How To Be An Internet Pornographer [Paperback]

First off, understand that I am writing this from the point of view of someone who has not become an internet pornographer. Just how good the information contained in this book is is not something I have fully explored. I am, however, a fairly educated individual who has done some research on the topic of internet porn, and my girlfriend and I have both read this book and talked about going into the business.

Overall, I think this is an excellent book. It contains lots of information, including possible content, getting a lawyer (the first major step), types of cameras, types of lighting, set dressings, getting models, selling your pictures, and attending pornography conventions. Lady Sharlot also shares a great deal of her own experiences and talks about how she and her husband got into the business. Absolutely no promises are made with this book; nothing here suggests that you will become rich and famous photographing naked women, nor does it suggest you will get laid by doing so--trying to have sex with the models is, as Lady Sharlot puts it, very unprofessional. Believe it or not, she also mentions that strip clubs are not one of the best place to seek models out, and gives some very good reasons for why this is.

The one major criticism I have of this book is that she really does need a better editor. It's not horribly written, by any means (a lot of books on this subject are, according to reviews, practically illegible). It just has a number of typos and the use of the smiley-face icon is way overdone. In addition, "quotation marks" are frequently used in places where they could be removed. I almost wish I could have edited this book myself.

I get the impression that this book is self-published. As is the case, there is one more thing I would like to point out regarding my personal experience when I bought this book: I ordered this through Amazon via a third-party seller, which, I'm guessing, is the actual publisher. One week after I received this book, I got another copy of it through the mail. My first impression was that a mistake was made in shipping and they sent me two copies by mistake. Then I took a closer look at the first copy: it turns out that the first copy I got was missing a few pages and didn't have the gloss on the cover that the second copy had. Near as I can tell, they sent me a bad copy (one that the printers messed up, perhaps) by accident, caught the error before I was able to, and sent me a good copy before I could complain. Now that, my friends, is what I call excellent customer service.

Honestly, if you're looking for a good book on how to get into the business of internet porn as a content provider, buy this one. Trust me, you'll like it.

This is the best book I've read on producing adult content for the Internet. It is a quick read and does not delve too deeply into the details - which I think is a strong point for this book. For example, the author explains the pros and cons of strobes vs hard lighting. But, if you don't know how to meter your strobes and set your white balance, then the advice falls on deaf ears. It is assumed that you already know how to use a camera and take a good photograph (of people). If not, learn to take pictures before you hire models.

The advice presented is from a woman's point of view, but someone with a wealth of experience. There are some key items in this book which took me years to learn the "hard way." The author has certainly been around, seen all high and low points to Internet modeling, and explains in rich detail what to watch out for. Then again, just because you buy a cookbook doesn't mean you are qualified to open your own restaurant. This is a cookbook for success.

This book is a very thin description of how to get into the Internet content provider world. The problem is that as far as the real useful information, it could have been done with even fewer pages. Maybe 10 would have been good. The content is meant for a photographer not a videographer. The most useful information is in the smaller print sidebars liberally placed in each chapter. A page on how much to pay models is probably the most useful and that information can be gotten from the World Modeling website or Luke Ford. Not much on how to sell your work, all very general information. Too little information for the price.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 10 reviews  3.8 out of 5 stars