Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Hard Alley


If you are going to hang around in alleys, be vigilant and strong...but above all...be well dressed.

Credits




Tuesday, May 13, 2014

What I Have Learned About Second Life Photography Part II or....Finding Inspiration

Once again, I am sharing what I have learned about Second Life Photography.  I will keep prefacing this by explaining that I am hardly one of the top photographers.   I have worked with some amazing photographers and I follow others I still want to work with.  While I am not one of the experts, I am an experienced beginner and have come a long way from where I started.

When I first started dabbling in SL photography, I simply found a pretty location or used a white screen...struck a pretty pose and started clicking away.  I did create some very pretty pictures, but I just wasn't creating anything with that little something extra.  One of the problems was that  a lot of my photos were way too much alike.   There were some differences, but the overall effect was becoming repetitive and boring.  I was getting to where I was bored of my own pictures and I was sure others were too.

I looked through my flicker for pictures that looked alike to demonstrate what I meant.  I had no trouble finding examples of repetition.  I changed up hair, clothes, and settings, but seriously....couldn't I do something different?

Check out the 3 examples below!  All pretty....but you can see I was struggling with being original.





I started paying closer attention to the work of SL photographers I admired and saw that they were able to create a variety of work and new and original photo sets that had different personalities.   One of the things that I noticed was that some of the best sets or photos had some sort of idea or vision that each set of pictures was created around. 

That was it!  I needed vision.  I started wracking my brain to come up with themes or ideas that I could use as a starting point;...but it just seemed forced.  I would see a cool idea and think I could do something with that, but it wasn't mine...and I didn't want to just copy what other people were doing.  So I tried to create some thematic photos....but struggled with it.

Below are a couple of early examples of me trying to "find a theme".  They are nice...but hardly inspired or unique. 




Lightning Strikes!
But then one day it came to me.  I LOVE music.  I specifically love hard rock from the 70's and 80's.   I soon realized that as I was listening to songs on the radio (I listen to SiriusXM Hair Nation) I was starting to visualize how they might look as a photo set.  Was I on to something?  Maybe...

My first set of musically inspired pictures are from the set "Fairies Wear Boots" and are loosely based on the Black Sabbath song.  I love this song and just thought it would be a great photo set.  This set was featured in my last post about Windlight settings...but you can see them here, too:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/vixeee/sets/72157644165260797/

I was so pleased with how they came out that I tried it again....with a more well-known song that is not from my favorite genre. You can see those results below with a couple of my these pictures.  They are part of a set called "She Blinded Me With Science". Can you guess which song inspired me?  I am really proud of them and think that they represent the direction that I want to go with my photography.  You can view the full set here, but my 2 favorites are below:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/vixeee/sets/72157644645501962/






So how can you use this?  I am not suggesting that every go forth and do photos based on songs.  Music might not be the inspiration for everyone.  But there is a world of inspiration in the things that you enjoy and that matter to you.  It could be Movies, TV, Books, Second Life Role Play, or something you encounter in RL  The important thing is to find your inspiration...something that will fill you with mental images you can translate to your SL pictures.  Once you find it and let your imagination go...the photos will create themselves. 

I hope this was helpful or least entertaining....because I really enjoyed writing it.

Happy erotic adventures to all of you!


Friday, May 9, 2014

What I learned about Second Life Photography Part 1 or..... What in the World are Windlight Settings

Part of my journey through my erotic adventures in Second Life has certainly been my growth as a photographer.  I want to start by clearly stating that I do not consider myself a great photographer, but I do think that I am an experienced beginner.  I thought that I might be able to share one of the tricks I have learned with other newbie photographers.
 
 
Lets look at where I started, to see why I think I have grown and have advice to share.  Below is one of my very first pictures...back from when I found that I was able to pose my avatar and take a snapshot.  I didn't know much about angles or backgrounds and  I knew very little about Windlight settings.  Its not a bad picture, but its nothing to get excited about either.  
 
One of my first pics taken on February 20, 2014
 
 
Now...lets look at some of my most recent pictures.  While I am not rating them as outstanding or exceptional, I do think that they represent considerable growth in my skills. 
 
They are from a set I did, called "Fairies Wear Boots".  If you are familiar with Black Sabbath, you will get the reference.  The link to the Flicker set is https://www.flickr.com/photos/vixeee/sets/72157644165260797/
 
Taken on May 8, 2014 
 

Taken on May 8, 2014 

Much better than my first pic, right? 

This brings up the original point that led me to post this - WINDLIGHT SETTINGS!  If you do not know about them or play with them, they will blow your mind (figuratively...not literally).  I kind of came across them by accident when someone mentioned that they use Nam's Optimal Skin 2 Windlight setting.  I incidentally use this now, for my everyday Windlight.  When I heard this random statement in chat, I got curious and Googled it.  I found Strawberry Singh's blog and the heavens opened and angels sang.   She provides downloads for her own Windlight settings as well as those created by some others.   She also explains how to add them to your computer and use them.  You can find her page, by clicking here http://strawberrysingh.com/tutorials/windlight-settings/.   I encourage every novice photographer to check out her page and use the downloads. 

So....if you want to take your photography to the next level, I recommend that you experiment with different Windlight settings.  You will greatly increase the variety of effects you can create and instantly become a better photographer.  I use Firestorm, and I change my Windlight setting by going to the World menu, then Environment Editor and Environment Settings

Here are two examples of using the same background, pose, and camera angle....the only difference is in the Windlight Settings.  Just by playing around with them, you can really change things up and add a lot to your pictures. 

Taken on May 8, 2014 

Taken on May 8, 2014 

I hope this was helpful to someone.   I certainly enjoyed this walk down memory lane to see how far I personally have come.

Friday, April 18, 2014

My intro to blogging

I wanted to have some sort of place to log my adventures in Second Life and this will be it.  I don't expect that many folks will read it...if you are...thank you!

So, since you care enough to read my blog...here is a little bit about me.

I am a woman that lives in the crazy state of Florida.  The nice part of that is that we do not get terrible winters or have to deal with snow and ice.  The other side is that we have heat, humidity, roaches the size of small mice, and are generally viewed as one of the craziest states....oh well.

What sorts of things do I like in RL? 
  • NASCAR (specifically Kyle Busch)
  • Hard Rock (especially hair metal from the 80's)
  • The show "Family Guy"
  • Pulp Fiction
  • Historical Fiction (show The Tudors) (book Wolf Hall)
I think that is enough about me personally, as this is about my time in SL...and I tend to be kind of private about myself.
About me in SL:
  • Fairly new to SL porn
  • Loving the artistic value and creating something beautiful
  • I don't do any real hard core
  • I prefer to do erotic shots that leave a little something to the imagination
  • I also prefer beauty to in-your-face sex acts
  • I also love shots that have a bit of humor to them
  • I don't have a partner and I won't be getting one

I am starting to play around with editing a little bit.  Here is one of my attempts.
 
So....onto some sexy adventures!  Hope to see you there!