What is your SL Photography Setup?

[JordonBanks]

I am keen on getting more into SL photography.  I really enjoy it.  But I have never really set up a regular 'studio'

I have now built up a nice collection of poses / backdrops / light effects & windlights, etc.  And randomly take pics wherever I can in SL - and/or wherever I can find to rez the backdrops.

But now want to set up a permanent space - perhaps in a skybox above my Linden home?  (is that a good idea?).

So just some ideas please on best way/place to set up a place to do my SL photography?  What do you do / where do you do it.?

I did try having a skybox above my linden home.  (photo below)  Which was great to begin with- but it is literally a box (4 walls, floor and a ceiling) and so not affected by light changes or windlight changes.  So I can't create nice lighting and shadows in that box, like I can when I change windlights down on 'normal land'.

I was going to just have a skybox platform, and do it on that.  but how do I stop from falling off?  is this the best thing to do. 

I also tried using a large public sandbox to do my photos.  But found I kept getting hassled/disturbed.  (Not griefed, just people kind of asking what i was doing.  Which is fine, and nice to chat with people - but it also means its not very private).

Anyway - just your ideas on the best way to set up a non complicated location/process for doing my own photo shoots?  What do you do / how do you do it?  Any ideas / tips appreciated.

Thanks

(pic of Sybox Studio Below - Which would be great if I could have windlights/natural SL work in it ).

[Claireschen Hesten]

49 minutes ago, JordonBanks said:

I was going to just have a skybox platform, and do it on that.  but how do I stop from falling off?  is this the best thing to do. 

In Bellisseria i put a copy of the set up i use on mainland on this platform https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Anna-Erotica-Personal-Sandbox-Platform-3-Prim/8295875 I just have a basic white backdrop with a pose stand of all my poses. What i mostly use it for i don't need more than region default windlight 

[KT Kingsley]

1 hour ago, JordonBanks said:

I did try having a skybox above my linden home.  (photo below)  Which was great to begin with- but it is literally a box (4 walls, floor and a ceiling) and so not affected by light changes or windlight changes.  So I can't create nice lighting and shadows in that box, like I can when I change windlights down on 'normal land'.

From the photo you posted, it looks like your backdrop is set to fullbright. This means it will always be rendered full, 100% white. Try turning fullbright off for it and you should see the effect shadows from the sun and moon, and from projector lights have on it (provided you've enabled these in your graphics preferences), as well as the effects of coloured lighting and Windlight/EEP environments.

[Rolig Loon]

1 hour ago, JordonBanks said:

I was going to just have a skybox platform, and do it on that.  but how do I stop from falling off?

Put a transparent wall around it (or don't stand close to the edge). 

[Bree Giffen]

Your enclosed studio removes sun light and it’s related shadows. It also removes the sky and clouds as a background. But, it’s good for indoor style photos. I’d say if you want outdoor shots then go outside and your current studio is fine. I’d just create several lighting prims to use inside the studio. 
 

You really don’t need a big box to take photos inside. Just add backdrop prims as needed.

[Nick0678]

2 hours ago, JordonBanks said:

What do you do / where do you do it.?

I just take a photo inspired by whatever region i have visited and that's it, same thing applies when a friend asks me to take a photo of them. Never liked studios.

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by Nick0678

[Vengeance Villota]

1 hour ago, KT Kingsley said:

From the photo you posted, it looks like your backdrop is set to fullbright. This means it will always be rendered full, 100% white. Try turning fullbright off for it and you should see the effect shadows from the sun and moon, and from projector lights have on it (provided you've enabled these in your graphics preferences), as well as the effects of coloured lighting and Windlight/EEP environments.

The full bright makes it easier for masking in photoshop. I'm guessing that why he does it. The lighting for sun, moon and projectors will still show on his avi. As for the OPs question. Yes indeed make a skybox platform. It certainly comes in handy. I have one set to about 2000 that's basically my personal sandbox for setting up scenes for photos.  Some times I have multiple platfrom and use a teleporter to hop from one to the other. Can usually find them cheap on the MP.

Edited November 9, 2021 by Vengeance Villota

[JordonBanks]

3 hours ago, Vengeance Villota said:

The full bright makes it easier for masking in photoshop. I'm guessing that why he does it. The lighting for sun, moon and projectors will still show on his avi. As for the OPs question. Yes indeed make a skybox platform. It certainly comes in handy. I have one set to about 2000 that's basically my personal sandbox for setting up scenes for photos.  Some times I have multiple platfrom and use a teleporter to hop from one to the other. Can usually find them cheap on the MP.

good idea...is there a limit to the number of platforms i can have?

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by JordonBanks

[JordonBanks]

4 hours ago, Rolig Loon said:

Put a transparent wall around it (or don't stand close to the edge). 

