First off, if you’ve never worked in porn before then you definitely do not want to start off trying to get your break with Playboy, Penthouse, Vivid, Hustler or any of the other big name companies. These companies are for the pros – for people who have already done some work. Amateurs, especially males, will just end up getting chewed up and spit out. So avoid these till you have paid your dues as an amateur.

Porn is great in the fact that you don’t have to have the absolute most perfect body to do it. You do have to be in shape, but a small flaw here and there is usually acceptable, whereas in the traditional modeling world, you need to be as close to perfect as possible. Everyone has their own personal preferences when it comes to what turns them on. There are even some fetish producers who will look for very specific attributes, like whether you over weight or if you are a particular /background. Of course, the vast majority of the amateur companies tend to look for the more mainstream in-shape and attractive body style and look.

A modeling forum like this one here on Adult Casting Center, is a great way for an amateur to break into porn. Amateur porn producers will list an up coming job on the casting board looking for a model. Look around these castings and when you find a producer you think you might be able to work with, submit your application. Have pictures and a small video available to upload or email as they are going to want to see what you look like. Be up front and honest with your limits. This is very important. But keep in mind that there is a lot of competition for many of these jobs, so do your best at keeping an open mind while staying within your own limits.

Once you’ve established contact with them, be sure to let the producer know about any limits that you may have, such as not doing anything without a condom, no anal, no bondage etc. These limits need to be what you are personally comfortable doing and not doing.

The producers will want both clothed and nude pictures of you. You can take these at home in the mirror, with a digital cam, a good camera phone, or other digital device. Make certain that they are very recent photos. If you submit old photos of yourself that do not look like you now, and then you are chosen and they discover you are not the same, they will be very disappointed and will not use you again.

If/when you are chosen for a shoot, and there is intercourse involved, make sure condoms are always used. If a producer says they do not use condoms then tell them no. They can never pay enough to put your health on the line. I have seen flavored condoms used for oral sex scenes and I have also seen baby food used to replace a man’s bodily fluids for these types of scenes. So make sure one or the other is used to protect yourself.

Amateur porn producers understand that you will be nervous and that it will take you time to warm up to doing this in front of a camera. Still you need to realize that this is a job and that you need to be professional in doing this. So try your best to maintain a professional attitude with the producer, camera crew and other actors and actresses.

For the ladies out there wanting to get into porn movies, I must stress this: know your body! The reason I stress this is that it is not only unprofessional but very embarrassing to be set up for a movie shoot and then start your monthly period. If you have irregular periods then go on the pill to help you to regulate them to where you know exactly when you will be starting and ending your monthly. This way you know exactly what days of the month not to book any movie shoots for.

Amateur porn producers network a lot with other producers. So if a producer that you have been working with invites you to a party, go with them. This will give you a great chance to be seen by other producers. Alcohol may be served at these events. With that said you need to refrain from drinking a whole lot. Grab a glass of champagne or wine and walk around with it. Sip on it occasionally but that should be all, it is mostly going to be in your hand to hold. You are there to be seen and to make an impression on other producers who will pay you greatly to be in one of their movies. By getting drunk you are likely to look unprofessional and make fool out of yourself.

Porn movies are a great way to make money and have fun. Frequent the casting postings to get yourself started. With amateur porn you don’t have to stick with just one type of shoot. So keep an open mind and broaden your horizons, this is a great time to try new things. Actors and actresses are also great to network with when breaking into the porn industry. Get yourself out there and be seen!

A crew for porn shoots can be very small or very big. It depends on the type of shoot, studio, or production that you are shooting for. (See this post regarding amateur vs. pro porn productions)

The set can contain a crew with as few as one cameraman (yes, almost all camera folks in the industry are men!) and a still photographer (to take shots for DVD box covers, as well as for marketing materials). But some sets, mostly for professional bigger budget productions, have large crews, such as additional cameramen for multi-angle and/or cable version footage as well as for “behind-the-scenes” filming for inclusion into the DVD “extras”. Sets can also have a Director (sometimes in addition to the Producer), Production Assistants, lighting and audio specialists, and ancillary folks for doing make-up, catering, paperwork, etc.

