Modelling 101 ~ Part IV Spring Summer 2015 Challenge

The third styling challenge was Spring Summer 2015. After an engrossed research on the color palate, I felt the first thought that comes to my mind with the theme is a fairy walking or hovering in her garden. Here is my styling card.

It's Money Honey ~ How to make money in SL?

Unlike real world where there is a always necessity to fulfil our basic needs, comforts and luxuries, in virtual worlds we do have any of such. You may often hear, virtual world being an escape for us, a window to live our imaginative life to the fullest. So, when there is no requirement of any necessity to be fulfilled, we still love to shop. Who does not like to shop? Our bags are full of items we used once in our entire virtual life time or never used at all. Most of us know how to bag the pennies and some struggle with it.

Here are a few tips for the starters and an addition list for the existing players:

The following are the ways to earn lindens if you are just starting in Second Life.

How do I make it big? ~ Part I

Today I wanted to deviate from the usual way I write most articles. Possibly, its one of my introspection day. When I came new to Second Life, I started as a host. For almost one and a half years I was obsessed with hosting at events. I could do a twelve hour stretch easily. And I did that for days together. I had worked for many clubs. I had seen clubs being a popular destination and also a few that shut down over night. 

Baby Steps in Second Life ~ A guide

It has been a long time since I wanted to walk all the newbies through the baby steps in Second Life. For few it’s difficult, but with the following pictorial tutorial, it should be a cup of tea. This tutorial introduces the first steps in Second Life, the viewer and The Shop. There is something for everyone to learn.

Inspiring you ~ Part II

In the last part I talked about my favorite photographers in Virtual Worlds. And I also said that I would give you a few tips. Few of my photographs can be seen in my flicker account. I have been reading through a lot of articles to edit the photographs. The good thing about learning to edit is, not only can you do it with your virtual world pictures but also your real life pictures.

Few months back, I had written articles about how to take a good shot in Second Life and also tried a little bit of editing. At that time however, I seemed to be a noob. You may look through the articles here http://mrsdebbysharma.blogspot.in/search/label/Photography. How to get a reasonably good shot will explain the technical aspects of windlight settings, graphics settings and the advance settings.

I have already suggested that being good at photoshop or gimp is good for editing purpose. So, what if you want to do a quick editing online. For this purpose I use Pixlr and Picmonkey. They are almost free editing tools. Pixlr is very similar to photoshop. The only difference I have come across is it does not have a pen tool. I use Pixlr for cutting the picture and then the Picmonkey to add effects.

What tips I follow?

Since I mostly edit the pictures so that I can offer the customers a custom or a thematic background. Here are a few tips I follow while taking a snapshot:

•  Take pictures in white background. That way it is easier to cut the images. 
• While you take pictures change the graphics in the preference window to Ultra High to get a better quality.
• Remember your angle. Make sure you are avoiding all visible glitches as much as you can.
• Take the snapshot of the best position according to you. Before taking a picture, you must have an idea of what you are wanting to capture. Is the face for important or the background? Are you capturing an emotion or a pose? Make sure your camera looks from your eyes.
• Make a folder for all your snapshots so that once the final edit is done you can delete the others. 
• When you save the snapshot, make sure it is at least 1600 X 1200 pixels in size or larger.

The following are the tips to edit:

• Cut the picture from its background in Pixlr editor using Eraser tool (E). 

Use the navigator window to zoom in and zoom out. Increase or decrease the brush size according to the area you have to erase. After erasing if you see any glitches, don't worry We can edit it further in Picmonkey.

• For the above picture I want something elegant in the background. At the same time I want the whole image bright like in a ball room. 

A background picture size can be same as the snapshot or bigger. HD quality pictures are better.If the background picture and the snapshot picture quality lighting does not match, then edit each of them in picmonkey. To find out, go to Pixlr, then go to Layer and click on "Open image as Layer" from the drop down menu. In the small window called "Layers" adjust   which layer comes beneath etc.

As you can see, the snapshot looks dull in front. Hence, I will edit the snapshot first in picmonkey and adjust the exposure.

 Well, looks better than before may be a little too brighter. This can be adjusted later.