How do i make a transparent wall?

[JordonBanks]

4 hours ago, Bree Giffen said:

Your enclosed studio removes sun light and it’s related shadows. It also removes the sky and clouds as a background. But, it’s good for indoor style photos. I’d say if you want outdoor shots then go outside and your current studio is fine. I’d just create several lighting prims to use inside the studio. 
 

You really don’t need a big box to take photos inside. Just add backdrop prims as needed.

so...on a flat platform you mean?   

[Rolig Loon]

52 minutes ago, JordonBanks said:

How do i make a transparent wall?

Rez a prim (four, actually), stretch it to the size you want, put it in place, and set its transparency to 100%

Edited November 9, 2021 by Rolig Loon

[Vengeance Villota]

1 hour ago, JordonBanks said:

good idea...is there a limit to the number of platforms i can have?

 

Not that I am aware of. Might want to check with the sims covenant though.

[Jordyn McGregor]

I rent a platform and that's where I spend 99% of my time.  I just rez out stuff as I need it and then delete when done.

[Rolig Loon]

3 minutes ago, Vengeance Villota said:

Might want to check with the sims covenant though.

And your parcel's Land Impact allowance.

[Rowan Amore]

I prefer out and about shots although I will do one at home now and then in a plain mesh box and lighting.

As you're using a Linden home, I'd just do as Jordan does, a platform and rez out items as needed.

[Rolig Loon]

5 minutes ago, Rowan Amore said:

As you're using a Linden home, I'd just do as Jordan does, a platform and rez out items as needed.

I forgot to scroll all the way back to your first post and remind myself that you are in a Linden Home.  In that case, as Vengeance says,  do be sure to pay attention to the covenant restriction about keeping any skybox above at least 2000m.   

[Janet Voxel]

Since you're premium, why don't you just use one of the many premium sandboxes? Whenever I have a large backdrop I want to rez, thats where I go. Nobody ever bothers me at a premium sandbox. People that actually use them tend to be off in their own little corner, doing their own thing.

[Bree Giffen]

3 hours ago, JordonBanks said:

so...on a flat platform you mean?   

Yes. Just a flat platform in the sky. Or multiple platforms. You could add invisible walls and an invisible ceiling if you really want to be secure. You could script the walls/ceiling to turn invisible/visible just by touching them.

[Ayashe Ninetails]

11 hours ago, JordonBanks said:

I was going to just have a skybox platform, and do it on that.  but how do I stop from falling off?  is this the best thing to do. 

This is pretty much what I do. I have a no-frills flat platform rezzed in the sky. I made it the exact size of my plot so I can comfortably rez my backdrops and props up there. I'm pretty clumsy, so I've learned to embrace the inevitable. Accidentally yeeting myself over the edge when rezzing large builds is part of the creative process at this point and a nice change from accidentally attaching couches to my body 😂.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

Many of the people who've answered here take great pictures -- Jordan, Rowan, Claireschen, and Janet, for instance.

But we have a lot of other people who see photography as, if not their main activity in SL, certainly as one of the primary attractions of the place. And they have developed systems and routines for what they do. Not all of them use platforms or backdrops, but it would be worth maybe attracting their attention here and getting their input.

@Nalates Urriah

@Eddy Vortex

@Ayeleeon

@Dementia Obviate

@Nick0678

@Orwar

@Maitimo

@Zeta Vandyke

@taisiyakarpenko

@VictoriaGrwd

@Charalyne Blackwood

@Marianne Little

@Chic Aeon

@Eva Knoller

@Saskia Rieko

@BelindaN

@Laurel Aurelia

@TatianaNikolay

There are a ton of others, but that's a good selection, and I don't want to crowd out the thread!

[Eddy Vortex]

For me, the studio setup or location depends on the project. A portrait project is easily done at home so I stick a flat prim behind me and sit on a poseball, then delete when done.

If I want to use a backdrop and it's too big for my parcel, I go to a sandbox and rezz it in the sky. Or visit Backdrop City and use one of their backdrops.

Other times I find a picturesque sim and do photo shoots there.

