How long do you take to prepare before broadcasting?

[Honey_Suckle]

Hi everyone ,

I am just wondering how long do you take before switching the cam on to prepare yourself? what sort of things do you do to prepare not only your set but prepare yourself (mentally and psychically)

 

[bad_rapunzel]

Majority of the time I get on in the evenings. So, I leave whatever make up I had on from earlier on in the day. Then, I add more to it: darker eyebrows, heavier mascara, overboard on the contouring<<(this isn't obvious on cam, it looks quite nice in my experience.)
However, the biggest portion of my prep time consists of heavy breathing,sweaty palms, mini panic attacks,and checking my webcam to see what I look like from the cam's perspective. All of which is a part of the mental mind-fuck I go through when convincing myself to click "Broadcast Webcam." Once the conversations gets rolling, I calm down, let my walls down, and just be myself.
I don't know if you drink, smoke, or 420. I don't do any of the above, but if I did, I think it would help take the edge off.

 

[Honey_Suckle]

Thanks for your message. I have been preparing like an hour or half an hour before I go on cam but my partner was like no you need to be more organised than that. I think I am like you though .. I go through a mental mind fuck and panic. I don't smoke and only have a drink or two occasionaly but ye sometimes i think if i had a glass of wine it would make me more confident .. but if it works i would rely on it too much , it would be a bad move.

 

[AerynShade]

Between 45 seconds and three days.

 

[Magnolia]

Solid two to three hours. I take long showers (~30min), put on make up (~1hr... I'm super meticulous), set up all my sound and camming equipment (~10min), and warm up my voice (~15-30min). That doesn't include me fucking around in between.

 

[BiancaBaker]

I know I don't live cam but I do make clips full time > it takes me 15-20 minutes to set up my lighting system and about 20 mins to do full makeup and straighten my hair > 5-15 mins getting my wardrobe set for each clip I need to make and then turning everything on and hit record

 

[ThePrincessLuxy]

I spend about 20-40 mins putting on makeup (I wear a lot for cam... If I don't I look really washed out.) and then about 10 mins taking selfies to post. Usually around an hour or so

 

[EroticEevee]

I take about 30 minutes...20 of those minutes being me trying to calm myself lol. I usually end up smoking and getting distracted...

 

[HaleyBlake]

It takes me 15-20 to put on my super heavy cam makeup, then about 3 minutes to slap on my wig, then about 5 to set up my cam area. Then I spend between 1 hr - 2 hrs sitting infront of my laptop completely ready contemplating if getting on is even worth it and if I'll even make any money. 50% of the time I'll have enough confidence to get on lol.

I also work on Streamate and it's been SO. FUCKING. BAD. for me lately that it makes it really really really hard to log on. Before this weird period of awfulness I could normally get on easily. Ah those were the days...

 

[Empress Mika]

1 full hour ^_^ I do a light hair style, makeup, lighting, decide what to wear, move my laptop to my dresser and make my bed. It also takes another full hour to put my bedroom back together and take off my make up, haha.

 

[CrazyCatLady]

3 minutes.

Throw on eyeliner and lip gloss.

Walk to cam room.

Pick something out of clean hamper.

Tada!!!!

Lollll!

 

[LittleLei]

It can range anywhere from 1-2 hours. I take my time doing my makeup in general so if I am trying to achieve a different look than the norm than that alone takes a good solid hour. If I do my hair that is another 30 minutes to an hour, and set up (moving items around, previewing stream and positions before broadcasting, social account updates) for me takes around 30 minutes as well.

Sometimes I talk to myself in the mirror and pump myself up mentally to get good vibes going right before hitting broadcast. I have had a glass of wine before to help take the edge off a few times, but I try not to drink before broadcasting in fear I will be tempted to have another and then be a hot mess online.

 

[Ava Nicole]

I'd say it usually takes me a solid 2 hours from the minute I decide "hey I should cam", to the minute I press broadcast. The actual getting ready part takes about an hour (shower, makeup, hair), but there's always about another hour of dicking around, procrastinating, having a drink, setting up lights, taking selfies etc. I sometimes also take like 20 minutes to browse around and watch some top models before I log in so I'm feeling social and motivated.

 

[evie19]

About 2 hours.....shower,makeup,hair,finding clothes,trying to clean my room so it won't look like a complete mess and telling myself to go online because it's gonna be a good day...

 

[charlottewebb]

I have so much love for this thread right now! As someone who goes through a lot of stress and self doubt before broadcasting (sometimes the whole day prior leading up to a planned shift), it's so good to know I'm not alone in this. As soon as I'm on and talking to a few people I relax and have a great time and find it hard to leave, so I'm pretty bummed that I miss a lot of nights I could've be on because I couldn't work up the courage.
Anyway, I digress. I always shower, put some makeup on and then find something to wear, so maybe an hour or so.

 

[AerynShade]

I was very drunk when I posted this:

Between 45 seconds and three days.

That being said, I wasn't being flippant. Some days I literally just think, huh, yeah I look decent I'll switch on my cam and see what happens. I may not have showered that day and would definitely not have put on makeup, and only at some point earlier brushed my hair. So those are my 45 seconds days.
Other days, man, it takes me forever. Shower, hair, makeup, set-up, and then... sometimes I don't even log on! My anxiety sometimes gets the better of me and I just get stuck in a weird loop of not being able to log on for fear I won't make money. Which is dumb, because I certainly don't make money when I don't cam/film!

