Scylla Rhiadra

I'm sorry, I may not have made myself clear. I've enabled BOM for the add-on using the new HUD. And yes, I use my BOM skin with it, and it works perfectly! What is missing is a new version of the BOM Add-on HUD -- the small separate one that smooths the nipples, cleavage, pelvis, butt, and toes for wear with system layers. If you use the older BOM Add-on HUD, it still works fine for the toes, butt, and pelvis, but the buttons for nipples and cleavage are rigged to the standard Lara breast sizes, which means in essence that you are back to breast size and shape pre-Petite add-on. They need to produce a new one that will smooth the nipples and the space between the breasts for the Petite.

I'm a little surprised that no one has mentioned that the Petite Add-on, while it does come with a new master HUD, does not come with a replacement or supplement for the BOM add-on HUD. Which means that you can't smooth the nipples (which are *cough cough* certainly very perky!) or the cleavage for system clothing. It's a pretty major omission, to my mind. I like the add-on a lot, but until there's a new BOM add-on HUD, I can't wear this with system tops.

I agree about this, Jordan, but when I said "its own rules," I didn't mean to imply that there was always only one way to do it. What I guess I meant is that it has a different function, or functions, than, say landscape photography or portrait photography -- that it's trying to do different things, although what those "things" are can be enormously varied. But someone who is doing, for instance, a portrait, is probably trying to capture a personality, whereas that is more likely to be secondary in fashion photography. If you are trying to give a sense of someone's personality, it's with the intention of saying something about what they are wearing, rather than as an end in and of itself. Maybe a sort of analogy here is with haute couture. A great deal of the most prestigious fashion that appears on runways could never be worn by an ordinary person. It's not merely that it would be too expensive: it's simply not functional as clothing. It is, I suppose, fashion as wearable art. It's not what I am particularly interested in, but I guess it has its own validity?

Thanks Elora, some really interesting insights here! I particularly liked this bit: And, I'd agree about this: I sometimes don't realize that what I'm look at is a fashion pic at all, because it lacks focus. I have a question for you: do you see room for fashion photography that isn't about "selling" a product? If so, then what does it do?

I haven't known @Saskia Rieko for as long as I've known many of my friends, but in the year and a half or so since we first met here on the forums, our friendship has grown steadily, and become a strong one. We are drawn together, I think, by a number of interests, of which SL photography is certainly one, and I've come to rely upon her good sense and her level head quite a bit. She's someone whose opinion I can rely upon, but also -- and this is key, after all, a friend with whom it is just a pleasure to chitchat idly about, well, anything. Saskia has never taught me how to dance, although if she had, I imagine she'd be a painstaking, caring, and very effective teacher. She has, however, taught me a great deal about other things, such as photography, and I wanted to show her in that role, as it's been an important one for me. We've done a few pics together in the past, of which the most notable, perhaps, featured us both wearing potato sacks. Not my best look, but it's amazing what you can get away with in the company of a non-judgmental friend! It's a bit intimidating posting a picture of someone as accomplished in that field as she is. Fortunately for me, she's too good a friend to be anything other than supportive and generous. And she's also my housemate, now, so she knows if she says anything unkind, I'll spike her toothpaste. Thank you Saskia.

@Madelaine McMasters is one of my oldest, and certainly my best friend in SL. We first met on the SL forums sometime in 2009, when she was using a different account. I think we both liked and respected each other almost from the beginning. I don't remember when public interactions on the forum began to be supplemented by exchanged DMs, and an in-world acquaintance, but it wasn't too long after she created her current account, I think. We've maintained at the least sporadic contact in all the years since then, even when one or the other of us was not very active in-world or on the forums. There isn't anyone in SL who knows me better than Maddy, nor anyone with whom I am more comfortable and at home. She knows my strengths, and she isn't afraid to remind me of my weakness and my foibles. And that's to the good: it's one of the things that a really strong friendship is about. Certainly, she sets fire to me at regular intervals; I like to think of it as "purging." I asked Maddy whether she thought this photo captured our friendship, and her response was, of course, spot on: "How could it?" There are so many facets to our relationship that that would indeed be impossible. But I think this does embody at least one aspect of our friendship: Maddy's love of old movies and TV shows, and her regular sharing of them with me. She's the most talented storyteller I know, and she's learned from the best. She is, simply, one of the most important reasons I log in to SL every day. PS. The root beer on the floor is Maddy's: that's her drink. Ick. Mine is the glass of wine behind the popcorn.

Not sure if this is "closeup" enough, but whatevs!

