I am a wedding photographer, one of the most in-demand. But if it wasn't for me being sidetracked into shooting porn, I likely wouldn't be now, and I wouldn't have met my fiancé.
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So, about me. When I started out I was a very small-time photographer, and not famous by any means. I tried to make it in Hollywood for a few years, but that's a tough game to break into unless you know the right people. I moved to another city in the middle of the country when a friend from college said there was a market for high end photography that wasn't being met by the locals.
It went well for a few years, and I was doing professional headshots, senior photos, corporate videos, you name it. I wasn't rich, but I was making do in a city with a cheaper cost of living. Plus I was being creative, I was my own boss, and I didn't have to work retail, in a boring office, or in some factory. I was even saving a good amount of money for a house.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and it threw everything off. Being self-employed meant that unemployment insurance wasn't a thing, and most of the relief efforts went to small businesses with employees. I had to dip into my savings, including my mortgage down payment account. Things were looking bleak, and I was considering getting a job at a distribution warehouse for a large e-commerce company with a poor record of treating its frontline workers.
But then I stumbled upon a post on Craigslist. One industry that did thrive during COVID-19 was content makers, especially OnlyFans. There was a local couple, Brett and Rachel, that had barely been making it happen as wannabe influencers before the pandemic. Like many attractive people during the crisis, OnlyFans started looking like a good option.
The only issue was that with so many other people joining, there was an arms race of quality content. Some people found niches, some did the nastiest stuff possible, others tried to create engaging personas. But most of all, the look mattered. It was hard to compete with only an iPhone and a poorly lit bedroom. Even the overseas streamers from poorer nations had ring lights, elaborate set-ups and a number of other innovations. Brett and Rachel knew they needed to up their game, and were looking for a talented photographer.
I was mixed about it, of course. There was a small world of media professionals in this city, and talk happened. I didn't know anything about this couple, especially if they were particularly stable, mentally and financially. I'd been burned for payment by upstanding members of society, people with means who would fight having to pay bills (I can't even look at the bus bench ads with the local ambulance chasing lawyer because his ads use my unpaid photos to get injured people to sign with him).
But like many of the creators turning to sex work, I looked at my bank account. Five years of that mortgage savings were quickly running out to cover rent today. I figured it couldn't hurt to reach out...
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We met outside on their back porch. It turned out they were normal, well-adjusted people, if maybe a bit vain and fame seeking. I'd dealt with local CEOs, bridezillas, and crazy parents expecting Vogue level senior photos on a local photographer's budget. I wasn't put off at all.
They had just started, and for the most part it was tame. Mostly lingerie, and some basic nudity. They had been getting more requests, and they were at first looking for help setting up their bedroom better for shoots, as well as an tasteful artistic set as a test to see how it played.
"We're still finding our niche, which is tough," Brett said.
They told me about their "influencer journey" and I managed not to roll my eyes at the pretentiousness of it all. Later I would watch their videos as I tried to get a creative sense about them. It was all basic stuff -- every meal, date, and outing was turned into content, though outside a few trips to Chicago and one to LA, their content shot in this mid-sized city didn't offer much to compete with the more glamorous influencers.
"We're not even in Utah, so we can't fake Mormon our way in," Rachel complained.
"I think the wine bottles would be a dead giveaway," I said, looking at their content.
I agreed to set up some lighting in their bedroom with equipment they already had, and maybe sell them some of my old equipment I was close to pawning anyway. I made some measurements and told them about the plan.
I went home to draw it all out. I played some of their videos as I sketched out the set up. I saw a few of the dates they had been on: A wine and painting class, a cooking class, mini-golf, etc. There was nothing special about it.
But I got a message, where they sent me photos of what they were seeing on OnlyFans that they liked. I looked at it, and while it was classier photos of couples than merely fucking or masturbating, it was still sort of an amateurish take, with the images focused on the breasts, ass, or occasionally the man.
I was just finishing the sketch when an idea hit me. I recalled seeing art materials spread about, and recalled they did hobby stuff in their videos. I messaged asking them about it. They confirmed they still had the stuff, but didn't have an idea of how to use it.
"Let me think about it," I said.
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I spent the rest of the evening setting up ideas for how to repurpose their hobby video props for OnlyFans. The first round was in the kitchen.
I staged the whole thing as a kitchen-based boudoir shoot. It would combine a few things they had done. They would be using cooking and baking classes to make food. Both would be wearing nothing but an apron. Food, wine bottles and glasses, and kitchen utensils would be used strategically and suggestively. There was very little nudity, honestly. Just their asses were shown in and out occasionally, with the exception of photos showing flour handprints on both their asses from the scene where they made tarts for dessert.
On the whole, it was a sexy, but tasteful thing. They loved it so much, they decided to shoot a reaction video titled "We Did Boudoir Photos!" for their YouTube couples page. It managed to boost their YouTube following among the sex positive community, and drew some subscribers to their OnlyFans. Soon it became obvious that a rebrand as a sexy couple was in order.
"Thank you so much for that," Rachel said, "We've got a whole new angle."
"I bet we can get a show on that, being the sexy couple," Brett said.
"Yes! Forget the Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian sex tape. We can be more tasteful and sexier! Other couples will be jealous of what we have," Rachel said.
"We can make it sexy, but not technically porn," Brett said.
That was the plan, but it's funny how things change.
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Their #SexyCoupleGoals brand sustained them for several months, as they built an audience of couples who were struggling being cooped up so much. Couples that might have divorced instead found sexy inspiration and renewed their bonds. Fan comments and messages came flooding in. They reached a sponsorship deal with an adult toy and clothing retailer and they received great commissions, despite their stuff still being relatively tame.
But these things go in cycles, and those cycles move fast. And disruptive events shake up other areas of society. For example, modern swinging culture began in World War II when war pilots, facing a high loss rate, created a wife-swapping culture as a means of bonding against the spectre of death and creating a community for the too many widows that would result.
COVID was no different. While the tamer stuff helped existing monogamous couples, ethical non-monogamy came to the cultural fore.
That led to a change in porn and content creation. The step-family porn was declining, and the older fantasies about cheating weren't in vogue anymore. People were looking for good nonmonogamy that offered examples. Rachel and Brett could see the change coming, and they had a choice to make.
They called me over one day.
"So, we're thinking of inviting another woman over for a shoot," Brett said, explaining the rationale.
"Okay, if you two are sure about it, I will shoot it," I said.
"It's just going to be playful and tasteful, as implied as we can get," Rachel said.
That led to several conversations and planning. We met with Georgina, a gorgeous Latina and local content maker. She had been amazed to learn Brett and Rachel lived nearby, and loved the idea of pairing with such a popular couple on the platform. That led to another round of discussion about how they could collaborate on something.
