Camera operators, paid $500 to $700 per shoot, can earn more than performers, and directors rake in the most, with $5,000 paychecks.Īll things considered, the money's not great. Tarrant said female performers can make a minimum of $300 for a solo scene, $800 for a lesbian scene, and $1000 for a straight sex scene, while male performers can expect a minimum of $200 for straight sex and $500 for gay sex. In porn, unlike much else, women generally out-earn men. This makes it hard to estimate industry averages for filming costs, but Shira Tarrant, author of The Pornography Industry, was able to give The Atlantic some rough numbers from a larger production company's shoot in Los Angeles. The porn industry is more prolific than Kanye West trying to release an album, though its exact output numbers are well-hidden under layers of piracy, social taboo, and monopolies.