• The next step is to edit and add effects in picmonkey

Open the background in picmonkey editer. Then add the snapshot as an overlay {looks like a butterfly sign}. Do not merge the overlays until you are sure with the final picture. Look through the various affects and add which seems correct to the theme and to your eye. When you click the overlay you get a small window, click on the eraser tab to erase any glitches.

• The last step is to add shadows 

The shadow will be opposite to the light. Also if there are too many lights in the room, the shadow will be fade. We will add the shadow in Pixlr, by adding a new transparent layer and painting the shadow on it with a brush. The color will be black. You can change the opacity of the layer as shown in the picture.

However, for this particular picture, as you can see the shadows are on the floor just beneath the object. Hence, our final picture looks like this.

What have I done?

In the effects category in Picmonkey Editor, I have added a spotlight, focal soften and focal zoom. Then I have merged the overlay and adjusted the exposure.  A little crop with a frame and shadow has taken the photograph to a new level.

Why I did this?

I have added these effects in correlation to my theme. The theme is "A couple  is standing by the door. All that matters is to be in each other arms. When they are together the world spins around."

Inspiring You ~ Part I

There are two things in-world that are most famous. One is fashion and the other is photography. Both can come either free or with a fee. Either ways, these both are loved by every resident in-world even if he or she denies it. Recently, I have developed a taste of photography among other things. Yesterday I was talking to one of the admirers of my work,  !mag!nat!on Photo Studios, and he asked me about my inspirations. So, this blog goes out to him and all the photographers who wants to be inspired.

There are few people who have a great collection in photography. An thankfully, I have them all either on flicker o facebook. As  almost all residents have a both the accounts to connect for business and to make friends in the in-world community.

The following list in not on the basis on my preferences.

• Goodnight photography

Goodnight Photography

• Silver Hawk Creations

Silverhawk Creations

• The Most Beautiful Photos of Second Life

The Most beautiful photos of Second Life

There are other bloggers who are also good photographers like Bea Serendipity, Magissa Denver, Strawberry Singh among others. These days most of the bloggers are good photographers.

Considering them, I have a long way to go. Although there are many who guide us how to take good photos, in my next part I will give a few tips that I learnt in the past year.

Who is your favorite Photographer?

Tell us in the comments below. Lets see what we can learn from them.

How to get a reasonably good shot?

In my last blog, I raised a topic. How to get a good photograph in Second Life?Few people are natural with it. And the rest struggle to get a good picture. So, I started browsing through the blogs. What I found was that, we can categorize the whole process into four parts:

1. Technical aspect (computer graphic cards etc. )
2. Better bandwidth or internet connection
3. Preference Tab of the viewer
4. Quality of objects, mesh in the picture

1. Technical aspect

These are the blogs, tutorials on Technical aspect that I went through:

• Strawberry Singh's tutorial on windlight settings
• Taking high quality photographs

2. Better bandwidth or internet connection

We all know the importance and benefits of a good server in Second Life. Unlike other virtual worlds, Second Life is the best in terms of quality. In the near future, it is expected to grow more. And so will the need for better servers.

3. Preference Tab of the viewer

Photographers or not, all residents of Second Life know that there need to be some editing in settings done to get better quality pictures. Each time of the day can be set to different presets of sky, water etc. Once the windlight settings are changed, we see the difference. What most of us do not know is that what is the right setting. I went through a few blogs to find some. These are:

• Torley Linden guides
• Tips to make your own best photography in second life
• Photography in Second Life
• Creating your own windlight settings

4. Quality of objects or mesh worn in the frame

This blog talks about the few things that are ignored while taking pictures. Like freezing frames, objects etc. You can go through it.

• Taking picture in Second Life by Dutchies

So, what do we infer after reading all this? Here is what I learnt:

1. Explore and travel for a relevant and good backdrop. Photo studios are good. But, its always better to get a picture which as close to real as possible.
2. Get a new pose. Even a simple model pose which is uncommon can do wonders. If you are going to a photo studio, select good poses, instead of the same old.
3. Everything said, it is important to focus on the avatar rather than the pose or backdrop much (if your objective is to take a full body or head shot). Use your camera controls or the short cut keys ctrl+alt+left click or alt+left click to get the best view.Concentrate on what you want the viewers to see. Do you want to distract them? Or do you want them to see what you intend to show them?
4. Yes, as mentioned above the graphics, computer technicalities, Photoshop etc are important too. The credibility and efficiency of a photographer increases when he/she learns to edit it better.