 

[Ann_Sulu]

I prefer two hours. Most of this is because I get on Skype in the mornings about two hours after I wake up. I take about an hour to chill and relax with coffee, and the other to basically get clothes, mess with lighting, slap on lipstick, check email, upload a few videos, pics and tweet that I'm on. What's nice though, is I do Skype before I get on cam, so that helps with my "rushed" feels I used to have. I get on Streamate 2 hours after I start doing Skype, so yeah nice transition.

 

[SaffronBurke]

It's been a while since I've live cammed, but when I do, it's something like this:

Skincare - 20-30 mins
Makeup - 40-60 mins
Brush hair - 2 mins
Find something to wear and put it on - 3 mins
Make my bed and straighten up parts of room that are visible in the cam - 1-15 mins, depending on how much stuff there is
Go to the bathroom before shift - 2-10 mins, depending on how long I sit there on tumblr on my phone
Fix cam focus and color settings, stare into cam and make noises expressing how much I don't wanna - 1-30 mins

 

[missrosexox]

I got it down to an hour or an hour and a half... so glad I don't shave my pussy anymore! Also used to take longer before I quit smoking cigarettes cuz it became part of my anxiety ritual. I don't do dramatic eye shadow lately (just haven't been in the mood), so I can get my makeup and hair done pretty fast, especially if I feel energetic/focused that day. In general, I'm more relaxed and happy when my environment is tidy/comfortable, so getting my room ready is really important.

I feel like an hour or an hour and a half is totally average, even for someone with a vanilla job that's less emotionally demanding and stressful.

 

[Rockin'Jade]

1 hour 15 minutes...taking a shower (40 minutes, I love long showers to relax), some natural make up, pick an outfit and underwear...and setting the computer and webcam.
And then, SHOWTIME!!!!

 

[JoleneBrody]

all day

 

[Honey_Suckle]

I get that way too .. I sit before I put the cam on thinking is this going to be a good night? and worry myself. I tend not to have a shower before camming as I end up covered in oil at some point and getting really warm. I will shower that morning or the night before after broadcasting. I really need to spend more time on my set and lighting however and possibly makeup .. I don't have an artistic hand for nice flicks with eyeliner and smoky eye shadows etc so makeup for me takes 5 mins .. foundation , mineral powder , mascara and lipgloss.

 

[Alisa]

About 10 minutes to put make up on, 5 minutes to put something on, and 5 minutes to set the lights and laptop.

 

[AmberCutie]

Physical prep probably takes me about 35 minutes. That includes a partial shower (if you're gonna be touching your goodies and licking fingers, better make the goodies super-clean, ey?!), makeup, hair straightening (add 30+ minutes if using a curling iron instead of straightening), getting the room set up (lights on, cam settings adjusted, music on) and putting on whatever I'm wearing for cam.

Mental prep? Psssh... some days that takes me all damn day. And on some of those days, I end up not signing on at all. On top of physically feeling ill some days, the mental and emotional toll that the job takes on us is just too much sometimes, and the only solution is to allow yourself the day off. Getting on cam when you're not in the right mental/emotional state can lead to bad things.

If I left the house that day, I need at least an hour to decompress and catch up on interwebsy type stuff before I even start the 35 minute prep.

 

[JoleneBrody]

I'm so jealous of these 10 minute and 35 minutes prep times!

 

[SatanJonez]

Clip maker here, but the setup and getting ready process is near identical to when I cammed.

Shower & make up: an hour to an hour and a half
Set up my area: 20 minutes to 40 minutes depending where I am filming clips
Adjusting lighting/camera angle: 10 minutes
Taking pictures because I look awesome: 5 minutes

Then I start to film, rinse and repeat for everything besides make up & shower (depending on the type of clip) for each series of clips I do that day.

 

[Alisa]

Well obviously mental preparation never ends. It never ceases to amaze me how much mental strength we need to have.

Edit: sorry for a very negative initial post.

 

[JustineSunday]

Solid two to three hours. I take long showers (~30min), put on make up (~1hr... I'm super meticulous), set up all my sound and camming equipment (~10min), and warm up my voice (~15-30min). That doesn't include me fucking around in between.

Vocal warm up is a good idea

I'm reckless and overly excited, Ive just make made sure my hair and makeup is on point, throw on some cute lingerie and slam the broadcast button. Then, hope for the best

 

[CoraBorealis]

About 30 minutes for makeup, hair, and getting dressed (+ 30 minutes if I decide to straighten my hair, but that's rare).
My partner gets my room ready for me, including picking up, setting up lights, making the bed, and getting me a glass of water and other drinks or food if I need them.

Show prep such as topics, sales, props and/or cleanup for special shows, etc. are set up earlier in the day.

To pump myself up, I either listen to sexy music or watch other camgirls while I'm getting ready.

 

[HotAndScottish]

About an hour, most of that is spent doing my makeup.

Having a schedule and sticking to it makes sure I don't take longer than I need.