RAWr Creativity! Show your raw self(ies)!

[Skell Dagger]

10 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

I've never worried too much about the avatar settings, because I've tended to assume that they only impact on system avatars and clothing. I'm wrong about that? I'd have thought that, if you're fully meshed-up, even system layers and appliers on a mesh body and head would be "read" by the viewer as mesh objects and textures, rather than part of an "avatar" (i.e., it's the LOD setting rather than the avatar ones that would affect these).

Not sure on that, Scylla, but I've always had my settings at that level and never changed them. I suspect - from what kiramanell is saying about antialiasing not appearing in eventual screenshots - that their NVIDIA control panel may not be set to allow application-controlled antialiasing.

[Zeta Vandyke]

Usually only post screenshots on the other topic, as that's more about the look than the photo to me. Sometimes I really like a pic well enough to also post it on Flickr, and at that point I like to edit it a bit to add some effects or sometimes just a few fixes.

I'm not really good at photoshop as program, but use a tool with tons of preset filter combinations that you can play around with endlessly called ON1. Sometimes some stuff from PS itself, like grain and blurring edges and stuff. And using clone stamp and mixer pencil to clean up clipping and weird edges and shadow stuff.

Good example is a recent pic

Edited:

RAW: 

Edited May 11, 2020 by Zeta Vandyke

[kiramanell]

Okay, please excuse the crudity of this quickly slapped-together photo. And let's call it 'Morning Coffee', so it actually looks like I put some effort into it.

 

 

Some minor post-processing took place.

And here it is in ita raw state:

 

 

But things have jagged edges, no matter what I do; like:

 

 

My hair looks horrifically jagged, as do my arms.  Like no AA is happening at all.

[Vega Firelyte]

I'm thoroughly enjoying seeing what everyone does, all the different styles that are being shown in this thread.  People approach their photography differently, depending on their own personal style and that is great to see.  I am also noting that the ones that have been posting in here have frequently mentioned something that has always been really important to me, when I work with photography; their personal enjoyment of it.  I have seen people who are amazing digital artists but, in their work, you can see that they are missing a little spark.  To me, what is usually missing, is they didn't find enjoyment in the process or in the creativity of it.  Whether you are a beginner or an artist, that is a component that does show through and it gives your work a little more oomph.  

Also, I want to say, I'm loving this thread and how everyone is sharing their thoughts, ideas, and personal views in here, in a way that is both friendly and informative.  

[Vega Firelyte]

@kiramanell I see what you mean.  I think that maybe Skell is hitting the nail on the head, when he mentioned about your graphics card settings.  Double check to make sure it's using the proper settings because if you have antialiasing checked and it's not reading it, it feels like something is not possibly communicating properly in there.  My graphics card did an update on one occasion and it, for some reason, set it back to default.  I had something similar happening to me, which drove me bonkers.  That for me, had been the culprit.  Good luck!

Edited May 11, 2020 by Vega Firelyte
typo

[Ivy Mysterious]

Unedited Closeup profile!

 

Edited Closeup AKA new profile pic!

[kiramanell]

1 hour ago, Skell Dagger said:

@kiramanell:

Addendum: I've just noticed that you mention antialiasing does not appear in the eventual screenshot. Have a dig around in the NVIDIA Control Panel to ensure you have your antialiasing set to use advanced 3D settings (image here) then click that 'take me there' link, select Firestorm in the list on the Program Settings tab, and make sure that 'Antialiasing - Mode' is set to 'Use global setting (Application-controlled)' as in this image.

 

Hmm, I had mine set to 'Let 3D Application decide'. 😁 You may have well solved it, you brilliant man! Going to try out rightaway. Are there any things in Advanced settings I must set per se?! 

[kiramanell]

4 minutes ago, Vega Firelyte said:

@kiramanell I see what you mean.  I think that maybe Skell is hitting the nail on the head, when he mentioned about your graphics card settings.  Double check to make sure it's using the proper settings because if you have antialiasing checked and it's not reading it, it feels like something is not possibly communicating properly in there.  My graphics card did an update on one occasion and it, for some reason, set it back to default.  I had something similar happening to me, which drove me bonkers.  That for me, had been the culprit.  Good luck!

 

And I think that maybe you are hitting the nail on the head about maybe Skell hitting the nail on the head.  In the process of testing this all out. Thx! ❤️

[Ivy Mysterious]

11 minutes ago, kiramanell said:

 

And I think that maybe you are hitting the nail on the head about maybe Skell hitting the nail on the head.  In the process of testing this all out. Thx! ❤️

I think you hit the nail on the head about Vega hitting the nail on the head about Skell hitting the nail on the head...

This getting confusing for anyone else yet? LMAO

[kiramanell]

12 hours ago, momomoonusagi said:

Heyo!

