Any tips for better photo?

[clairea21]

[Kathlen Onyx]

Looks fine to me. What tips are you looking for?

[ValKalAstra]

It's always difficult to give feedback on how to make something better, because better is an incredibly subjective concept. So with the kindest intent, I'll write what I personally would do differently.

Separation of fore and background would be my first foray. You've got a very busy background that also shares colours with your avatar, almost leading to a sort of camouflage effect. A background like that can be incredibly difficult as it will seek to completely dominate your picture.

To help with that I would begin to set accents with lighting. Use spotlight over ambient light, utilise shadow casting and edge lights to more clearly separate back and fore while also adding more visual depth to your picture. Maybe some slight depth of field but I'm unsure on that one. Definitely some changes to the ambient occlusion.

Talking about light, I'm not sure what the light direction in your picture is. Where is the light coming from? Why is it pointing that way? I always enjoy a picture more when the light is almost a little story in itself. Eagerly telling me where it came from, where it is headed.

Then, personally I would do some small edits due to second life oddities. Third picture, hair is looking odd left of the mouth. Fourth picture, hair is clipping through the bosom. Second picture, the pose breaks the mesh geometry at the elbow.

Keep it up though, feel free to ignore any of this. It's just rambling towards my understanding of a better picture. It need not be yours and I'm sure others would change other things too.

 

Edited November 16, 2021 by ValKalAstra

[colleen Criss]

Just my humble opinion , less background.

[June Starlight]

Background looks very busy and draws attention away from the avatar. 

You got posing and camera angles work for your benefit. Try looking into tutorials on lighting and possibly projectors - there are many in form of blog posts and youtube videos. Smart lighting really takes pictures on the next level. 

[Jackson Redstar]

depends on what you want. a snapshot or a "photo" Remember not all poses work with all avis and not all hair works with all poses. When hair/body parts/ goes though the body either you need to change the pose/alter the pose, or, learn how to photoshop a fix

For a 'portrait'  the subject is the person so that is what should be in focus. Either use DOF or use a less distracting background

[Orwar]

   I'll second-- Or, fifth-- that the background is rather busy (and the OCD in me wants to point out that, in photography terminology, 'noise' refers to graininess!). 

   You're also having a fair bit of clippage - pick poses that don't cause such issues with what you're wearing (alternatively change out that which breaks in any given pose, depending on whether you're focusing on the pose or on the apparel).

   But, as Val said, photography is a very subjective subject, so there's not a whole lot of objective tips to give. 

   .. Okay, that's not entirely true, there are a bunch of 'rules' in photography - but you are entirely free to break them for artistic reasons, so, meh?

[Nalates Urriah]

You likely got the point that the background is WAY TOO BUSY. Camouflage... was mentioned. When showing off an avatar we try to have contrast between the avatar and all else in the image.

In general terms things you can do to make better pictures...

Learn. Here is an artist that goes way heavy with post production editing: Natsumi Xenga. She provides tutorials on how to do some of what you see in her art.

   Nemanja Sekulic provides non-SL tutorials on image composition and manipulation.

I point you to these so you can see that the viewer isn't doing ALL the wonderful images you see of SL avatars. It is hard to tell what people have and haven't edited. You can look in the forum in the thread RAWr Creativity! Show your raw self(ies)! to get a good idea of what is possible using JUST the viewer.

Keys to viewer use are; EEP control of environment. I most often use tools to control sun position and where shadows cast. In Firestorm that is top menu World->Environment->Personal Lighting. Check out all the entries in Environment. Firestorm also has Phototools. They can be accessed via an onscreen tool button.

Phototools icon. If you don't see this, right click any onscreen button to add it. Play with these tools to see what they can do. There are in-world classes and online tutorials to teach one how to use them.

Next most important is learning to control lights and Projector Lights.

You can see Projectors are like flashlights (torches if you are UK English). You can control where they shine. Plan prim lighting is like a bare light bulb, shining on everything.

Images that are more like Natsumi's can be made with the viewer via heavy use of EEP and Projector lights.

For the most improvement... Practice, Experiment, Practice, Practice, Experiment, Practice, Practice, Practice, Experiment, Practice, Practice, Practice, Practice, Experiment, Practice, Practice,...

 

[victoravatar]

Take it from a closer angle makes the picture look 10 times more realistic

[suzyst]

Focus magazine is running a series of inworld classes to help photographers improve their skills

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Holly Kai Estates/136/123/22

[Doris Johnsky]

This is just me.  I go to FLickr and see people who post 374.5 pictures of themselves.   Different poses, different scenery in the background same person.

 

I am so sorry to offend, but that is boring to me. I like to see photographers who branch out. Landscapes, photos of OTHER people. Just random things that attract you in SL.  Other photo enhancements. 

[Kathlen Onyx]

1 hour ago, Doris Johnsky said:

This is just me.  I go to FLickr and see people who post 374.5 pictures of themselves.   Different poses, different scenery in the background same person.

 

I am so sorry to offend, but that is boring to me. I like to see photographers who branch out. Landscapes, photos of OTHER people. Just random things that attract you in SL.  Other photo enhancements. 

Same with people in sexual poses. Just not appealing to me at all. You don't need 1000 pictures of you naked doing the deed with everyone on your flickr page. Have some imagination and leave some to the imagination. NO ONE cares about that photo but the person taking it.  That's not photography at all.