Disappointingly, except for the large gangbangs, very few sets have “fluffers” any more (people who orally “prepare” porn studs to do the on-camera performing).

I mean, let’s face it. If you’re reading this, there’s a pretty damn good chance that you have either a vagina or a penis. Right? So, what if I told you that you can get paid to use that vagina or penis?… That you could get paid to feel good?… That you could get paid to do something that you already do at home for free?… That you could be surrounded by some very attractive people and get paid for that? Well, a lot of people are very interested in these things, and so there is no shortage of people who are wanting to get into the industry. I mean, everyone has the ‘tools’ to get into the industy… assuming of course, you have a vagina or penis! So, as a result, there is just not enough work for a single person to make this a full-time job. Most people (males and females) do xxx shoots only part-time in order to supplement their income or other job(s).

Females have more options in the industry, with both professional shoots/studios as well as with amateur shoots/studios, from the simple fact that there are less women who want to get into it, but there is a high demand for them. Females are expected to be comfortable with female/female scenes and these pay the least. Females make more money doing male/female scenes, even more money doing multiple males in a single scene, and the most money doing anal and double penetration scenes.

Males have far fewer options than females, due mainly to the fact that there is a huge number of guys who are dying to get into doing this kind of work. There are exponentially more males that want to get into this than females, and therefore it’s more difficult for a male to get their big break. Not only that, but the male can’t just be a good “actor” like a female can … the male must be able to ‘physically perform’ … which in simpler terms means ‘able to get their penis to behave itself’ :).

Males usually start doing amateur work first. There is just too much competition to get into professional work off the bat, so therefore guys will usually start with amateur work. It’s the easier of the two kinds (between amateur and pro) to shoot for as well. But amateur shoots occur less regularly as well, making it harder to make this a full-time job. There are tons of types of amateur shoots, scenes, and companies. You can find all genres, straight, bisexual, gay… and on top of that you have fetish types as well. Straight males are most plentiful in trying to break in, and as you may have heard from others, many males will do bisexual and sometimes gay work in order to get the straight work. Sometimes this is known as ‘gay for pay’ because straight males doing bi or gay work pays significantly more than the straight work. The demand is quite high for actors who are open-minded to multiple categories as well, and these people will naturally have an edge on the others who are closed-minded to multiple types of work.

Males wanting to work in the professional arena of the adult industry find it extremely tough to get into at first, and even if you break into it, the likelihood of steady work is based on how easy it is for you to get an erection, keep the erection, and ability to control ejaculation (cumming). In addition to those attributes, you must also add how athletic/attractive the male is, if they are within a certain age range, and various other factors, and you soon end up with a very small percentage of males who are qualified. Then, you must consider that the professional female pornstars get comfortable with certain guys in scenes, and then you have the women requesting to work with certain men, and you finally end up with males who are used over and over again for multiple moves, multiple studios, etc. Which, in turn, makes it even harder for the next new male to break into the professional shoots. But even for those males who get their big break to be in a professional shoot, most of them fail due to the fact that there are so many people on the set watching, multiple photographers, people in charge of the lighting, the sets, the production overall — and this becomes nerve-wracking to a male, which in turn makes it hard to ‘get it up’. The vast majority of males will never make it past amateur shoots to get into the professional arena.

Regardless whether you are female or male, straight, bi, gay, or lesbian, you will most certainly find that this is a part-time job — with only occasional shoots. If someone promises you that they will make this a full-time job for you, you better do your homework on the person/company/studio/agency because this is the exception rather than the rule.

Porn stars are no longer society’s embarrassment. With the “irrational exuberance” of the ’90s, they came forward as counter-cultural representatives of capitalism. And if my guess is right, they’re not looking back.

Underage adult film performer Tracy Lords and her movement into mainstream Hollywood (Jon Waters’ “Cry Baby”) would make an early mark in that statement, but the big exclamation goes out to reigning queen of porn Jenna Jameson, because, well, she’s Jenna Jameson — the platinum standard. So it’s not surprising that as the pornographic industry has dislodged itself from the gutter (from a guy, a girl and an 8 mm camera to big budgets and cable access), we find ourselves taking notice in new ways.

