At the end of 2010, freelance work for then-makeup-artist Nikki Night had dried up, and she couldn't pay her rent. A friend suggested she try webcam modeling. "I had no idea what she was talking about," Night recalls to us. "I tried it out, and it was great... I could dress up and act crazy, and all of a sudden, I was able to pay my rent."
Night now works out of the office of cam-show website CAM4 (NSFW) as its performer coach, a role she took on late last year after three years of working as a cam performer herself. "It’s not a conceited thing," she explains. "It’s quite humbling, empowering, to be comfortable with your body and know it’s not about being the thinnest, hottest, tannest, [having the] biggest boobs... You realize that people love real."
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It’s not about being the thinnest, hottest, tannest, having the biggest boobs.
You realize that people love real.
”
Now, Night hosts three coaching sessions per week and mentors CAM4 performers one-on-one, advising them on everything from body confidence to flattering lighting to the importance of maintaining a healthy offline life. While camming can be both emotionally and financially liberating — "an average performer [is] making 200, 250 dollars a day," says Night — self-care is especially important in this biz, because "a lot of this can be a little lonely. The silence can be almost deafening when you close the laptop," Night explains. "A lot of people get sucked in."
While some of Night's advice is tailored for professionals, much of her wisdom applies to anyone seeking sexual confidence and, specifically, better webcam sex with a partner. We asked Night to give us her top five performer-tested tips to help you have your hottest virtual sex yet.
Light It Right
"To have great lighting, get lamps [in addition to] your ceiling lighting. A clamp lamp is the best: Clip it on the back of the chair [that] your computer is on and point the lights at the wall, so the light bounces back onto you. Direct lighting or a bare lightbulb is not flattering and can degrade your cam quality. Turn down the brightness of your computer monitor to reduce glare on glasses, shadows from the light, and also to reduce 'light noise' to your webcam that could degrade the quality of your stream."
"To have great lighting, get lamps [in addition to] your ceiling lighting. A clamp lamp is the best: Clip it on the back of the chair [that] your computer is on and point the lights at the wall, so the light bounces back onto you. Direct lighting or a bare lightbulb is not flattering and can degrade your cam quality. Turn down the brightness of your computer monitor to reduce glare on glasses, shadows from the light, and also to reduce 'light noise' to your webcam that could degrade the quality of your stream."
Find Your Angle
"Put your laptop on a a chair or bar stool by your bed, so it doesn’t shake around when you are doing your show. Putting your computer or cam close to the floor and having it point up at you will make you look very tall and is a great angle to show your whole body. Then, you can sit on the edge of your bed and do your show comfortably, while your viewer can see everything. "Placing your cam above you is also very flattering...especially if you want to lay down on your bed or couch to do the show. Using a zip tie to hold your cam on your curtain rod is a great way to get the height you want. If you have a USB camera and a little webcam, all USB webcams will screw in on lamps. So you can make it a little tripod if you have a lamp."
"Put your laptop on a a chair or bar stool by your bed, so it doesn’t shake around when you are doing your show. Putting your computer or cam close to the floor and having it point up at you will make you look very tall and is a great angle to show your whole body. Then, you can sit on the edge of your bed and do your show comfortably, while your viewer can see everything. "Placing your cam above you is also very flattering...especially if you want to lay down on your bed or couch to do the show. Using a zip tie to hold your cam on your curtain rod is a great way to get the height you want. If you have a USB camera and a little webcam, all USB webcams will screw in on lamps. So you can make it a little tripod if you have a lamp."
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Look at yourself in the mirror and realize how freaking gorgeous you are. You don’t need to be a size two!
”
Further Reflection
"Mirrors are amazing! If you can, put a mirror behind you, off to one side, so your viewer can see both sides of you. Another way is to get an inexpensive, full-length mirror and place it on the floor with your cam angle facing down at you — this way, when you're using [a] toy, the viewer can see your whole body and also underneath you, to see you use your toy." Give Yourself A Boost
"If you are clumsy, try to do all your dancing or stripping by a wall, in a door frame, or by a railing in your hallway — so you have something to hold."
"Mirrors are amazing! If you can, put a mirror behind you, off to one side, so your viewer can see both sides of you. Another way is to get an inexpensive, full-length mirror and place it on the floor with your cam angle facing down at you — this way, when you're using [a] toy, the viewer can see your whole body and also underneath you, to see you use your toy." Give Yourself A Boost
"If you are clumsy, try to do all your dancing or stripping by a wall, in a door frame, or by a railing in your hallway — so you have something to hold."
It's All You
"Say that you’re having phone sex or FaceTiming with someone. Just really listen to how they react, and know that when someone is being turned on, that’s coming from you. Look at yourself in the mirror and realize how freaking gorgeous you are. You don’t need to be a size two! I’ve never been a small girl; I’ve always been a BBW and I love it."
"Say that you’re having phone sex or FaceTiming with someone. Just really listen to how they react, and know that when someone is being turned on, that’s coming from you. Look at yourself in the mirror and realize how freaking gorgeous you are. You don’t need to be a size two! I’ve never been a small girl; I’ve always been a BBW and I love it."