This is a fun idea, Seicher-chan! 

I posted this one earlier today, so I apologize for double posting? I guess. =p Also, my bad for the wall of text--but I didn't wanna just post pics without saying something...So, here's just my blah:

But, the original is first and then the PS'd one. I personally quite enjoy post-processing my photos--I get a serenity out of doing it, as weird as that may sound. I do try to do most of the work in the viewer though. And like Scy-chan, most of my images actually don't require a lot of post-processing because of Black Dragon, which I also exclusively use for photos. But overall (for my process) I'm not satisfied with my images until I do just even a little bit of PS. Everything I take can be at least lightened up a little for better clarity to me.

While in BD, I always consider each image for whatever that image is. I don't have a "default" set up but I do have a checklist that I go down for each pic: generally all the background is determined after whatever I'm going to wear; then I get the pose in; my camera zoom and perspective is adjusted; windlights are glanced over; and lastly, everything, all at once, gets tweaked until I'm satisfied enough to take a pic. And honestly, sometimes I spend an hour in this phase and sometimes I can spend two or three hours. Sometimes I end up with three pictures to choose the best from, and sometimes I take 30--it's all based on just however that image is going.

This image in particular I had 7 total shots to choose the best from.

And I imagine that the more I work at it, though, I'll eventually be able to get faster at all of this--but who knows. I have fun even at this stage (even if I think it's the most frustrating stage >< )

As for PS, my techniques are generally the same per image. I add a few blurs here and there depending on how I want the overall feel of the image to be; I tweak the colors and vibrancy from scratch; and I do any little corrections from clipping or odd seams. Sometimes I lighten and darken and sometimes I add an effect--like bokeh for instance.

I never take anything down or move my avi in the viewer though until I'm absolutely done with my PS part. >< Cause, normally, I'll see most of my clipping issues while I'm working in PS. And when I know I can't fix it with magic, I'll go back and retake the shot after making corrections to whatever. >>

Like in this image, for instance, I realize now that there are clipping issues with some of the flowers in the background that I didn't catch earlier. =p Based on the type of clipping issues they are, it would have honestly just been easier to go back and move one of the flowers around until the clipping had stopped--otherwise, I think, I'd have to try to erase the problem flowers and branches and make it all seem seamless...>< Which is waaay more work than just moving something in the viewer. ><

Anyway, that's normally about it. x 3x I like hearing constructive criticism about my pieces, so anyone feel free to comment. :3 I'm not a huge forum conversationalist, (I just prefer talking in IMs. >>) but the feedback is still always nice and appreciated. ^^ I'll try to use this thread and reach out of my shell every now and then and offer some advise, when I think I have some. 💛 Cause I really am a huge SL photography fan, and I love helping others interested in it.

 

 

 

Before I go on to testing my own stuff (haven't found all settings yet), I just want to say first I really like this one.  It's as adorable as it is lovely! ❤️ And only ever-so slightly 'suggestive', but immensely fairy-like, and wondrous! 

[CharlotteStargazer]

I do love seeing all the talent here. I'm primarily into landscapes and abstract photography. I don't do Photoshop, don't have it, and am really bad at it. I do have Gimp, Paint.net, Pic Monkey, but just like PS, I'm really bad at using them. I have been lately experimenting with a program called FotoSketcher, which turns your pics into paintings, pencil sketches, etc. I'm really liking the results, as I also cannot draw a straight line with a ruler, so painting, sketching are just exercises in frustration for me. 

The shots below are raw, using only Firestorm's WL (Bristol and Daytime Shadows, if IRC) and the Black & White and Spotlight filters.

 

[taisiyakarpenko]

Pre:

Post:

FWIW, here's how *I* do it:

Starting out with doing rough composition of the shot, getting enough room around the main object so that it leaves me some options on how to crop for the final image.
Next is choosing a  windlight, to get the general lights like time of day, direction of shadows etc. Then I set up appropriate scene lighting, when on location I usually make do with the "Bedazzle - Photo Lighting system". If I shoot back home in my studio, I might use other stuff that I cannot rez on location.

Goes on to take 5-50 shots saved at the highest resolution the viewer will let me do,  with variations on the shadows, general light, scene lighting, cam position, zoom, DoF etc, and then leave the crimescene (i.e TP home and log out)

Then I spend some time going over the raw shots in a image browser like Lightroom or FastStone, trying to decide which shot is best suitable to make the final picture.
In some lucky instances, I go "Hey, that's fine, let's post that", but more often I end up sending one of them over to one of my preferred phototools. That might be PS for some specific tasks, but quite often I end up taking the shot for a round in PhotoScape X and leave it with that. Even the free edition of PSX have most of the stuff I need to get my SL shots the way I want them. Most important for me is that a phototool have the tools that makes me able to do a proper color grading (this link refers to videos, but same goes for photos).