“Thinking XXX” is a provocative HBO documentary (Is there any studio more fresh with hits like “The Wire” and “Entourage”?) about the making of a picture book (”XXX 30 Porn-Star Portraits”) whose place is more suitable on the coffee table than beneath the mattress. The premise: celebrity photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders photographs porn stars in repose — both clothed and, yes, unclothed. He astutely recognizes that “porn stars [are] much more comfortable nude than they are clothed.” Interlace shots with pompous pontifications of renowned writers, musicians and filmmakers, and you have a highbrow approach to a lowbrow subject. Who would have thought the making of a book could be so fun and fascinating?

But then again, when the subject is porn, the makers have a pretty strong hook. It’s nice to see something come out of Hollywood that isn’t a botch.

Some of the biggest names in the adult industry come before the camera: Briana Banks, Savanna Samson, Chloe, Lexington Steele, Peter North, Jesse Jane, mega-star Jenna Jameson and everyone’s favorite poke-fun-at-iconoclast Ron Jeremy. That in itself would be enough for most caught in a channel surfing moment, but the documentary adds a layer of depth when the stars talk candidly about their lives and choices — and the consequences.

Surprisingly, there is no talk of abuse, regret or tear-filled sorrow. The X-rated stars and starlets come across as basically normal people — wanting more but feeling no less. There’s a moment when Jesse Jane, lounging in her pool, looks up and grins at the camera and tells us how happy she is, and it’s hard to believe she’s not.

Conversely, the dark humor sprinkled throughout the film is not ultra-shocking; cult film director Jon Waters acutely compares a condom-free scene in gay porn to watching “a snuff film.” Performer Gina Lynn darts her eyes as her boyish husband draws near. She seems to be looking around for a divorce lawyer. Sean Michaels gives us his “I’m an artist” speech and then disappears into a lonely doorway. Writer Michael Musto explains how male porn stars used to be unattractive, and the camera cuts to fat and hairy veteran Ron Jeremy. Lukas Ridgeston strokes his bread and butter compulsively, as if he is afraid he’s going to be caught with his pants down and belittled. Then there’s the scrawny white kid who wants to get into gay porn. There’s a cringe-inducing sense that he’s going to get gangbanged and turned out.

There are affecting moments, too. Star Heather Hunter tells how she goes on a date and really likes the guy. They have sex, only to have the guy reach over for a pen and pad and ask for an autograph. Tera Patrick is so beautiful, smart and witty that you wonder what she’s thinking doing what she is doing. Then you see her husband and realize self-flagellation is a distinct possibility. Gay adult performer Chad Hunt explains how male performers can make five times the pay if they go the route of gay porn, suggesting he and others are actually heterosexual.

Jenna Jameson is notably silent. Perhaps because she controls all her outputs, with her own studio, talent agency and website, “Club Jenna,” and a recent best-selling tell-all, “How to Make Love like a Porn Star.”

New York City resident Greenfield-Sanders keeps to the corners. Maybe that is to be expected, as he is not the focus of his camera. I think it is more indicative of the New York-Los Angeles divide. At the NYC premiere of his photos, we see guests adjusting their eyeglasses, looking subdued and thoughtful. The crowd at the LA premiere is there to party. It’s a noisy bash with a bloated Mickey Rourke, who looks as if he is 24 hours out of a face-lift.

But for all its fine points, the documentary lacks an arc, a moving story. We see stars but no constellation. I didn’t feel educated; I felt I was given bits of trivia. It was sex without a happy ending — I had a good time, but I wanted to go to completion. Yet, the film still scores, if you enjoy it for what it is.

So if you’re looking for a party pleaser to play at the frat (or sorority), sans the hardcore, or if you’re in a New York state of mind, you’ll find “Thinking XXX” is an escape from the typical Hollywood drivel

Amateur
Casual, laid-back, one videographer/photographer in the room, and that’s it. Of course, that’s in addition to whatever models are in the scene with you, if any. These amateur shoots last usually around 2 hours or so (not a whole day), and they’re a breeze. The photographer will usually mold the scene specifically to you and whatever you’re comfortable with. Sometimes, they’ll get your feedback during the initial setup. These are usually lower-budget shoots when it comes to sets and equipment, but that doesn’t mean that the models get paid low amounts — in many cases, the models can get paid as much or more than professional shoots. Amateur shoots are generally specifically meant to look more homemade and ‘real’ … so they purposely don’t want it to look perfect — which, in a lot of cases, usually results in a lot of fun for the models.

