Photographer Captures Intimate And Unguarded Portraits Of Porn Stars

Photographer Roger Kisby has shot a series of intimate portraits of porn stars in their unguarded moments.

Taken at the Adult Video News Awards in 2013, the images show them relaxing and letting their hair down, a far cry from their public personas. Kisby’s first encounter with adult performers was at the same awards show last year, and he was taken with the energy and vibe from both the performers and fans. This time around, he had a better idea of the kind of pictures he wanted to capture.

Kisby admitted it was challenging getting the porn stars to loosen up at first, but they eventually softened and let their natural selves emerge.

h/t: designtaxi

Dakota Skye

“The AVN Awards are like the business front of the porn industry; they’re like the Oscars,” Kisby says.

Anri Okita

Carter Cruise

“There’s implied nudity, so it’s a nod to what they do on camera, but I didn’t want [the portraits] to be sexual in nature,” Kisby says.

August Ames

“I wanted to do portraits of the performers, to do something that was authentic and honest that would strip away—no pun intended—their outer performer aspects and [get at] who they are,” he told Refinery29.

Sara Jay

Riley Reid

“I had seen [Riley Reid] interact with her fans before, and she had a lot of people [lined up] to sign her video,” Kisby says. “Her attitude toward her fans was great to see — she was really into it! That’s 100% her personality.”

Tommy Pistol

Nina Hartley

Kisby enjoyed meeting both up-and-coming performers and pros. “Nina Hartley is a veteran and icon,” he says.

Valentina Nappi

Venus Lux

Kisby wanted his portraits to showcase the diversity in the industry and include trans performers.

Brent Ray Fraser

Sara Vibes

“It’s not just blondes and fake boobs — what people [may] think when they think of porn,” Kisby says.

Chanel Preston

Joanna Angel

“I’m trying to give an idea of who [the performers] are, as opposed to what they do,” Kisby says.

TS Foxxy

Bonnie Rotten

Kisby’s approach was to ask himself, “How do I shoot porn actors in a nonsexual way that is still interesting?”

Alexis Texas

Evan Stone

Lexington Steele

Skin Diamond

Little Red Bunny

James Deen

Samantha Mack

Jesse Jane

Kelly Shibari