Great post @Jordan Whitt -- lots of good points! And @Eva Knoller, lovely picture, and it really does highlight the clothing! So, what if we start from first principles here, and ask some questions? I don't really have any answers to these -- I just don't know enough. But it seems to me they are useful questions. What is the function of a fashion photo? Is it to sell clothing, i.e., a sort of elaborate advertisement? Or is it to show style? It seems to me a lot of fashion photography is about "style" rather than a particular garment -- it's about identifying a "look," in a broader sense. Is fashion photography a "genre" of photography in its own right, like portraits, or landscapes, or still lifes? In other words, does it have its own rules as an art form? Or is it merely functional -- i.e., selling clothes, or a style? What's the function of a backdrop? In theory, the best way to highlight a garment is a completely blank backdrop that focuses all attention on the clothing. So, why do we use backdrops at all? (Which is a question aside from how best to ensure that a backdrop isn't detracting from the garments by being too busy, too colourful, noisy, etc.) What is the function of a pose? Again, in theory, something extremely simple might theoretically be best, but poses can communicate an attitude that you want associated with a particular look or garment. It can, I think, also accentuate things about the garment, like how it flows, it's "line" and so on? And again, with Windlight -- in theory, the "best" Windlight is a low shadow, medium contrast, neutral lighting that shows off the colours well. But Windlight, again, can convey things about a garment -- the kind of mood or attitude, or context, that it's associated with. Does SL fashion photography differ from the RL thing? Above and beyond the technical considerations (making sure that you don't create alpha glitches, or that clothes aren't "cutting" each other), that seems to me to tied into the question of how SL fashion, as a whole, differs from RL fashion. I think a good, interesting fashion photograph actually helps "sell" a garment, and highlights style. It's finding a balance that is important. Here's a recent shot I did. I have no idea if it's any "good" as a fashion pic, but I wanted to both highlight the garments, and communicate something about the attitude they conveyed. And in part I wanted to do that by telling, in miniature, a "story" about it.

Lovely company, lively conversation, a beautiful afternoon, gorgeous surroundings . . . can you tell we've just run out of wine? @TatianaNikolay, @Saskia Rieko, @BelindaN, and @Eva Knoller

Heh, coincidentally, four of us have just rented land for a place together.

Same afternoon, slightly different cast and a game of musical chairs. This was just after @BelindaN had left. Left to right, @TatianaNikolay, @Saskia Rieko, @Eva Knoller and lil' ol' moi. Oh! And I'm wearing a new sweater dress that was a gift from Eva! WITH FLOWERS ON IT!

Well, that's pretty adorable!! And yes, the three of you look like you belong together!

One of the issues I have is with Windlight (and also in post-processing), because, unless you're using an "optimal" WL -- one designed to show off the avatar to the best effective -- you can end up changing the colours (and sometimes hiding the details) of the clothing. On the other hand, a shot using an optimal studio light is often really kind of dull, and without shadows. You've used a very clear WL above, though!

To contrast with the above shot, here's a new one, taken yesterday. I actually don't think this one works very well, in part because I've nearly lost the minimalism that helps the clothing standout. It's an ok pic (a bit meh), but it doesn't do what I hoped it would do (and I think I may retake it, stripping away some of the elaborate background). Credits: Valentina E. -- Amelie Belted Jacket MH Unique Designs -- Telia Jeans Equal - Alex Boots Blackburns -- Fashion Mesh Eye Glasses

Confession: I am a pretty lame fashionista, myself. I "know what I like," so to speak, but I don't think I have a very innovative or unique approach to styling. I am, however, very interested in how we photograph SL fashion, and have been exploring some ideas on this subject. My own approach, which is really just an experiment, is to try to find a sort of compromise between the completely minimalist shot that features virtually nothing but the clothing, on an avatar who might as well be a dress judy, and the "busy" scenes that characterize a lot of fashion blogging, in which the clothing becomes all but lost in the action, colour, and shadow of the picture background. What I've been trying are scenes that are self-consciously "artificial": they don't pretend to be pictures of people "doing things" in SL. I've used a plain white backdrop, but included some details that, I hope, add interest to the photography, "comment" in some way upon the clothing featured, and at least attempt to be a bit whimsical. The intent is to highlight the clothing, but to "contextualize" it in some way, and make the photograph more compelling than a simple snap in a catalogue. It seems to me that this is somewhat analogous to how Vogue takes its pics. Here's an example that I've already posted elsewhere (I'll post some new ones eventually) that I think captures more or less what I want to do Credits: The Bubblegum Tree - Blazer T-Shirt Live Life Rebellious Rose - Boyfriend Jeans ::ROC:: - Erica Boot I'd love to hear some thoughts on your approach to photographing SL fashion, as well as some critique of the approach I'm trying out! And, better yet, some examples of what you do! Let's talk about fashion photography! (I'd ask people not to use this thread for "Where can I get . . ." posts, as the fashion subforum already provides a place for this. And the focus here should, hopefully, be on the clothing, rather than upon "how my avatar looks": we have a place for those sorts of pics already also.)