CamWithHim

It’s been a while since I added a camming tips post on the blog here, but today I felt I had to do it and focus on perhaps the most basic thing that’s required. Yes, I’m talking about the dreaded internet connection!

Over the past couple of days my service provider has been experiencing problems. These problems are so bad it’s resulted in me loosing money through being unable to work; many sites I have to access simply will not load.

After arguing with my ISP and eventually getting them to admit (24 hours later) that it is their problem and not my equipment, I’ve started to look at the competition out there and I’m now looking at moving my service to another.

I’m not going to go on about which service you should choose, because that would be impossible with all the thousands of providers out there depending on what country you’re in, but I will suggest that customer service should be a priority.

Definitely pay attention to the reputation a service provider has, and shop around. It might be better to pay more for a faster service, but it’s pretty pointless if they have a higher down-time than their competitors, and if their systems have been hacked before, or their reputation is poor…

So there you have it guys, the first step in being a cam guy is to make sure your internet service provider is capable of offering you the right service!

Yep, it’s taken me an hour to write this post and add the pic

Posted in:

Equipment

You know, while I’m not a pro cam hunk like the guys we have here, I do get on the cam myself sometimes and strut my stuff (see, the fact that I just used that term shows how lame I am!)

And although I have a Mac with a built in cam that really is pretty cool, you kind of need one that you can move around. So I bought a USB cam a while ago and use that to chat to some guys I know out there. But, of course, there is a down side to having an external cam. The main one is that you often need to balance it and find ways of securing it into a good position.

Last night I was chatting to this really hot guy I know in California, and my little (and expensive!) cam was balanced on a shelf. Everything was in place, and we were totally getting into it, having a great time. I turned around briefly and heard one of the most horrid sounds a tech geek like me could hear – splash!

Yeah, let this be a lesson to you, don’t balance your camera on a shelf above an aquarium!

My buddy swears that for about a second he saw fishes looking into the lens and greeting their sudden arrival, then it went black. lol

I guess this post is good for making sure you all think about where you put that cam and what you do to it. It’s also a really good idea to have a backup ready to go, just in case you’re an idiot like I am. Oh, I miss my cam already

Posted in:

Equipment, General, Silly / Funny

A few days ago when I posted that hot pic of Nick Nine and I mentioned my buddy who’s been camming with a chick… Well, of course I had to talk to him about Cam With Him, and he decided to come and check it out. He’s straight, but he’s actually really interested in being a cam guy!

I had a feeling he’d been in before because it’s not something I avoid talking about with my buddies, but he actually said he’d taken a browse around after I suggested that it might be something he could be interested in doing. He was really impressed too, because he’d assumed that it was all gay guys jerking off on their cams for other guys to watch, and when he found out that the guys can pretty much do what they want on cam and plenty just love to flex their muscles for the boys he was definitely more into the idea. Although, I don’t think he’d have too many limits if I’m totally honest lol

He has a really fun attitude too, so it goes well with him being handsome and well-built. And he’s a real laugh too, always fun to be around.

I’ve sent him the link to the page about becoming a cam guy so he can really check it out properly, and I hope he goes for it! I’ll make sure to feature him on the blog too if he suddenly pops up here, I know you guys will like him

If you know any guys out there who might enjoy it, you should definitely mention it to them and point them to the site, you never know, they could be the next top cam hunk on the site!

Posted in:

General

A while ago I talked about the phenomena of guys out there on their cams who are “headless”. They don’t show their faces because they fear that someone might recognize them. I pointed out that it was extremely unlikely that in the massive number of people out there someone you know might happen to stumble across you just at the right time.

So while that aspect of privacy was discussed, there was something else that I didn’t consider…

What happens when you save your private webcam videos on your computer, and someone else gets hold of it?

I had to bring this up today when a found out that buddy of mine recently had a very embarrassing experience with a house mate of his. He loves to cam with guys out there, and he has a habit of taking pics and videos of himself in front of his cam. Although he keeps himself to himself in the house and doesn’t really socialize with the other guys there, he had one of the guys ask if he could borrow his laptop to do a little job hunting. He was new to the area and the house, so my buddy was happy to oblige. And he admits that the guy was really gorgeous too!

