decorate a room like a theater set or find a fancy hotel.
So you can make the lighting cool or the environment cool. Or both.
But if you don't have good lighting and you don't have a cool environment, there is one more aspect that can improve your nudes.
Angles and posing.
I'm afraid this is a concept lost on a lot of straight men—as demonstrated by Reece in this dick pic parody.
Finding good angles and choosing good poses can often overcome bad lighting. The easiest thing to do is copy someone else. Find a pose you like and try to recreate it.
And learn how to take pictures without holding your phone. Get a tripod or a phone stand. There are very few sexy poses you can accomplish when you are tethered to your phone. And if you move the phone a little farther away, you can avoid distortion as well.
And now for my most important advice...
NO MACRO PHOTOS OF YOUR JUNK.
If a doctor could diagnose a medical condition, it's too close.
Most people enjoy seeing nude photos in the context of your entire... you. Your eyes, your smile, your belly, and your various private areas.
Unless the intended audience is specifically into detached, close up photos of your bits and holes, it is usually best to keep things zoomed out. Communicate and verify before shoving a camera between your legs.
I'm just saying, when I can see past someone's asterisk directly into their colon... my light gets soft.
None of this answers the question... how would I light porn?
I'd probably delve into experimental lighting. There is this lighting technique where you put a black background directly behind your subject and block the light so it can only peek around the sides. It creates this perfect outline of whatever you are photographing.
This is my pocket knife sitting on top of a light.
And then in post processing, you just expand the black to the edges of the frame.
I want to try and upscale this effect to work on humans.
Okay, that's a lie.
I mostly want to try it on fuzzy cats.
But naked humans might also look cool.
And I'm just imagining if I were to make a video of two people... wrestling... it would look like two human shaped outlines were merging and separating in all kinds of interesting ways.
So the people would just kinda look like this, but it would be an in-camera effect.
I dunno, I think that would be cool.
If you want to learn more about light...
This is a really cool post I wrote about the Inverse Square Law. I know it sounds mathmatical and complicated, but I promise it is not. And it will help you improvise lighting solutions with a lot less trial and error.
💬 1 🔁 63 ❤️ 134 · Understanding the Inverse Square Law · (Without Math)
When I was first getting deep into photography, I kept running in
In this post I explain more about hard and soft light. I also go more in depth about ring lights and what to do if you already bought one.
💬 9 🔁 299 ❤️ 484 · Epilogue: Why you shouldn't buy a ring light (and why it's okay if you already did). · There are two technological fads
And in this post I recommend pro lights as well as budget lights and even some DIY lighting solutions.
💬 2 🔁 98 ❤️ 212 · One important detail I forgot to mention.
The main light hitting your face is called the "key" light. The key light nee
In that post I link to a big round streamer light, but it is for the white version, which is not in stock yet. The black version is available right now.
Sorry to be in Sex Work Advocacy mode but the way Transfems so frequently have to turn to it and already have our sexuality so policed, we MUST include advocacy for sex workers in our transfeminism
On top of that you just have to respect sex work as something people do because they like it. The industry is fucked but that is not unique to sex work. The amount of stigma I see, using onlyfans as a joke, the rumor that someone might have sex for money, stigmatizing uploading to pornhub or something. These are not tenable ideas
at the same time, we shouldn't demonize the people who pay for sex work. Like I see so many people say "oh I love and respect sex workers! But people who pay onlyfans models/pay for escorts/commission nudes are such creeps!" like come on. There can't be one without the other. If it's not socially acceptable to pay sex workers, then sex workers will get fewer customers, and will have to turn to less safe, more secretive ways of getting clients.
It's always incredibly disappointing when I mention to interested photographers that I bring a chaperone to every shoot... and the conversation just stops dead.
Sure, I'll shoot nudes. Topless, full art nude, why not? I'm fun to look at. My skin tells such delicious stories, why shouldn't I want to share that with you all?
But I categorically will not ever do a shoot without my chaperone. Especially if its nude. Especially if I've never worked with the photographer before.
if you're just starting out in modelling, or even thinking about starting out, my one piece of advice is this:
Have a chaperone, and make sure their attendance at shoots is non-negotiable.
Yes, even if you never have any intention of doing nude shoots, and you're just going to do fashion shoots.
If you have a photographer worth their salt, they'll be delighted that you have a chaperone, because a) it covers their back, too, and b) that's an extra pair of hands for both of you! A chaperone can help you in and out of your outfits, and then hold the flash for the photographer once you're set and in position.
If a photographer ever tries to make you feel bad for requiring a chaperone, that is a HUGE red flag, and you should decline their shoot invitation. Yes, even if they're a Super Big Deal with loads of positive reviews - it's just not worth the risk.
I love my chaperones, and I love my photographers that love my chaperones.