Professional
With pro shoots, there are many people on the set, several different videographers (for different angles, etc), lighting people, etc. And the shoots last a lot longer, usually they’re day-long shoots. It’s true that the pro shoots are bigger budget usually, but that doesn’t mean that they will pay *you* more. Many first-timer models (that get a break with these kinds of shoots) feel that it’s a lot of stress in the professional shoots because everything has to be just right and you may be expected to do the same thing over and over just to get the right angle, scene, etc. Very time-consuming, and for males, they’re expected to keep it hard — the whole time.

Saturday, August 28, 2004 Posted: 9:26 AM EDT (1326 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) — Jenna Jameson is an industry unto herself — and also part of an even bigger, if often scoffed-at, business: adult entertainment.

The porn star has made the most of her fame, creating her own Web site and exercising a great deal of control over the Jenna Jameson brand. But she’s the first to say that it hasn’t been easy, fun, or even desirable. She appeared on “Anderson Cooper 360″ to talk with the host about her new book, “How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale.”

COOPER: It took a fraction of a second for a Google search to return 992,000 hits for Jenna Jameson; 700,000 of those sites also come with the letters X, X and X. But that’s understandable, considering she’s the reigning queen of porn.

Now, the woman who gave us “I Dream of Jenna” and “Lip Service” is telling her very adult story in the book “How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale.” Suspense thriller it ain’t. It is also a best seller. I spoke to Jenna Jameson earlier today.

OK, Jenna, I have got to clear up something right from the beginning. I read an account that said you actually wanted to be a TV anchorwoman one day. Is that true?

JAMESON: That is — that was definitely what I wanted to do. I used to practice with the TelePrompTer when I was young, because my father was a television producer. So it didn’t come to pass, but you know, at least I’m still on TV.

COOPER: Well, you know, such is life. Maybe in the next lifetime.

JAMESON: Yeah, I don’t think it is going to work out for me now.

COOPER: Well, you never know.

Why porn? I mean, you — why did you get into that business?

JAMESON: Well, that’s a very good question. I tried to track it back and figure out what I decided to do what I’ve done, but who knows? I mean, I’ve always been so overtly sexual. And I’ve always been driven to succeed at something that hasn’t always been accepted by the American public. So I think I chose the right profession.

COOPER: But you had a really tough background, which you write about in the book a lot. I mean, you know, you were abused as a child, you lost your mom at an early age. Did that in any way play a part? Because there are those who say, look, you know, young people who experience abuse often gravitate to the porn industry.

JAMESON: Right. Absolutely. It’s something that I’ve thought about a lot, and I can’t really say for sure if that is reasoning behind why I’ve gotten into the adult industry. All I know is that when I lay my head down at night, I feel comfortable and I’m happy, and I guess that’s all that really matters.

COOPER: It’s a huge industry, which I think a lot of people don’t really realize, or maybe they just don’t admit that they realize. But I mean, in terms of income, it rivals, you know, motion pictures. It rivals pro sports in America. And yet it’s an industry which is kind of in the shadows and is — has a lot of pitfalls, which you write about in the book.

JAMESON: Right.

COOPER: You know, as you say, I think, in the book, it can be very demeaning to women.

JAMESON: Well, it can be. I think that nowadays, the American public, or they’re much more accepting of the adult industry, and it goes to show that we should give the American public much more credit than we do.

COOPER: Do you think people are hypocritical about this? On the one hand, I mean, publicly they say, oh…

JAMESON: Absolutely.

COOPER: … they condemn it, but in truth, if they’re logging onto the Internet, they’re buying the DVDs.

JAMESON: Well, obviously they are, because this is a billion-dollar industry. So everybody watches porn. It’s just a fact of the matter.

COOPER: It’s just a question of whether they admit it or not.

