What should I actually check in a porn contract?
You do not need to become a lawyer before doing a shoot. You do need to understand the document you are signing.
The first check is almost embarrassingly simple: does the paperwork describe the same job you were offered?
If the messages say photography and the agreement includes video, stop. If you discussed one scene and the document suddenly describes several, stop. If the person in the room is different from the person named in the agreement, stop and sort it out.
A contract should make the deal clearer, not reveal a different deal.
After that, I would look at money. Fee, currency, when payment happens, which expenses are separate, what happens if the shoot is cancelled, and whether additional work creates additional payment. You should be able to explain the commercial deal back in normal language after reading it.
Publication is usually the part worth slowing down for. Where can the material appear? For how long? Can it be licensed to other distributors? Can stills be taken from the film? Can trailers or clips be used publicly? Can your stage name and face be used in promotion?
The word "online" is not specific enough. A private client download, one subscription site and worldwide distribution are all online. They are obviously not the same deal.
Ownership can also sound more mysterious than it needs to. A producer may own the finished film while the performer has granted specific rights to use her image and performance. Different countries structure those rights differently. The practical question is still simple: what can the other party actually do with the material after I sign this?
Privacy belongs in the document too when it matters. What public name is used? Which legal details remain private? Is the face visible? Can identifying information be removed from public-facing credits?
Keep a copy of whatever you sign. This is the boring advice everybody agrees with and somebody still forgets on every other project.
I would also be suspicious of contracts used as a substitute for conversation. If the producer cannot explain the deal verbally and simply points at ten pages of legal language, that is not especially reassuring. The paperwork should record what both people already understand.
Europe is not one legal system, so there is no honest universal porn contract that covers every country and situation. If a clause genuinely matters and you do not understand it, get proper advice for the country involved.
On my projects, the contract is supposed to match the conversation we already had. The scope, payment, usage and publication should not become exciting new discoveries at signing.