So he lent him his laptop and didn’t think much of it. Until the next evening when the guy brought it back and thanked him, telling him it had been extremely useful, with a kinky smile and a wink.

My buddy immediately realized that he’d left three videos on there from some cam sessions a few weeks before, enjoying his toys and showing off for some guy he was chatting to in another city. Yes, very embarrassing!

So, let that be a lesson to you; curiosity gets the better of most of us, and you can’t really predict what circumstances might lead to someone else having access to your computer.

Posted in:

General, Silly / Funny

Don’t get me wrong, I love animals. I could entertain myself for months with a cat and a laser pointer. And indeed I have been known to knock myself out with laughter when I’ve had the opportunity to combine the two! I love dogs, and I have one myself. He’s a dopey animal who seems to think he’s a mountain Goat, climbing all over the furniture. I often get in to find him standing on the dining room table.

But turning on a cam to chat with a guy and being introduced to Spot is not exactly exciting or titillating. Yeah, we get it, he’s like your baby. You’ll be getting out the photo album next and showing us pictures of when you got Mr. Buggles and brought him home.

The thing is, while it might seem harsh, most of us don’t care! lol

It’s like calling your friend thousands of miles away and having to talk to their three month old baby for ten minutes while they monitor the kids face for any sign of recognition or sudden epiphany. The kid doesn’t get that they are hearing the voice of someone on the other side of the planet. Just like them, the dog doesn’t get that his image is being beamed into the bedroom of a dude who wants to see you putting on a show. lol

Where did this post come from? A guy I was on cam with last night (not on Cam With Him I must add) insisted that I “talk” to his puppy while he went to get a beer. It’s a good thing the guy is seriously hot!

Posted in:

General, Silly / Funny

I mentioned in another post (Camming Tips – Get the Lighting Right) that you can really change the mood of a cam session with a little change in lighting. Now, I could get really technical on your asses and start talking about light temperature and all the different types of lighting to make yourself stand out and appear a little differently, but I’m not gonna do that because you’ll all be unconscious within seconds.

Instead, I’m just gonna say that using a ceiling light or a desk lamp produces different results. You want to make it interesting don’t you? So try things out and see what works. Do you want to look like you’re being interrogated with that lamp pointing right at your handsome face? Is that light behind you making you look like an evil dark entity has entered the room?

My tip: invest in clip-on or adjustable spot that you can either move around on the desk or clip to something higher up. Better still, use more than one on either side to avoid major shadows. Unless you’re going for those shadows of course!

In the meantime, check out some of these cam guy pics that I’ve chosen to show how much difference a little change in lighting can make. Yeah, a lot of these are probably accidental, and most probably weren’t considering it at all, but it just goes to show that a little change like that can really make a difference to the audience.

Posted in:

General, Silly / Funny

Okay so there are thousands of options out there for the kind of tech we might need to show off to others over the net, some of them are obvious, but there might be some things you haven’t considered when it comes to how you use your tech. For instance, some of the highly rated professional cams might provide an image far greater than anyone will ever need, but moving that cam might be no easier than maneuvering a canoe around your room.

Here are some things you should consider before investing your cash in a top-of-the-range cam to put on a good show.

Image Quality
It goes without saying that the image quality is vital to putting on a good show. Unless you’re hoping to give the impression of being in a snow storm, a resolution of 640 x 480 is the bare minimum. The higher you go, the better the image quality will be. If you’re planning to go pro, Hi-Definition is now all the rage and not just a buzz-word designed to impress. Having said that, it’s certainly a selling point to be able to add that as a bonus of viewing your cam.

Still Images
Still images are essential for most of us, and thankfully many provide this feature in the most standard ways. If you’re looking for a built-in solution, images should be at least 2.0 Megapixels.
You can of course utilize software for the same process, but the quality is likely to be far lower.

Audio
Most cams now come with a built-in mic, but as I’ve said before, to avoid sounding like you’re trapped down a well, an external mic or bluetooth headset is preferable. With the addition of a cheap Bluetooth dongle, the use of a completely detached Bluetooth headset is made far easier, allowing you to move around as you need.

Lenses
The choice between a glass lens and a plastic one is really a no-brainer. Plastic can discolor and scratch easily, and while glass might be more fragile, unless you’re playing baseball on cam I would go with glass for improved image quality. The cost difference is negligible anyway.

