Jump to content

When are these firestorm built-in photo filters used?


JessieHoo
 Share

You are about to reply to a thread that has been inactive for 1867 days.

Please take a moment to consider if this thread is worth bumping.

Recommended Posts

Hello, when I use Firestorm's built-in photo tools I found that the following filters that comes with the tool are never used by me for once, they are:

Bad Trip, Glowing Edges, Jules Verne, Linearize, Light Leak,  Sharpen, The Matrix, Video

Does anyone know when those can be actually utilized? And how can I delete those if I never use them? Thank you very much! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, JessieHoo said:

Hello, when I use Firestorm's built-in photo tools I found that the following filters that comes with the tool are never used by me for once, they are:

Bad Trip, Glowing Edges, Jules Verne, Linearize, Light Leak,  Sharpen, The Matrix, Video

Does anyone know when those can be actually utilized? And how can I delete those if I never use them? Thank you very much! 

perhaps not really directly a answer, but there's 90% of features in FS that's not used by a majority of users, but the other 10% is making it worth to keep using it, depending how deep this is in the viewer code might make your request impossible to impliment.
If you like to discuss/offer options, you better bring it to FS attention at their own website, this is the Art section.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Ethan Paslong said:

If you like to discuss/offer options, you better bring it to FS attention at their own website, this is the Art section.

Thanks for your answer. I do think my question is on-topic, since I am asking if those options have relative artistic value. The "how to delete if on one use it" is just a collateral question conditional on whether they have value or not. And I would appreciate it if you share with me whether you use those filters I named for any occasion and your reasons to do so. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Each create specific effect which may or may not have value depending on the artist, I myself tens to rely on Windlight settings primarily, and do not use the filters much at all, but I am sure there are people who find all of them useful

Edited by Talligurl
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've used Linearize, Light Leak,  Sharpen & Video quite a bit.
I love to see what effects I can get using just custom windlights & sometimes the photo filters.
None of these images have any post processing.

Light leak
original_57ce8715b713f719a0000001.png

 

Light leak
original_5b5eac61289dd22052000001.png

 

Video

SLShare

 

Linearize

Nuts Island

Linearize vs Original comparison.
Linearize really makes the image pop for this particular lighting.

Autocontrast & Linearize filters

 

Sharpen

Untitled

 

Sharpen vs original comparison

Sharpen Filter

 

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, Whirly Fizzle said:

I've used Linearize, Light Leak,  Sharpen & Video quite a bit.

Thank you very much and your images are absolutely stunning. May I ask if you use those filters directly? For  example, the light leak effect provided in the photo tool is always too strong for me. If I turn it on, I can see nothing but blinding light. For example, this is what the Light Leak appear in my photos:

test 1

As  you  can see, the light is way too strong to have a pleasant effect. The same thing happens to other filters. Their effect are all too strong and there is no slider in firestorm to adjust their magnitude. It seems you controlled the light pretty well. How do you achieve that? Are you applying other filters together as well? 

Edited by JessieHoo
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can remove any filters you don't have a use for by deleting the xml files from  the app_settings\filters folder in the viewer install.

This is a sadly little known fact, but you can also edit the existing filters (best to make a backup copy first) or create new filters!
You don't even need to relog to test your filter tweaks, just refresh the snapshot.
Some of the extra filters in Firestorm viewer were made by myself.

This wiki page explains how the filters work & how to create your own  :)

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Viewer_Image_Filters

The Cartoon filter was one that I made.
Linden homes...

original_562cba0c8da5720d22000001.png

 

Cartoon Filter

 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, JessieHoo said:

May I ask if you use those filters directly? For  example, the light leak effect provided in the photo tool is always too strong for me. If I turn it on, I can see nothing but blinding light.

You need to choose your windlight settings pretty carefully to get the Light Leak to work well.
Remember that you can create your own custom windlight or take the windlight set at any location or use one of the many provided windlights & edit it to meet your needs.

For those light leak shots I posted, the windlight I used will have been very very dark before applying the light leak filter.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, Whirly Fizzle said:

For example.

Thank you so much for your detailed replies with examples. It is very helpful! And it seems I need to memorize the various (and there are a lot) WL presets to know which to use in time of need. I have tried many of them but I always get lost in the huge collection of available presets, and many of them does not have easy-to-identify names. Do you have a few recommendations on how to memorize and choose the WL presets? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Whirly Fizzle said:

You need to choose your windlight settings pretty carefully to get the Light Leak to work well.
Remember that you can create your own custom windlight or take the windlight set at any location or use one of the many provided windlights & edit it to meet your needs.

For those light leak shots I posted, the windlight I used will have been very very dark before applying the light leak filter.

I have tried a very  dark WL, which is Ambient Dark. When there is no filter, it is like this, I think it is dark enough:

Ambient Dark - No Filter

However, when I add the Light Leak filter, it is like this:

Ambient Dark - Light Leak

So it still seems not right. It is so tricky! Does Light Leak only works with few selected WL settings? My graphic setting is with everything maximized.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Firestorm is an amazing viewer and though 90% of the features of it are used my maybe only 10% of the SL population, it certainly should keep everything it has.