I do think the minimum of post I do is a crop and color grade - and then it can take off from there

In the example picture,  the process was roughy as follows:

• Decide on pic, transfer to PSX
• Play with crop tool to get final composition
• Start color grading using a PSX film preset
• Finalize color grading with Clarity and Vibrance from the Color tool
• Add "faux DoF" with the Miniature tool
• Add vignette with the  PSX Vignette effect
• Save

So this was a quickie with almost no processing

 

[Maitimo]

The region in Bellisseria next-door to mine is "under construction" so I went to inspect the Moles' handiwork so far.

Raw shot:

Edited, though not very much. Reduced the saturation, lightened it a little, touched up some jagged shadows under my chin and re-saturated my eyes and mouth to brighten the make-up.

 

[Nalates Urriah]

This is interesting... From Seicher's OP is was thinking this would be the images from the viewer without any post-production. I looks to me like I under weighted the word "CREATIVITY" in the title. And I love that people are writing about how they made their images.

But, I think the idea was not to process the images... SO I HAVE TO FALME THe BUMCH OF YOU! [sic]

In the upper right I am on my roof with with the default Windlight.

I created a 'facelgiht'  to put on the end of the Thrower. Tweaked... well... twisted the c r a p out of the Windlight day. Notice no shadow. I would have had to go with a Projector to get an SL shadow. 

It was easier to do the flames and shadow in PS. The Thrower's flames pretty much suck. And I couldn't get a shot of the flames coming out of the Thrower. But, it does throw them. And they burn in a ball for 20 or 30 seconds. So, this would be great fun for roasting newbies in a safe hub... which is next region north. Alas, I must be growing up, I resisted. 

Suggestion

People will do what they do with this thread. I am ok with that. When I read the OP, thank you @Seicher Rae, before reading all you guys' nonconformist deviating posts, that I would post a raw image here and the processed image 'over there' and link from there to here. I assumed that might be less intimidating to the new then linking from here to there. (Are our processed images intimidating? ) Instead I combined the raw and processed as it seems to be the custom being built.

But, whatever... I may have totally missed the point. I do like what has happened.

...sorry you didn't make it to the fouth page without a flame... 😂

[Orwar]

   My first picture in ... Hours, actually, I updated my forum profile pic, too. But apart from that, 2 months?

[CaerolleClaudel]

7 hours ago, kiramanell said:

Okay, please excuse the crudity of this quickly slapped-together photo. And let's call it 'Morning Coffee', so it actually looks like I put some effort into it.

 

Some minor post-processing took place.

And here it is in ita raw state:

But things have jagged edges, no matter what I do; like:

My hair looks horrifically jagged, as do my arms.  Like no AA is happening at all.

Kira, love this! I don't think I have seen a pic of yours before...

[Seicher Rae]

20 hours ago, momomoonusagi said:

Heyo!

This is a fun idea, Seicher-chan! 

I posted this one earlier today, so I apologize for double posting? I guess. =p Also, my bad for the wall of text--but I didn't wanna just post pics without saying something...So, here's just my blah:

But, the original is first and then the PS'd one. I personally quite enjoy post-processing my photos--I get a serenity out of doing it, as weird as that may sound. I do try to do most of the work in the viewer though. And like Scy-chan, most of my images actually don't require a lot of post-processing because of Black Dragon, which I also exclusively use for photos. But overall (for my process) I'm not satisfied with my images until I do just even a little bit of PS. Everything I take can be at least lightened up a little for better clarity to me.

While in BD, I always consider each image for whatever that image is. I don't have a "default" set up but I do have a checklist that I go down for each pic: generally all the background is determined after whatever I'm going to wear; then I get the pose in; my camera zoom and perspective is adjusted; windlights are glanced over; and lastly, everything, all at once, gets tweaked until I'm satisfied enough to take a pic. And honestly, sometimes I spend an hour in this phase and sometimes I can spend two or three hours. Sometimes I end up with three pictures to choose the best from, and sometimes I take 30--it's all based on just however that image is going.

This image in particular I had 7 total shots to choose the best from.

And I imagine that the more I work at it, though, I'll eventually be able to get faster at all of this--but who knows. I have fun even at this stage (even if I think it's the most frustrating stage >< )

As for PS, my techniques are generally the same per image. I add a few blurs here and there depending on how I want the overall feel of the image to be; I tweak the colors and vibrancy from scratch; and I do any little corrections from clipping or odd seams. Sometimes I lighten and darken and sometimes I add an effect--like bokeh for instance.

