This is one of many articles I’ll post for those of you interested in producing your own content. My focus will be more on working with the models and equipment, than dealing with the legal (2257) stuff.

Getting the model to look natural instead of frozen stiff is a common challenge for the photographer. This is typical with inexperienced models, as they tend to be overly self-conscious. It’s your job to give the model a more animated look.

Understanding how to make use of specific body positions can largely alleviate the problem. Combining these positions gives the photographer an infinite number of options to work with. And properly used, these body positions will accentuate the positive while diluting the negative features of a model.

It will take more than one article to explain all the techniques. For now, let’s focus on the most important part of the body - the model’s head. You would be amazed at the difference a slight adjustment of the head, eyes, eyebrows, and jaw can make.

First explore head positions by tilting left or right, tilting up or down, and turning left or right. Then work with combinations of tilting and turning the head.

Next play with eye position. There is no rule that says your subject should be looking directly at the camera. The important thing is to avoid showing too much white in the eyes, as this almost always has a negative effect.

An amazing transformation takes place by simply asking the model to raise one or both eyebrows. It totally brightens the model’s face, and eliminates the droopy-eyed look. Some models will not be able to raise one eyebrow on demand, but all can raise both simultaneously.

Telling the model to open his mouth slightly can have a profound effect on his looks. The model should practice this in front of a mirror to get it right. If overdone it will make him look stupid. Done just right it will give him a sultry beckoning look. You might also have the model play around with shifting his lower jaw “very slightly” left, right or forward.

Some models have difficulty delivering a natural looking smile. When this happens you end up with a constant boring closed lipped look through out the shoot. Playing around with the drop jaw look will give you the variety you need. It also eliminates a pouting or frowning look when used in combination with raised eyebrows, and a little tilt of the head.

Combining some or all of these positions will give you a wide range of looks that remove that frozen stiff posing for the camera look. Some combinations will flatter the model while others will have the opposite effect. Each model is different, so you have to experiment to find out what works. Don’t over exadurate these positions. Most work best when used in moderation.

Members of GayMainStreet.com got a preview of the new GayDemon.com earlier this week. The overall reaction was a big WOW. This popular consumer portal has been redesigned from the top down, delivering a state-of-the-art destination for those seeking gay porn.

Already known for its extensive links directory and top-notch site reviews, GayDemon has expanded its offerings to include, free galleries, video on demand, a dating service, blog entries, and editorials. The one feature site owner Bjorn apparently decided against is a consumer message board. Leaving it off the menu is completely understandable, given the inherent liability that comes with allowing consumers to upload photos.

Noticeably absent in the new version are all the graphic banner ads. Instead, Bjorn has decided to integrate the majority of his advertisements as text links, a trend we are seeing more of these days.

The crowning jewel of the new site is its eye catching graphical demon, created by erotic artist Patrick Fillion especially for the site. It clearly makes a statement that you have arrived at something very different, and incredibly well done.

The new GayDemon.com went live to the general public yesterday, and in doing so, raised the bar on gay adult consumer portals. In my opinion, the new GayDemon.com sets the standard others must now follow.

Latin Cash is offering a one-time promo - send 10 sales before Friday, March 24th and receive $500. That breaks it down to $50 per sale, and includes all pay per trial sales.

Latin Cash is using the NATS cascading software and pays via ePassporte, wire transfer, or check. They offer free hosted galleries, free content, and free hosting. Special promotional requests are accepted.

The LatinCash.com collection of sites includes two gay properties for webmasters to promote:
LatinBoys.com
LatinGayLovers.com

AdamMale, a gay, adult mail order catalog and Web company, is providing thrills to one very observant blogger. In a series of ongoing articles about AdamMale, Blogger Nathan, of Nathan Exposed, used his online space to record his likes and dislikes about the AdamMale catalog - everything from catalog copy to product photos was critiqued.

Much to his surprise, AdamMale was listening - and Nathan noticed! Several updates to his blog include references to how photos were changed and copy was edited, in accordance to Nathan’s marketing tips and suggestions.

“When someone gives you such sage advice, it has to be rewarded,” said company spokesman Craig Ledford. “We sent Nathan a large basket of AdamMale.com’s best offerings for helping us out.”

AdamMale is a sister company of Adam & Eve, a company with more than 30 years of experience in providing premium customer satisfaction through its catalog, Web and home parties endeavors.

Long-time blog theme builder and consulting group xLabor.com opened its doors this week. On xlabor.com, visitors can browse through and order WordPress Blog Themes through their automated system. xLabor.com also offers custom blog work, blogging articles and more.

xLabor.com also features an affiliate program in which affiliates may send webmasters to the site and receive 40% commission on all sales generated. Biweekly payouts are via ePassporte.

“I’m just happy we have finally had the chance to roll this out. It’s been a long time coming,” Dave Hall, xLabor.com CEO says. “No longer will our customers have to wait for delivery of their themes.”

For more information, visit www.xlabor.com

This is one of many articles I’ll post for those of you interested in producing your own content. My focus will be more on working with the models and equipment, than dealing with the legal (2257) stuff.

Everyone has his or her own favorite areas of the body. For example, I’m a butt man. For this reason, you want to make sure all of the popular body parts are captured in a shoot. You do this by getting close-ups, and by instructing the model to avoid covering certain areas while posing. The areas you want to capture are: face, ears, tongue, armpits, elbows, nipples, navel, dick, balls, asshole, butt, and feet - top and bottom. Make sure to capture piercings or tattoos, as they are an area of interest for some people.

Be creative with your camera angles and model positions. You don’t want it to look like you are working down a list of things that need to be covered in the shoot. For the most part you want it to look like circumstance instead of intentional. As an example, shoot a chest up headshot of the model licking his armpit. This will capture face, nipple, tongue and armpit, along with any piercings in those areas.

I promise if you pay attention to these details it will set you apart from the typical amateur photographer.

According to a release from Lucas Entertainment, Michael Lucas got booed each time his company was named during the ceremony. Things got chillier when GAYVN attendees threw ice at Michael during his acceptance for best picture. Apparently the ice volley came after Lucas joked “Thank you to those who voted for me, and fuck you to those who didn’t.”

The ice launchers were later identified as Raging Stallion’s boys which, according to Lucas Entertainment, prompted this response:

Dear Michael–Chris Ward here from Raging Stallion Studios. I want to offer my deepest apologies for what happened when you were on stage to receive the top prize of best picture. As you know, Ice was thrown at you from the Raging Stallion crowd. This was unacceptable behavior and I am deeply upset about this. I am very sorry that this happened and I will directly deal with the person involved.

Lucas Entertainment also states that Chris Ward’s apology has been accepted.

GameLink.com, an adult entertainment online retailer, has just launched a new partners portal site. The portal showcases GameLink’s complete suite of out-of-the-box custom stores, web analytics and traffic stats for prospective and current GameLink partners.

The portal also offers partners four types of custom stores: niche, co-branded, porn star and studio.

“We wanted to get the message across that GameLink Partners is all about custom store solutions. Our stores are designed to convert your traffic whether it’s niche, porn star, or studio specific,” said Lyndi Buchanan, GameLink.com’s webmaster program manager. “Not only do our partners define the type of content they want on their site, but with our traffic stats they also get to analyze top referring urls, view what their traffic is searching on within their store, optimize links, and make more money.”

GameLink.com’s virtual mall includes over 100,000 DVD and video titles, thousands of sex toys and performance aids including lingerie and fetish gear, and a massive Video-on-Demand library. For more information, visit http://partners.gamelink.com/, or Email their partners program at glpartners@gamelink.com.