[Charalyne Blackwood]

Not all of us have Titan 3090 cards that can do large scenes, or want to use generic poses to take pictures of others, or have the time to make custom fit poses for everyone. The beauty of art is that it's unlimited and it pains me to hear so much judgment about what people do with what they have to work with. Is a pencil drawing less art than an oil paint image? Is B&W less worthy than color?

Edited December 28, 2021 by Charalyne Blackwood

[Rowan Amore]

2 hours ago, Sam1 Bellisserian said:

Same with people in sexual poses. Just not appealing to me at all. You don't need 1000 pictures of you naked doing the deed with everyone on your flickr page. Have some imagination and leave some to the imagination. NO ONE cares about that photo but the person taking it.  That's not photography at all.

Hey!  I have some of those!  But yes, I understand.  Most of mine are set up scenes and not pics "in the act", so to speak.  I hate 1000 pics of the same sex scene just different positions.  Especially with free accounts.  Why clog up your stream with 476857363 pics with your hands stuck inside someone's body or your leg disappearing inside the furniture?  It's boring and without artist merit in any way.  

Besides, if you're in the act, why are you snapping pics and not paying attention to your partner? (usually just partner of the day)

[Aiyumei]

Things you can work on and improve.

• Background & composition - others already explained 
• Pose, animation and facial expression - they can make the raw image look more realistic
• Your viewer's photography capabilities - some viewers offer built in tools which essentially make them better than others if you don't have full photo studio equipment at your disposal. 
• Photo angles / Close up & zoom out - can also make the photo more real depending on the type of content you work on.
• Windlight & lighting - it speaks for it self, improves the photo quality with you set the lights at the right angle
• Clothing and accessory - needless to high quality clothing and accessories can make huge difference
• Post shoot editing - Photoshop and other editing tools are your best friend!
• Online SL photography guides - The amount of guides for SL photography on the web is massive, from basic photo capturing to advance PS editing. There is plenty to read and watch if you have the desire, will and patience to go though all of it in order to improve 

[Coffee Pancake]

Aim for a neutral balanced image from the viewer.

Do not try and make it "pop"

Focus on composition and lighting.

Use the screen shot floater, save to disk, and manually enter a higher resolution, ideally 25% larger than the final image is intended to be.

Touch up your image in Photoshop or Gimp or whatever, fix glitches, avatar seams, etc . Don't mess with anything else.

Open your plain well balanced picture in Lightroom or RawTherapee (free) and use that to make the image "pop" or whatever you need it to be. 

[suzyst]

On 12/27/2021 at 10:14 PM, Doris Johnsky said:

This is just me.  I go to FLickr and see people who post 374.5 pictures of themselves.   Different poses, different scenery in the background same person.

 

I am so sorry to offend, but that is boring to me. I like to see photographers who branch out. Landscapes, photos of OTHER people. Just random things that attract you in SL.  Other photo enhancements. 

Then don't go there. Flickr and SL content are very much personal things, people put what they want to see. I do lots of selfies cos when I need a model my avi is there with the apropriate costume (or lack of) , and SL photography is something you learn by doing. I don't care if you find it boring, I don't come to SL or post on flickr to amuse you. clairea21 asked for positive tips to improve her photos, not a list of your personal likes and dislikes.

[colleen Criss]

On 12/27/2021 at 5:14 PM, Doris Johnsky said:

This is just me.  I go to FLickr and see people who post 374.5 pictures of themselves.   Different poses, different scenery in the background same person.

 

I am so sorry to offend, but that is boring to me. I like to see photographers who branch out. Landscapes, photos of OTHER people. Just random things that attract you in SL.  Other photo enhancements. 

You can change what you see by changing who you follow on Flickr. OR set your filters to see only safe photos.

[MillyWH]

On 12/27/2021 at 5:14 PM, Doris Johnsky said:

This is just me.  I go to FLickr and see people who post 374.5 pictures of themselves.   Different poses, different scenery in the background same person.

 

I am so sorry to offend, but that is boring to me. I like to see photographers who branch out. Landscapes, photos of OTHER people. Just random things that attract you in SL.  Other photo enhancements. 

You can always customize who you follow on Flickr,  If you go to your homepage on Flickr you can just show people instead of all activity or groups. That way you can follow groups and check in on them but only regularly see people you follow.

 

People post on flickr what they want to and what they want to share. It's not what everyone wants to see.  I generally stay out of groups that have a lot of sex poses and things like that and I post what I feel like and what I like and hope other people like it too and if they don't.. well there's lots of stuff that is popular on flickr that I don't find that interesting or like. If I had a blog I was trying to grow and wanted a certain demographic I'd pay attention to that but otherwise I'm going to do what I enjoy and not spend so much time worrying if other people.

 

Which would be my tip for photography--figure out things you like and enjoy and focus on doing that in general. And then specifically I often find it overwhelming when there are a lot of tips or advice and trying to implement too much so I have tried to figure out what is the main thing bugging me that I want to improve on and then focus on just that. For example I've spent time playing around with camera angles and taking lots of pictures (that never end up anywhere but my hard drive) of the same thing from different angles.  Or with EEP/windlight settings I've done pictures from the same angle in lots of different settings to get an idea of how they look and how the light changes things.

 

I'm still learning but I've come along way from where I started just by taking lots of pictures and experimenting and practicing with things.