Anatomy of a Shoot / $$$$

I got an interesting IM from a relatively new friend, who happens to dance, something I did a long time ago.

"XXXXXXX Resident: Hey, do you make money doing porn?"

I answered the best I could, from a photographer's perspective.

"No, you actually wind up spending quite a bit."

I thought about it for a moment, and then I went on.

"I think a lot of people have the wrong concept of it. It's a bunch of people trying to do something artistic. We spend a lot of time in Photoshop, or getting lighting correct. No money is made.

A lot is spent on props, and poses, and new outfits, and the newest photo HUD's. Sex can be a part of it, obviously, and we all have fun, but if you are thinking of getting into it to make money? Stay on the dance pole."

I am going to give you, dear reader, an honest perspective of a relatively new SL Pornographer.

I spend a lot of time researching the blogs and Flickr account of other SL Pornstars. The last thing I want to do is spend money and time into a shot or scene that has been done before, which not only could be considered a form of plagiarism, but also adds nothing new to the pool. A lot of the blogs are filled with insight, and most importantly, great shots.

I spend a **ton** of time on Marketplace, or in world, testing out props and poses. This is way more time consuming than one might actually believe. Consider the load time of a sim that has 100 animations, each with their own image placard and prim that needs to rez, along with structures, and the time spent finding the actual poses.

So now, I have my pose, I have willing models, and a shoot is scheduled.

Anatomy of a Photo Shoot:

I rezzed a skybox that has backgrounds and furniture, for realism, including adjusting textures, carpets, etc, just making things look "right."

I put out the pose I wanted my models to use, adjusting placement, etc.

I TPed my models in, gave them lights for my lighting system, and additional pieces for the scene, and had them sit down on the pose.

I adjusted lighting, and avatar positions.

I then began to shoot, a single, static pose, 16 shots in all, thanked my models for their time, and began to sift.

I went through the pics and decided on the one that I enjoyed the most.

I then spent about 90 minutes in Photoshop, completing the piece.

The result? "Obedience."

All told, roughly 3 hours in total, between pose research, set up, lighting adjustment, actual shoot, and postwork  in Photoshop.

Cost Analysis:

50L$ for the skybox (massive sale, and I got lucky. You know these can cost tons, but they really are invaluable tools for getting certain shots right.)

995L$ For my lighting system. This will pay for itself over time, but the more advanced ones can cost $6100.

299L$ for the pose itself, which, more likely than not, I will never use again, for the reasons already mentioned.

Total: $1,344L, not including tier, and truth be told, it was a relatively cheap shoot. That equates to $5.75 USD.

For a single shot.

"XXXXXXX Resident: Hey, do you make money doing porn?"

Fuck no, we don't. We aren't doing it for money. We are doing it because we want to.