At the same time, I was talking more about guys who get into photography as a hobby or small side gig. Primarily guys because of wanting to get laid or be invited to parties. It would be about the "lifestyle." For instance, a while back, I was talking with an acquaintance who was telling us he made it to one of the sports illustrated/playboy parties because he was a photographer.
They heyday of "the lifestyle" as your imagining - and I say this because of the questions you're asking - is long gone. Photography, today, is an oversaturated market as is. There's easier ways to get laid - get good at an instrument, etc. Any idiot with some cash can pick up a camera, and any camera made within the last, I dunno, seven to thirteen years will take a technically decent photo on auto mode. If you're looking to get good enough as a photographer to be getting invited to actual industry parties, you're very quickly gonna run into having to deal with the question of, are you limiting your opportunities by thinking with both your heads? The truth is, these days, the difference between a great photographer, and an amazing photographer is often not the pictures, but the professionalism they bring to the table. Yes, the skill has to be there, but let's be honest, learning to take good pictures is not as hard as other things. What's hard, what gets you calls and the job, the thing that keeps editors, brands, etc., coming back to you, is your personality, charisma, attitude, and professionalism. Its your ability to deal with people in "difficult" situations. I've seen young photographers that are far more passionate than I was, at their age, producing work WAY above what I was producing at their age - again, today's technological advantage is huge. But I'm still the one getting the calls, and it's not because my pictures are orders of magnitude better than theirs.
So can you get good enough to get invited to a "sports illustrated/playboy" party? Sure. Is that your goal? Totally fine if it is.
My point is, why are you in the game? Because the level you want to get to will tell you how you need to behave. And your behaviour will impose a ceiling on where you can go and who you can hobnob with. You want to go to OF model parties? Cool, and nothing wrong with that (or those parties!). I bet you it's a lot easier to get into than you think. Tons of chicks out there wanting a dude to do all the hard work, and for them to pose/fuck and then rake in the money. Make content, get connections, bam, you're there. But why are you there? To fuck those models? Because it's a lot less effort to bang equally hot SPs. lolol
Also on Instagram there are guys/photographers who organize "events" at islands or exotic locations(hotels, resorts). I saw the models who were going to attend and a bunch of them had OF and there was even one porn star who went there. Those guys say it's going to be a "photography event." Hence, I was wondering what exactly was going on are those guys "known" in the photography industry do they have their own "niche." Or are they adult content creators calling themselves photographers?
Yes, we call them porn producers, or event organizers, or dudes spending money trying to get laid and paid. Imagine having to organize, invite, and host a massive event to get laid, fucking lol
In all seriousness, your question doesn't make sense. There's no "photography industry." There's sport photography, editorial, fashion, portaiture, commercial, etc., etc., etc. There's tons of niches and it's rare that a photographer does everything. It's not one big industry - as much as the gear-focused YT content creators would want you to believe. I can tell you that I don't know any photographers in my side of the fashion industry that throw the kind of events or parties you're talking about themselves. If you're connected, you get invited to parties thrown by brands and other outfits, and then, just like in every walk of life, if you're likeable, and charismatic, and people want you around, you get to go to the afterparties or you host small afterparty that people attend, and whether the people have OF or not, sex happens.
Equally there's an adult content niche where those photographers and videographers attend parties and, from what I've heard, it can be a wild time. But, again, that's not because everybody fucks at those parties; the people who fuck are the people who would fuck at other parties too - maybe it's a bit easier, but likely not much. But the rest of your days are stuck shooting porn or being around the porn industry which, nothing wrong with that, but, man, I absolutely do not want the desensitization to sex that comes with having that job. My job has me seeing tons of high end, beautiful models naked all the time, and every time I see them naked, my heart still jumps because the sexyness, and sultriness, and beauty hasn't left for me.
I felt most people inferred what I actually did anyway. I do have a civilian job as well now, so that is what I list as an occupation alone. Makes life much easier, I'm very big on privacy and discretion.