As to the thread: I never, ever use filters built-into the viewer. That's like using filters built into your camera or Smartphone App: when you do that the image is stuck that way forever and most filters are really only useful once ever (otherwise many will say that it shows you have no creativity if you lean on or rely on them too much).

The one and only Firestorm feature I use is Phototool and even then only to turn Depth of Field on and off (which I can do in any viewer, including LL viewer - but FS just makes it fast-access).

I've learned through RL photography that the original unfiltered image is always best. Then you can take it into a great app like On1 Phototools (Photoshop is so way overrated LOL) to play with it and finesse the look using true photographer techniques. When a pro photographer sees "Instagram-ish" filters applied to photos they immediately take into mind "they use filters to hide a bad picture" - which I don't think is always true.

But what IS true is: less is more. The more subtle the filter the better. Like music soundtracks in movies: they should be the background where you don't notice it, not the center of attention.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, JessieHoo said:

As  you  can see, the light is way too strong to have a pleasant effect. The same thing happens to other filters. Their effect are all too strong and there is no slider in firestorm to adjust their magnitude.

I would love to see those photo filters hooked up to a UI where the user could control the effects with sliders.
If I could code better, that would be the feature at the top of my to-do list.

21 hours ago, JessieHoo said:

Do you have a few recommendations on how to memorize and choose the WL presets? 

Afraid not.  I usually just flick through the list until I find a setting that's close to what I want & then I'll modify it.
I can honestly say it's not unusual for me to be faffling around doing this for an hour before I get the look I want  lol.

20 hours ago, JessieHoo said:

So it still seems not right. It is so tricky!

Yeah it's fiddly, but tbh I find that challenge fun!

If you give me an inworld SLURL where you want to take your light leak shot (perhaps the location in your images), I'll pop over there & see what I can come up with & give you all the settings I used.

20 hours ago, Alyona Su said:

As to the thread: I never, ever use filters built-into the viewer. That's like using filters built into your camera or Smartphone App: when you do that the image is stuck that way forever and most filters are really only useful once ever (otherwise many will say that it shows you have no creativity if you lean on or rely on them too much).

 

20 hours ago, Alyona Su said:

I've learned through RL photography that the original unfiltered image is always best.

I always save an unfiltered shot too, in case I want to go back & edit it nicely in photoshop like a sane person  lol.
In my opinion it's also creative to see what photo effects you can come up with using purely the  tools available in the viewer without any external post-processing. I love to geek out doing this, especially after a couple of sherries :D

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@JessieHoo

These video tutorials made by the creator of Phototools (William Weaver) are well worth watching if you are interested in SL photography.
https://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/video_phototools

Take a look at his Flickr stream. He doesn't post process his shots, he just takes a screengrab & posts on Flickr.
He is an absolute master at lighting & shadows.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/61900109@N02/

Edit to add:  You can also get the builds he uses in a lot of his shots free on the marketplace: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/112469

Edited by Whirly Fizzle
  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Whirly Fizzle said:

@JessieHoo

These video tutorials made by the creator of Phototools (William Weaver) are well worth watching if you are interested in SL photography.
https://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/video_phototools

Take a look at his Flickr stream. He doesn't post process his shots, he just takes a screengrab & posts on Flickr.
He is an absolute master at lighting & shadows.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/61900109@N02/

Edit to add:  You can also get the builds he uses in a lot of his shots free on the marketplace: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/112469

That is extremely helpful. And thank you for your offer of helping me on site. I am currently studying all the information you have given me and will definitely seek your help if I have unsolved questions. The store and flickr of William Weaver is instrumental. I have followed him on flickr. His photo studio seems quite advanced too. I will check them once I have time in SL.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/5/2018 at 10:42 AM, Whirly Fizzle said:

You can remove any filters you don't have a use for by deleting the xml files from  the app_settings\filters folder in the viewer install.

This is a sadly little known fact, but you can also edit the existing filters (best to make a backup copy first) or create new filters!
You don't even need to relog to test your filter tweaks, just refresh the snapshot.

I had no idea it was possible!

Sometimes I want to use some filters when posting on SL feed, but in most of times I want to change something, but editing the windlight isn't enough sometimes.

Thank you so much for this info! I'll try it as soon as I can.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
On ‎12‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 5:33 AM, Whirly Fizzle said:

@JessieHoo

These video tutorials made by the creator of Phototools (William Weaver) are well worth watching if you are interested in SL photography.
https://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/video_phototools

Take a look at his Flickr stream. He doesn't post process his shots, he just takes a screengrab & posts on Flickr.
He is an absolute master at lighting & shadows.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/61900109@N02/

Edit to add:  You can also get the builds he uses in a lot of his shots free on the marketplace: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/112469

The flickr is gone and all the video's. 

Edited by Gunner Grun
  • Sad 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
You are about to reply to a thread that has been inactive for 1867 days.

Please take a moment to consider if this thread is worth bumping.

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...