 

[Zeta Vandyke]

Love photography in SL myself, spend a lot of time doing it. Am far from being a pro but the way I like doing it:

• Pick the environment. Sometimes this is just my decorated home, or a beautiful sim. I prefer "real" environments opposed to a studio as it gives a realistic touch to them and can be a good inspiration. Sometimes I do set up an environment on my sky platform, but will usually build a decorated space, not just a backdrop or light box.
• If I have rez rights (home/studio or sometimes photo sims have rez groups) I pop up the Anypose in world poser, and set up the base pose as much as possible
• When happy with the base setup of the pic, pose and settings, I log in to the BlackDragon viewer
• Have all graphic settings up very high/max
• Play around with windlight to generate good light and shadows (I love shadows, again for realism). If I am inside where light cant fully reach me, I sometimes make parts of the building transparent if I do like to have windlight effects.
• Finish up the pose in BlackDragon poser
• Add some body lights when needed, adjusting their position, brightness and color to suit the picture.
• Finalize the windlights and details like Depth of Field and shadows in Black Dragon
• Snap a shot on 4k resolution
• Do some touchups/fixes and filters in Photoshop to my liking.
• Post it on Flickr!

If you really like using Backdrops I would advise using the Backdrop City sim, they have so many different backdrops, you cant really build a studio to match that

[Chic Aeon]

@Scylla Rhiadra thanks for the poke.

 

I don't have a studio. I either take shots in world at a pretty sim or (lately) use some of the great backdrops that you can get for almost free on the weekend sales.  Often I just use the sky and water and sand if it is a more explanatory post. 

Long long ago (like a decade) a large portion of photographers and bloggers used "green screens" and then plopped the cut out of their avatar onto real life scenes. That never worked for me wtylewise although I have seen some really lovely heavily (HEAVILY) Photoshopped works that are extremely creative and thought provoking.  

 

I love shadows and happily have come to terms with EEP (after over two years in beta and Firestorms UI improvements) so lighting and atmosphere are a big part of the story for me.  I have a new super hefty computer now with a 3070 card and can do anything that I want to do. Before -- not so much :D.  

 

I take my shots at 5000 or 6000 pixels and then crop and resize down to 1999 which is the largest a photo can be and not count against your Blogspot photo space.   Most of my shots are basically raw shots, resized with a subtle vignette and signature. I do have some fun "painterly" tools in Corel  that I use now and then but typically on landscapes.   

 

Most of the time I work on my sim but now that it is pretty full and I decorated for winter, I will be over at my favorite non-premium really ancient sandbox now and then as needed.    

 

I use Firestorm and Corel Paintshop Pro 2021. That's it. 

[Charalyne Blackwood]

16 hours ago, JordonBanks said:

I am keen on getting more into SL photography.  I really enjoy it.  But I have never really set up a regular 'studio'

I have now built up a nice collection of poses / backdrops / light effects & windlights, etc.  And randomly take pics wherever I can in SL - and/or wherever I can find to rez the backdrops.

But now want to set up a permanent space - perhaps in a skybox above my Linden home?  (is that a good idea?).

So just some ideas please on best way/place to set up a place to do my SL photography?  What do you do / where do you do it.?

I did try having a skybox above my linden home.  (photo below)  Which was great to begin with- but it is literally a box (4 walls, floor and a ceiling) and so not affected by light changes or windlight changes.  So I can't create nice lighting and shadows in that box, like I can when I change windlights down on 'normal land'.

I was going to just have a skybox platform, and do it on that.  but how do I stop from falling off?  is this the best thing to do. 

I also tried using a large public sandbox to do my photos.  But found I kept getting hassled/disturbed.  (Not griefed, just people kind of asking what i was doing.  Which is fine, and nice to chat with people - but it also means its not very private).

Anyway - just your ideas on the best way to set up a non complicated location/process for doing my own photo shoots?  What do you do / how do you do it?  Any ideas / tips appreciated.

Thanks

(pic of Sybox Studio Below - Which would be great if I could have windlights/natural SL work in it ).

I have similar to this, but I'm fortunate enough to have a 64 x 64 platform skybox. My photo rooms have windows so I can make use of sun position etc... for effect. I have the poses in poseballs so I can place myself as needed.

[Charalyne Blackwood]

3 hours ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Many of the people who've answered here take great pictures -- Jordan, Rowan, Claireschen, and Janet, for instance.

But we have a lot of other people who see photography as, if not their main activity in SL, certainly as one of the primary attractions of the place. And they have developed systems and routines for what they do. Not all of them use platforms or backdrops, but it would be worth maybe attracting their attention here and getting their input.

@Nalates Urriah

@Eddy Vortex

@Ayeleeon

@Dementia Obviate

@Nick0678

@Orwar

@Maitimo

@Zeta Vandyke

@taisiyakarpenko

@VictoriaGrwd

@Charalyne Blackwood

@Marianne Little

@Chic Aeon

@Eva Knoller

@Saskia Rieko

@BelindaN

@Laurel Aurelia

@TatianaNikolay

There are a ton of others, but that's a good selection, and I don't want to crowd out the thread!

Thank you for the nod! I have 5 or 6 different rooms, booths, and structures that I use for pics. In my previous reply I outline my basic setup. Here's an image of my generic quickie photo booth...