Pointless Stuff
Special effects and image overlays are fun, but are you going to use them? Many cams now come with all sorts of useless add-on’s that might be a novelty for half an hour, but they’ll become pointless pretty quickly. Don’t be persuaded into sacrificing image quality or usability just because you can add a tacky looking frame to your broadcast at the click of a mouse.

Flexibility
One thing that many guys don’t consider is the close up shots you’ll inevitably love to give your viewers. This means actually moving that cam around. Not only should you consider a USB extension cable to change that pointless three inch cable into a decent 10 foot one, but you should consider if the cam has a stand or a clip, and where you can put it for ease of use and the best angle.

Posted in:

General, Silly / Funny

Something many guys completely forget about when it comes to camming with people around the world is the audio quality. You want to be able to communicate while you’re watching each other don’t you? Now, nothing can really be done about the quality of the line from one side of the planet to the other, those pesky aliens attacking a satellite signal and wales scratching themselves against those ocean cables cannot be avoided (or so I’m told) but you can certainly make it better than sounding like you’re talking through string and cups.

Don’t Sound Like a Dalek

Yes, you might sound like Cheryl Cole after several shots of Whiskey, and there’s nothing we can do about you being lost in translation when you’re talking to someone who’s never heard your bizarre accent before, but plenty already have the problem of sounding like they’re trapped in a well or talking through a didgeridoo (y’know, those Native Australian instruments that sound like a swarm of bees about to attack.)

The main thing – and I cannot stress this enough – is to do away with any “built in” audio. The mic that comes with a camera is invariably useless unless you’re planning to give your audience a dental show; they just don’t pick up things more than a couple of feet away. And any mic built into the screen is probably going to be worse. The best option is to go down the Madonna route and buy an ear-piece with a mic built in. That way the distance between your mouth and the receiver is shorter and allows for less loss of definition, it’s immediately turned into electronic signals and maintains that integrity for longer.

Yes, the Madonna/Gaga option below is probably going too far, but you can buy reasonably priced and far more subtle head sets these days which will certainly do the job far more effectively than the standard built-in mics.

The Madonna (and now Gaga) Mic is probably over the top

Posted in:

General, Silly / Funny

One of the biggest problems for web cams is the lighting in the room where the action is going on. Although most older cams are really bad at auto-adjusting to compensate for poor lighting, even the newest cams with the most hi-spec technical ability cannot cope with blackout conditions.

Get The Lighting Right

Watching a cam with only the closest features captured in the spooky glow of the PC screen is not sexy. You might not want viewers to see the rest of your room, but lets face it, we need to see a little more than your nose (and anything else sticking out further than your shoulders!) and eyes in the darkness. This isn’t WW2 in the Blitz, you can turn a light on!

You don’t need any specialized equipment or even a top of the line cam (although, it has to be said that you get what you pay for with that kind of tech). The starting point is getting an adequate light source and putting it in the right place. Test it out a little first, make sure you don’t look like you’re under interrogation or about to be abducted by aliens in a beam of energy. Then you can start to play with lighting temperatures and really get all “techy” on our asses.

It’s amazing how different a daylight bulb is from a standard strip light, and a spot from a halogen. It can be the difference between you looking hot and sexy, or deceased last week.

Check out this cam shot for how NOT to use lighting. I know, I’m helpful like that

Posted in:

General, Silly / Funny

Okay, so lets not beat around the bush here, plenty of guys go on cam to show off their goods. We of all people know that that getting your junk out on web cam is a real turn on and watching another dude doing the same is awesome. But how many times have you really gotten into a show and then thought of some way to make it even better and run off to go searching…

Be Ready

So you’re getting really into it with someone on cam and you suddenly have a great idea, you go looking for that toy you need or the lube you forgot to find before you sat down. No one wants to sit staring at an empty room for ten minutes while you’re off hunting amongst the porno mags under your bed.

Make sure you know that you have everything within reach of the desk when you take your seat and start getting into it. Or at least take a break before you get REALLY into it and use that time to get things together. Better still, have a plan and know before you get started what you want to do, hat way you’ll know that the show you’re gonna put on for your audience is gonna be hot, and without interruption!

Posted in:

General