Now reopen!

The studio is now reopened in world. I am accepting new clients.

Between Mondays and Thursdays only.

TP to grab an appointment card to reserve your spot.

Office:

maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Titania/198/222/1019

I will not typically be working on Fridays,Sat,Sunday due to RL but occasionally i may be able to fit in an appointment,

I have finally gotten around to creating an actual FB page instead of just the group.

New fb page

Changes Coming to ZW Photography

I have been on a break from SL for some time now. During this time i am practicing various techniques with my photo painting to improve my work and to find a style im satisfied with again.

When i return to SL i will reopen my studio but for now the only work i am doing is pileups. Sorry im not taking any custom requests at this time.

Here is my latest work with 2 pileups.

you can find the uncensored version on flicker ( im sure you need to be signed in to view them as they are set to moderate because of some nudity)

Logo for SpellHouse

logo work for my new upcoming brand

Hex

Flickr

A bloggers guide

I have wanted to take the time to do something like this for a long time. I have just always gotten side tracked with other projects. Anyway.. To tell you a little about my own experience with blogging and photography.

This is not my first time around with an avatar in Second Life by any means. I love having multiple avatars to take on new unique ideas and projects. On my old main avatar i begin learning photography from the beginning. This was in 2006. I even took photography classes to learn the basics of how things worked. That was a lifetime ago now.


STANDARDS
These days the standards are higher. Designers expect more from bloggers. They expect high quality photos to show their products in the best way possible. As a blogger you are also expected to show creativity and diversity with style. You will be expected to do more than simply snapping a photo on a plain backdrop. You will need to set a whole scene and styling for a photo.

POSTING
If you are only a part time occasional blogger then you wont have much to worry about. If you are a blogger hoping to find yourself some sponsors or potentially be an event blogger, then you will need to work on posting regularly and often. You will need to do this with constancy. You will find that many designers will expect you to have experience blogging for at least 6 months or more before you apply to blog for them. They ask this because they want to be sure you are actually going to work and be committed to doing this.A designers wants to see the proof of your consistency in posting. They want to see that you wont be just applying to get freebies and not putting in the work.


WINDLIGHT

As windlight came into play it opened a whole new world for Second Life Photography. It took alot of playing around with settings to create different looks for a scene. Windlight is important because without it you are in the dark. Once you enable a windlight you can go from bland dark to vivid and dramatic beautiful scenes. Windlight isnt complicated. So do not be afraid to use it.


GRAPHICS SETTINGS

Graphics settings are important in capturing quality in a photo. If you are using anything less than High or Ultra then your photo will look flat. You don't need a fancy expensive computer to do this. There are settings you can reduce to minimize lagging. If you are on a platform and setting up your scene there, then you can lower draw distance, lower sky, lower tree, and terrain textures. you wont see those on a platform in your photo. This helps alot.

SHADOWS

Using Shadows can be a little tricky. You need a good windlight setting so they are visible enough. You don't want your windlight so dark that you cant even make out colors or even what your avatar is wearing. Enable the shadows and try out a windlight. You will need to play around with some of the color tinting to get the best appearance. Also move sun angle around too.

SETTING YOUR SCENE
If you take your photos in various themed locations then those will be your backdrop and you wont need to worry about adding things yourself. If you however prefer to take your photo on a platform and set up your own backdrop i want to encourage you to add decor or even furniture as well. If you are simply using a backdrop and your avatar then your photo may end up looking very empty. So find some coordinating furniture and decor pieces and decorate your backdrop.

POSES
If you are just getting started then  don't worry too much about spending alot of L$ for your poses. You however do not want to use 5 + year old freebie poses that lack in quality and everyone has seen them for years. You can still find free and cheap newer poses ( even whole pose sets for very low prices). Just be sure you are buying from a creator thats legit.


examples of scene decorating.

SNAPSHOTS

Saving your snapshots at the right resolution is just as important as the graphics settings in which you take your photos. Also you need to save them as PNG., I take mine on 5000 X 2619. You would do fine as long as the first number is no lower than 3000. If you go lower you risk your images having jagged edges and reduced quality. Same with graphics settings. if you go lower than that then quality is reduced.

POST PROCESSING
Don't worry. This is not a necessity and you do not absolutely have to have it. People do however use it to just enhance a photo and thats totally fine. Sometimes adjusting the brightness and contrast a tiny bit. you may even want to enhance your avatar adding more shading or body highlights. Sometimes these small simple extras really add to the beauty of your in world snapshot without overdoing it. Just decide for yourself what you prefer. Sometimes a little editing is needed when i pose distorts something else you wear ( like if a strand of hair pokes through a breast or a top), or if a piece of jewelry pokes through something). You may be in the category of ( " i prefer to show everything 100% as is") and thats fine. I can respect that. Sometimes fixing a little glitch is just what a photo needs. If you know how to fix it then go for it.

CREDITS
You should credit every item you are wearing as well as every decor item you are using. Simply Copy and Paste the product name onto your blog in a little list. Also copy the SLurl for each store ( or MP store) and put the link in with the store name. to do this after you paste the product name all you need to do is highlight the part that names the store ( or store abbreviation) then if you are using Blogger, then look above where it says LINK. Click on that and past the SLurl in there. Now the store will have a link directly to the map so people can easily find the store to buy the product.
You may also considering adding tags to each post. Label each store, type of item, event etc.

ADVERTISEMENT AND SOCIAL MEDIA
It is a necessity to have a way to promote your post besides in world groups. You need Flickr and Facebook. Without social media promotion then where will your audience come from? You need to be able to reach thousands of Second Life residents. If you are using flickr the importance of having a lot of followers is so that these people will be your audience and see your posts. Designers need this because if you dont have many followers or arent using FB then you arent advertising well for them. So Join lots of second life groups on both Flickr and Facebook.Share your posts to all of them. To avoid any issue with facebook marking your blog link as spam you will want to paste your blog link into a url shortner first. This has helped me with my own problem of FB making them as spam.



good luck. and happy blogging.
Zella Wyntir




Note: these are just basic guidelines to help you do your your best if you are new to blogging or just looking to improve a little. If you wish to add extra photo enhancements consider asking in some groups for ideas on what you should use.

before and after

see the image on flickr

Before and After editing

Before and After so you can see exactly what all goes into doing these photos.

 

First the green backdrop is cutout

then a a background is chosen and added. I usually use a bit of motion blur or gaussian blur in the background so it doesnt appear too busy and the avatar itself is the main focus instead.

 

Skin is repainted to enhance the shading, contouring and natural highlighting

 

extra flyaway parts of the hair are erased, then i begin repainting the hair entirely.

 

clothing is then painted to enhance the texture, shadows and highlights.

 

now all of the layers merged and i add lighting effects, and added highlights.

 

This process can take between 4 hours or even a few days depending on how many avatars are in the photo, and how much of an avatar is visible.

 

Client List Open

I originally planned to wait until sometime in October before accepting clients again. After a bit of work i managed to prepare early. I am back in SL officially today and accepting new clients.

To book a photoshoot follow the usual instructions the the tab above and send a notecard. or contact me on facebook ( Zella Wyntir).

The best times I am available for photos Monday-Thursday ( some fridays) 5 am SL time- 1pm SL time.