I never take anything down or move my avi in the viewer though until I'm absolutely done with my PS part. >< Cause, normally, I'll see most of my clipping issues while I'm working in PS. And when I know I can't fix it with magic, I'll go back and retake the shot after making corrections to whatever. >>

Like in this image, for instance, I realize now that there are clipping issues with some of the flowers in the background that I didn't catch earlier. =p Based on the type of clipping issues they are, it would have honestly just been easier to go back and move one of the flowers around until the clipping had stopped--otherwise, I think, I'd have to try to erase the problem flowers and branches and make it all seem seamless...>< Which is waaay more work than just moving something in the viewer. ><

Anyway, that's normally about it. x 3x I like hearing constructive criticism about my pieces, so anyone feel free to comment. :3 I'm not a huge forum conversationalist, (I just prefer talking in IMs. >>) but the feedback is still always nice and appreciated. ^^ I'll try to use this thread and reach out of my shell every now and then and offer some advise, when I think I have some. 💛 Cause I really am a huge SL photography fan, and I love helping others interested in it.

 

 

Good to see you again! We were concerned.

And, lol, a sincere thanks for plunging into the new thread, with both photos and a wall of text! ♥ (sooooo not a complaint.)

Many of the steps you do sound familiar to me. I also can take multiple shots, just moving the camera or sliders ever so, setting up the sizing and ratio in the viewer because I rarely crop in an editing program. And I *totally* get how PS can be meditative. If everything is going smoothly (no crashes or glitches or being annoyed by strangers on the sim), I just zone out and am oblivious to anything else in SL or even RL when I'm fiddling with getting an image. SR can stand for quite literally hours as I fidget, and I have no idea of the time spent.

I love both of your images but in this case I think I like the raw one best. The bottom one has a better luminosity though, I think, and that really gives it an oomph.

Fun, fun! I look forward to seeing more.

[Seicher Rae]

12 hours ago, AyelaNewLife said:

With this one, the extra layers intentionally don't do too much to my appearance. They've made the colours of my outfit a little bolder (if beige can ever be bold), and more vibrant... but the main goal was to try and help hide the problematic background. For some reason, the sim next door (part of the same wider sim) did not load in at all, and may have even been missing entirely. Having an ocean visible doesn't work with the photo, so I derendered the water and tried to hide the transition with haze. Once that was done, there was just one or two minor touchups needed and a colour nudge.

The thing I noticed was that in #2 & # that a light bulb appeared in the upper left, under the rope.  I like how you enhance things but keep it still SL. If I saw this without the explanation I would probably think screenshot, probably with Black Dragon but even FS. And I mean that as a compliment! Fun shot and I LOVE your styling.

 

[Seicher Rae]

I'm really happy to see all of the shots, of any kind! We are really getting into the before and afters! But I'm soooo glad to see raw shots from folks, too, like @Panteleeva and @Dano Seale posted. There was some talk here and elsewhere (and even on the OP) about how sometimes people can feel intimidated if their shots aren't all artsy - fartsy.  I really hope nobody lets that get in the way. I still post on the my.secondlife.com feed (which most people don't know about and those that do think it was done away with), and that is ALL raw screenshots and the ones from parties, dances, adventures, the clicking of daily SL, are lots of fun. You can post those here, too, ya know. If you keep them to your avatar being in them.

I don't want to spam the thread by 300 comments back to back, and I need to catch up!

[CaerolleClaudel]

3 minutes ago, Seicher Rae said:

I don't want to spam the thread by 300 comments back to back, and I need to catch up!

OMG!!! A TROLL!!!!!  😱

😂

[Seicher Rae]

12 minutes ago, CaerolleClaudel said:

OMG!!! A TROLL!!!!!  😱

😂

Absolutely No One would doubt that of me.

 

[VaelFaye]

Lazy day. Also cammed around the Cyber Fair for a bit. 

❦ https://veileddream.wordpress.com/2020/05/12/cyber-fair-2020/

 

Edited May 12, 2020 by VaelFaye

[bobbiestarrz]

[kiramanell]

11 hours ago, Skell Dagger said:

Have a dig around in the NVIDIA Control Panel to ensure you have your antialiasing set to use advanced 3D settings (image here) then click that 'take me there' link, select Firestorm in the list on the Program Settings tab, and make sure that 'Antialiasing - Mode' is set to 'Use global setting (Application-controlled)' as in this image.

 

Did all that, but it doesn't take, somehow.

 

Took screenie in-world (both PtrScr and official camera tool), but still no AA, sadly. 🤔

[kiramanell]

3 hours ago, CaerolleClaudel said:

Kira, love this! I don't think I have seen a pic of yours before...

 

Thanks! 🤗 Still trying to solve some issues (guess I need my AA sponsor, Skell -- okay I just had to make that pun), but then I hope finally get it right, after lo these many years.  Thanks for the kind words, though.

Edited May 12, 2020 by kiramanell