Which are the best places to travel for a good background?

Exploring is the best way. However read the following blogs and start off with these few until you get a hang of it.

• Exploring second life
• Destination guide

The destination guide is a good source for all the creative and upcoming areas.

Reading, understanding, blogging is just the theory part. After the inference, its time to experiment. Above I have mentioned a link called "Creating your own windlight settings". I found this one the most interesting. It gives me a free end to try out which I have always been afraid of.

My mind was still struggling behind the fact there is so much to do for a good photograph. Is all important? There are people from all over the world participating in Second Life. If people who do not have good internet speed, what do they do? Can they still be good photographer? Will the viewer crash when the preferences are set to ultra mode? What if the DJ, hosts or club owners want to take pictures? Do they only have to take the noobish pictures or the worse still the grey ones? What if a person is a student or under fixed income and a tight budget who cannot get the computer requirements, what do they do?

So, is only a handful of residents be good photographers? What about the rest of us?

I am from India. Currently I am not staying in a metro or a cosmopolitan state. Second Life is a good escape from real life. What can I do about photography?

I went in to start the experiment. I do not have high graphic card. And am a sufferer of poor internet connection for most of the days. (Whispers.. today being one such day) When I changed my preferences as mentioned above, I started to lag and crashed badly. The next time this is what I did.

Only a little bit changes, and see the result

The next step this is the setting.

Now see the result.

Conclusion:

• Being good at Photoshop is important. Better at it would be awesome.
• Play with those little scroll bars. Its always good to explore.

At last, do you think this blog helped? Any suggestions are most welcome. (Smiles)

Having a shot

Giving a break to the line of topics relating to family and babies in second life. I thought of doing something different. I have been following a lot of blogs lately. The bloggers who have made to success are an inspiration. In the process of extensive reading, I discovered that the layout had to changed, i.e, made simple and easy. You can see I have made a few changes. And a few is still left. I guess am slow at it. (smiles..)

Today has been a busy day with a lot of editing and reading. I have been trying to stretch my capabilities. I have been trying to find blogs to syndicate that have the same theme as I do. Only to realize most of them deal with fashion. The residents of second life are enthusiastic about fashion. (whispers.. who is not? sl or rl). So, I decided to give a shot at it. After all, its good to try.

I started with the idea of blogging about the clothing and accessories that I wore today. (whispers.. had to dig my entire closet to find a new mesh one). Getting ready, I went to a photo studio, my hubby Mr. Abhi Sharma took me once. (whispers.. its his favorite). Tried many background images and many model poses . After a lot of thought I fixed one.  Now the picture part. Phew! I have always been bad at it. What do I do? Hire a photographer? Or just try again?

Since, the objective of the blog is "4m my Eyes!", I started on my own. In the preferences tab I increased the graphics to ultra. Now, the network at my place is horrible. With a lot of crash - lag I managed to get one. (whispers ... its not a pro at all, anyways worth the try)

* Image left: image as in from second life 

*Image right: edited in Photoshop

As you can see not much of a difference and needs a lot of work.

What I wore?

Top : "::PM::Guarana Bikini in Pink Halter Top" 
Bottom: "::PM::I Feel Good Pants in Slamon [Mesh]"
Alpha: "::PM::I feel Good Pants Alpha Mask 1+ visible feet"
Make up: from **NOYA**
Shoes: "Ydea- Emma"
Earrings: "::PM::Tribe Earring Gold/Burgundy/Silver"
Ring: "Exquisite Love's Blush Engagement Ring"; "The Blood Bond"
Bangles: "ZC: Suverna bangles"

In the morning I was wondering about a topic. By the end of the blog I got many ideas. I will have to find out how to be perfect at taking photographs in second life and editing them, so that the pictures do not have glitches. Its time to learn and share for those readers who are just like me.