I try to treat this as a proper job, and sometimes I feel guilty about taking a few days off, but it’s usually always worth it if I can come back re-energised, focused and ready to hustle again!
I was really getting close to burn-out by this point with the long nights and affected sleeping pattern that came along with it. I wasn’t taking great care of myself – for example, I wouldn’t eat 3 hours before I knew I was due to cam for fear of looking bloated, then would binge on excessive amounts of carbs as soon as I’d signed off. I also found myself turning down invites to go out with friends in favour of staying home, trapped in the confines of my cam room, which at times was a palace and others a prison.
Sometimes I’d even opt to sleep in there, and there were a number of occasions I didn’t leave the house for a week – other than taking the 5 minute walk to the local Londis shop to buy cigarettes and energy drinks, just to keep me going!
When you’re your own boss and work your own hours the flexibility is a brilliant thing, but it made it very difficult for me to switch off from ‘cam mode’ and stop thinking about work. Even the majority of my down time was spent creating graphics to advertise my upcoming shows and promote my social media, or filming and editing short videos which I’d sell online or offer as an incentive to my highest tipper. I was a busy boy! I lived and breathed the cam boy lifestyle…
I’ve been much more focused lately in doing community driven tip-based shows via Cam4 and that’s been working out quite well! The goal I’m aiming for is $500 a month.
I know I’m not the first (and wont be the last]) to come up with game ideas to keep the room feeling fresh and exciting but I don’t see as much of it on Cam4 as say, Chaturbate or MFC and I really wanna be a part of bringing some of that fun back the community!
The dice game was a particular favourite last weekend and I can’t wait to play that again this Friday! The way it works is there’s a set of actions corresponding to a number on a dice. 20 tokens per roll and you can get anything from a cock flash to a full blown ass pounding ala my trusty black dildo. Roll a 6 and my fate is entirely in your hands – I’ve got quite a collection of toys and outfits available to me now so there’s plenty of options to choose from if you are a bit of a sadist and enjoy seeing me suffer. Equally, a 50 token tip guarantees you an automatic 6, so if you’re not much of a gambling man and feel like having your way with me, for an extra 30 tokens you’re more than welcome to.
Did I mention I also have 2 dices now? Still trying to figure out the logistics of how this one’s gonna work, but I’ll definitely throw in a bit of foot play for those who come into my cam room looking to get off on that. I was thinking of offering free 1-on-1 Skype calls to anyone who rolls, lets say an 8, but I’m still not decided yet…
I haven’t devoted myself to as many paid Skype shows this week which has been quite a refreshing break. I’ve made the odd £20 here and there when Cam4 viewership has been weak, but I’ve not felt in the mood for anything too extreme so that’s kind of on hold for the moment…
If you’re serious about being a cam boy or cam girl for the foreseeable future then there are things that you’re going to need to invest in to ensure you look the best you can on cam.
When it comes to Webcams, for the first couple of months I relied purely on my in-built laptop webcam alone, but to compete with the competition I knew I had to step it up a mark and invest in something more upmarket.
With an in-built webcam you’re rather limited in movement, but with an external one you’re not held back by that restriction. POV (Point of View) shots can make a cam session feel a lot more intimate and individual. What I mean by this is, for example, holding the webcam in your hand and facing it downwards towards your dick, then moving it closer whilst you jerk off, giving the viewer an up-close and personal view.
Alternatively if you’re female you might want to place the webcam slightly below your breasts then angle it facing upwards so they’re taking up the majority of the screen – this will make them inevitably look larger, and your viewer(s) will feel as if they’re on their knees below you looking up in admiration – this would work perfect for any sub/dom ‘worship’ based sessions.
Some of the HD webcams can admittedly be quite expensive, but think of it as an investment – if you’re camming on a tipping based site more people are going to be drawn into your room if the picture clarity is crisp and clear. And if you’re camming one-on-one for a specific client then a webcam with a great autofocus will work wonders when it comes to their requests to see things up close in high definition.
The first professional webcam I bought was the HP HD 4310 – with 1080p widescreen capability and decent auto focus. I now use that as a back up webcam, having more recently invested in a Logitech C920 – popular among many webcam performers for its crystal clear clarity, widescreen view and above all else, it’s amazing autofocus (for me it certainly holds the gold standard when it comes to that alone!)
‘Lighting set up’ and room set up are something that should be considered together. Even if you haven’t yet the money to invest in a high-end webcam, a well lit camming space can make more of a difference than you may have imagined! The general rule
of thumb is that you want most of the light to be hitting you from the front. Any flexible lamp is capable of doing this. My lighting setup’s actually pretty simple – I generally just use a standard desk lamp that I place high up on a shelf behind my laptop and adjust so the light’s reflected on to me. I have overhead lighting in the room which isn’t too intense, so I generally keep that on most of the time too so the backgrounds clearly visible, but not the main focus point of my stream.
‘Room set up’ is something that varies from cammer to cammer, but you want to keep all your essentials (everything I went over in Tip #4 and anything else that may be specific to you as a performer) as close by as possible. As someone who cams primarily for the kink/fetish community, I get a lot of ‘Do you have a leather harness? Or a rubber vest?’ requests. I make sure to always keep these pieces in close proximity, in a box underneath my desk, so I can access them with ease and show them off on cam when needed.
‘Games’ aren’t for every performer but for me I like to provide as interactive as an experience for my viewers as I possibly can. The dice game I mentioned in my July 9th entry (which I advertise online as ‘Feti$h Casino’) is my personal go-to, but there are plenty of other ideas for games that can keep your regulars enticed, and help draw in new viewers while you’re at it. I’ve seen other cammers offer raffle-based games where viewers purchase a ticket for a pre-determined amount and if their ticket is chosen (usually the ‘host’ will place all the raffle tickets in a bag or box, then choose one at random), then the viewer who purchased it can either make a request, or there will be an action pre-written on the back of the ticket (show feet, lick armpits, dildo play) which the performer will then carry out.
These are merely a few suggestions – be creative and inventive! There are many variations you can come up with to keep things fresh and exciting in your room, and there’s never any harm in trying out something new. If it doesn’t work, scrap it, forget about it for the time being and give things a little re-think when you’re ready. Don’t be afraid to ask your viewers for suggestions or help either – you might be surprised by what they’re able to come up with!