Check out our advertisers www.risingstarpr.com www.auditionporn.com/tour1, www.eruptionxl.com www.sexucrave.com and www.vantagedist.com/page/manufacturers/id/1895/manufacturer/Brandxxx_Pictures.html; www.galaxypublicity.com

Follow Gene Ross at twitter@GeneRoss3; Follow AdultFYI at twitter@Adultfyi1

from www.houstonpress.com – Houston Press readers may recognize the name of Zachary Byron Helm [pictured] as the mind behind one of our favorite (and frustratingly unfinished) web films The League of Extraordinary Industrial Retards.

He also made possibly the best indie comic short film adaptation of all time when he turned KC Green’s Skull of Regret into live-action awesomeness. Truly, he’s a talent that we thoroughly enjoy following.

He also produces and performs in his own amateur porn with his girlfriend Rachel Ravaged to supplement his income because while shorts like The Legend of Zelda: A Pain in My Ass are brilliant, they don’t exactly pay the bills.

It is a recovering economy, but a slow one, and you yourself might be tempted to start a side career in paid fucking. It’s not a bad idea. Despite the fact that the Internet is already 98 percent pornography there’s always room and demand for more. We reached out to Helm for his advice as both a filmmaker and a professional intercourse artist for tips on entering such a world yourself.

Approaching your partner: It should go without saying that you should only attempt amateur pornography with someone you know and trust, which for most people means their significant other. You both have to be open, non-jealous people, otherwise it is simply not going to work. “It’s not going to strengthen a weak relationship, it’s going to blow Titanic sized holes big enough to drive Mecha-John Holmes cock through,” said Helm.

Getting technical: You probably don’t have professional-quality film equipment, but you shouldn’t let that stop you. Lighting is a very important element, and if you’re serious you’re going to want to invest in at least a few lamps that will be damn near blinding. Also, look into learning a bit about white balancing.

More importantly, you’re going to want to consider adding different angles in order to break up the monotony of the shots. “Any editing is good,” said Helm. Most people set up a tripod and just go at it. Changing angles, getting closer, further away, even the most nominal of attention to production puts you way ahead of other people in the field.”

Getting down to business: You have to remember that camera sex isn’t the same sex that you normally have, even if you’re using the same tricks. It’s work. Fun work, but still work. Be mindful of your positioning so that your arms and legs don’t obscure the shot, and also of the fact that your hair gets in the way. There is a reason porn actors get into those weird positions. It’s to accommodate a person with a camera.

Where to upload: “Extralunchmoney.com and Mygirlfund.com are the two content sites we use,” said Helm. “I have also heard good things about Clips4sale.com and Streammate.com but I haven’t set up accounts there yet. Every site has different verification that is almost always a pain in the ass. Everyone requires an ID and then a picture of you holding a piece of paper with your username, a copy of model releases, and at least ten cooked examples of your favorite elbow macaroni brands, etc.”

Camming versus content: There are two ways to go about your amateur pornography career. You can submit content for download or you can set up live webcam. Content is good because it’s passive, steady income, but you might also want to consider a few live sessions. Connecting with customers is important, and taking requests is a good way to ensure repeat business. Any porn actress on Twitter will tell you that being accessible is one of your No. 1 priorities. Which brings us to…

People are going to see this: My old songwriting partner once said, “The worst thing about putting out an album is that someone has to hear it.” That goes double with pornography. People are going to see your genitals, the face you make at orgasm, everything. It is a statistical impossibility that no one you have ever met or known will not stumble across your work. You have to be honest with yourself from the get-go whether or not you are entirely comfortable with that, and what the repercussions of working in the sex trade might be.

The money: Amateur pornography is exactly like writing… how much you make depends entirely on how much content you generate and where you put it in (Zing!). Here is a really wonderful breakdown of conversations between cam models on what you can expect to make in terms of dollars per hour. Long story short, a dedicated model or couple that builds a following can expect $75 an hour or more with luck.

You can even go full time. Reportedly the owners of Wifey’s World make close to or more than six figures annually from their amateur productions. There is a danger of being burned out sexually, though. “Some people can live off of it,” said Helm. “We don’t because we don’t put in the massive amount of time it takes to live off of it. It’s more like supplemental income for us, something to do because it’s fun, we’re kinky, twisted fucks and because it brings in some cash here and there. It takes the edge off the bills for sure.”