JAMESON: Exactly. I think a lot more people are starting to admit it, because women feel that it’s acceptable nowadays. So that’s really helped our industry, because now men feel comfortable bringing the movies home.

COOPER: There are, you know, obviously you know there are critics. Writer Naomi Wolf recently wrote that basically the porn industry has raised expectations for men in a way that women feel, how can I compete with this? And in fact, she claims it’s sort of has deadened the male libido, because you know, they feel like the real thing isn’t good enough. Everyone has to be a porn star.

JAMESON: I really don’t believe that. I think that it’s added to people’s sexual lives, and I think that it’s added to women’s especially, because there’s a little bit of Jenna Jameson in every woman out there, and I think that now that they’re starting to see me coming out more into the mainstream, they feel a little bit more comfortable being naughty in the bedroom.

COOPER: I’ve read that you want to have a child now.

JAMESON: Yes.

COOPER: After you have had the child, you’ve said that you would stop doing porn. Is that true?

JAMESON: Yes. Absolutely. And it’s certainly not because I feel ashamed of being a porn star, but I think it’s because I want to focus 100 percent of my time on my child, and I want to be able to tell my child that once they came along, that mommy was no longer a porn star.

COOPER: And if your daughter one day said to you, if you had a daughter, if she came to you and said that she wanted to get into that industry?

JAMESON: I’d tie her in the closet. Only because this is such a hard industry for a woman to get ahead and get the respect that she deserves. I fought tooth and nail to get to where I am, and it’s not something that I would want my daughter to go through. It’s not something that any parent would choose for their child.

COOPER: So you would advise young women not to get involved in the industry?

JAMESON: Not unless they had their head on completely straight and they knew that this is what they wanted to do. For my child, hey, I want them to go to college and be a doctor.

COOPER: Well, Jenna Jameson, you are a leader in your industry and you are now a best-selling author. Your book’s on The New York Times’ best-seller list. We appreciate you joining us. Thanks very much.

JAMESON: Thank you very much.

For reasonably attractive females with nice figures, it’s relatively easy. A great foot in the door is knowing someone already in the adult industry. Otherwise, the Internet has resources such as Adult Casting Center to find and apply for porn shoots and other adult video work. Adult Casting Center can also connect individuals with a studio for photograph or video shoots, usually reputable studios in California, where most porn productions take place. In the past, there has been a steady stream of new legal-age girls wanting the adventure and/or money and/or fame of becoming a starlet; but, in the last few years there’s been a very significant increase in the numbers of women hoping to become famous and wealthy porn stars and to later return to their high school class reunions and bask in the glow of stardom. The search by studios for new fresh faces results in producers and directors seeking to hire new starlets as a means of increasing sales. Thus new wannabe porn starlets are in demand. New girls can make a lot of money, especially when they first enter the Industry; but, unless they are especially good at their craft or have extraordinary professionalism and drive to make porn a career, the need for the next new/fresh face soon means that some of the existing faces may fall out of favor. The exceptional girls who end up making it a longer term career usually are well known for their dependability, punctuality, a solid enjoyment of sex which is exhibited by truly hot sex scene performances, personality, and high standards of all-around professionalism.

Men wanting to become porn studs have an entirely different situation. Prior to the days of prescription pills like Viagra and Cialia which help/enhance one’s sexual performance abilities, the number of porn studs in the Industry was much smaller thanit is now, and viewers had to endure seeing the same core group of male pornstars over and over. The reason why guys were able to make it in the industry as career porn studs was “functionality”. This is something that still applies today. Some new guys even cover up their use of Viagra, Cialia, or other similar drugs and still seem to sometimes get “stage fright” where thay can’t get a full erection in front of the camera. Some of these men are ones who everyone has told them time and time again that they would be perfect pornstars. Then when it comes time to giving it a shot, they realize it’s a very difficult job to “let loose” and get sexual for work. And when some of these people are successful at getting an erection, some of them seem to have difficulty doing a timely “money shot”.

The Adult Industry receives thousands of serious inquiries every month from guys wanting to know how they can become porn stars. Porn viewers now include more and more women and couples, unlike the past when most viewers were only masturbating men.

