I am doing something today that I very rarely do – I am posting raw shots (other than cropping/resizing). Why? Well, for once when I opened the photos in Photoshop to process them I realised I liked them as they were. I think this is a lesson to me; I can sometimes rely on Windlight, great poses and a location to speak for themselves.

The location is the Cortona Villas from Trompe Loeil, available at the April round of Collabor88. While this is not someplace I would normally call home, I can see myself using often for photos.

The build is materials enabled, so in certain lighting there is a lot of shine on the walls – too much for stone, in my opinion. I spent a lot of time trying to find the balance between definition and shininess. I seem to recall that there is a way in Firestorm Phototools to adjust the amount of detail given off by materials; I am going to have to find the tutorial that covered this so I can use this tool properly.

Another reason I was able to use raw shots was because of the poses from fri.day by Darling Monday, available at Pose Fair 2014. Both the Monday and Careless pose sets are well-constructed and natural, so the joints are smooth with no need to correct jagged elbows or knobby wrists. Darling is one of those designers who has recently hit my radar as a posemaker and I can see her becoming a fast favourite.

And what villa would be complete without a balcony? This one has turrets and balconies and rooms big enough to hold court. I may end up becoming a princess after all if I keep hanging out in this villa 😉

Pretty stuff I’m showing off:

Dress: Cog & Fleur – C&F Satin Doll Gown – Opal by Abathyr (available at Genre April 2014)
Necklace: Cae :: Guinevere (C88) :: Necklace by Caelan Hancroft
Earrings: Cae :: Guinevere (C88) :: Earrings by Caelan Hancroft
Shoes: ::HH:: Hucci Vinnitsa Sandal – Blush for Slink High Feet by Eboni Khan (available at Collabor88 April 2014)
Hair: *ARGRACE* MIZUKI – True Red by rika Oyen
Skin: [PXL] Creations [PXL] JADE NAT PetalPink MEB C2 by Hart Larsson
Hands: Slink Mesh Hands (av) Casual by Siddean Munro
Feet: Slink Mesh Feet (Av) High by Siddean Munro
Hand & Feet appliers:[PXL] Creations – [ PXL ] Slink Hand & Feet Appliers NAT by Hart Larsson
Eyes: Amacci Gaze Eyes – Ocean Blue by Carina Larsen
Lashes: Mon Cheri *MC* “Falsies” Eyelash by Freya Oliveri
Rose: Inizio Longstem Red Rose modifyable by Mistress Midnight (map would not load)

Build: Trompe Loeil – The Cortona Villas V1.1 (with greenery) by Cory Edo (available at Collabor88 April 2014)

*Pose in photo 1 fri.day – fri. – monday.pose 1 by Darling Monday (available at Pose Fair 2014)
*Pose in photo 2 fri.day – fri. – monday.pose 5 by Darling Monday (available at Pose Fair 2014)
*Pose in photo 3 fri.day – fri. – careless.pose 1 by Darling Monday (available at Pose Fair 2014)

Photos taken using the LumiPro HUD