Unfortunately, the harsh reality for guys is that chance of them getting even a “try-out”, audition, or simply any interest at all from a studio is remote. It does happen, but more than ever, they need to stand out in a crowd, and the reasons they can stand out vary from one person to the next and from one studio to the next as well. There have been so many experiences in the past of disappointed Directors who let themselves be talked into using some new guys who touted themselves as true studs (which they well might have been in their private life but unfortunately were not when they got in front of cameras on a set with people watching). These new guys with performance difficulties are nightmares for directors, crews, and everyone involved with the shoot, including the other models scheduled to have sex on film with the ‘new guy’. Probably, the new guy who wants to get into performing undoubtedly is a true stud with his significant other, and/or in a group situation like a swinger’s party, but merely deciding to become a porn star does not get him even considered anymore. Sometimes men are strongly recommended by someone (perhaps even by someone in the Industry, or by a starlet or female with first-hand knowledge), but then they surprise themselves when they discover they have “performance anxiety” and freeze up in front of the cameras, lights, and sometimes his inpatient co-star. A new guy who loses his “functionality” causes loss of production time and filming momentum, and possibly additional expenses in overtime charges for the location, rental equipment, and crew. As a result, Directors and Producers are very critical of new guys who want to get into the industry now, no matter who recommends them or how impressive the new guy or his friend/significant other says his penis “credentials” and sexual performance abilities are. It’s funny — new guys will almost always say they are certain that they can adequately perform in front of a camera, but most still fail no matter how much confidence they exhibit, sometimes in spite of the prescription or other sexual enhancement pills they might have privately ingested.

There’s a lot of pressure on the male performer; unlike females, the guy can’t fake sexual excitement nor can he hide climaxing too soon before the director gives him the directive to do the “money shot”. Instead, the guy has to have a solid and almost-constant erection whenever the camera is rolling, and for the hour-plus it usually takes to film the hardcore portion of the scene, and in spite of the constant stopping and restarting for such things as changing a camera battery, relocating lighting, stopping for required photos of the action, water, the sound of someone’s ringing or vibrating cell phone, or a passing airplane, or the starting-up of a lawn mower down the street, and on and on!

The key for a new guy is all centered around functionality, namely: getting an erection quickly; not climaxing too soon; and, indeed being able to do a money shot somewhat soon after the Director calls for it. Sometimes, new guys taking prescription medications intended to help them with their sexual performance have difficulty getting the money shot to happen quickly enough. Since “FUNCTIONALITY” is the name of the game for guys, let me reiterate that penis size, looks, muscles, and acting ability mean almost nothing for a guy. What DOES matter is the guy’s ability to get an almost instant erection in front of people on a set, to maintain functionality for the period of the shoot including being able to get “wood” erected quickly after the many stop-n-go interruptions during the shoot, to control the erection so as to not cum before the Director gives the OK, and, upon being directed to climax, the guy should do it relatively quickly without wasting the time of any other models or the production folks.

OK, so what possibilities exist for a new guy to get paid to have sex with beautiful people in the Adult Industry? It might help if a new guy has and shows the director/studio/agency a couple of videos of himself. Even better would be to show he can perform with others in front of 10 or 20 other people to prove that he doesn’t get stage fright in front of lots of people. If the new guy performs successfully and meets the “functionality” criteria consistently, he’ll join the ranks of the already proven porn studs. For straight male/female shoots, the girls make a lot of money and guys are merely props to the point that the pay per sex scene is considerably less than what the girls make! For bisexual or gay shoots for males, there is significantly more money to be made. And many males will choose to cross into new experiences, even going so far as ‘gay for pay’ which is the term for someone who does not consider themselves gay but is comfortable enough with their sexuality that they will do sexual acts on camera with other men.

Bottom line, accessibility for entering the world of porn is easier today than ever before due to the internet, but it’s also harder today than ever before to get that lucky break. Yes, there are more opportunities than ever before, but there are exponentially more people trying to break into the industry than ever before as well.

Our recommendation? If you’re interested, start here with Adult Casting Center and submit your photos and home video(s). Give it a shot. The worst thing that can happen is that they don’t select you… and you are then in no different of a situation than you were before