Images

The Boudoir Whale

Image PeepSideshow DarkwardLeave a comment

Odd title for a post about photography…but it came up today in a silly conversation and it just stuck in my head 🙂

To try to tie it together, I’ll be spouting about the enormous possibilities – oceans worth of them – when doing bedroom shots.

When I think of boudoir photography, I think of very soft, hazy pictures of women in filmy lingerie. There is a huge market in this type of work for women who want to give their partners a little excitement and spice up their love lives (now, why do humpbacks suddenly come to mind? 😀 )

This photo is one that exemplifies the sensual style that typifies boudoir photography.

1 Bedded_019

But I often choose to swim away from the pod when it comes to my photography. (Don’t krill me; I know that was bad!)

This picture is also a boudoir shot, but it is whimsical and sweet, rather than steamy and sexy.

1 Princess_003a

Yes, I have breached convention with this photograph, but I love lobtailing in the face of the norm 😉

And that, my dear readers, is my whale of a story!

Intimate Moments

Image PeepSideshow DarkwardLeave a comment

Intimate Moments is not just the name of the ballroom on the sim where my showroom is located, it’s also those photos of couples who want to show their love for one another. I was honestly surprised when the first three “official” couples I did shoots for requested nudes.

I’m not a prude; but I wanted the photos to be erotic – not pornographic. I wanted to show the love and commitment between the pair without showing all of the “bits.” I had to find the right poses, settings and lighting to allow them to “speak to me” so I could produce the types of photographs that created a mood of intimacy between two people in love.

For Tylar and Kaos, I chose a setting with sunlight streaming through the windows, and processed this photo to give it a shadowy, ethereal mood. Their faces aren’t the focal point, but I can sense their feelings for one another in this photo.

1 Ty & K_050 b

Hope and Shane’s photos were probably the most challenging for me because their skin tones are so different. I knew right away which setting and poses I wanted to use, but the lighting was especially important for balance. But again, the processing is what allowed me to capture the glow of their new love.

1 Hope & Shane_077

My most recent couples shoot was of Country and Weather. I don’t know them as well as the other two couples, but I had them show me their home to get a feel for who they are. These two are different from the others in that they are a couple in real life, as well as Second Life. I wanted to give them a setting that was a bit exotic and with a mysterious feel.

1 Country & Weather5 base

Being allowed to capture these intimate moments shows a trust in me that I cherish. These six people allowed me to photograph moments normally only shared in private. To be allowed into their lives in this fashion gives me an opportunity to show the world a glimpse of their love.

Thank you, Tylar & K, Hopers & Shane and Country & Weather for letting me express for you what is in your hearts for one another.

Even Kittens Blink

Image PeepSideshow DarkwardLeave a comment

Ah…how many otherwise perfect photographs have been ruined by the simple act of blinking? You’ve framed the shot, gotten the lighting and angle just right, and at the instant you snap the shot…your subject blinks!

Sometimes it works out. The closed eyes suit the mood and style you are wanting to capture. Although usually if you want a photo of someone with their eyes closed, you simply ask them to do so.

That doesn’t work in Second Life. Unless you have a pose, such as some sleep poses, that override the standard animations of the avatar and closes the eyes, you have to wait until the subject blinks, then freeze the frame and hope you didn’t capture them with lids half closed. If so…you wait again until they blink and hope you are a bit faster on the mouse button.

But this post isn’t about those instances of trying to capture closed eyes. It’s about those accidental “oopsies” where closed eyes either work…or they don’t.

This one, I think did.

1 Tattoo Close Up

When I was scrolling through my raw shots to find one or two to finish, I almost went past this one. This was cropped from a full-length shot. And while I don’t think the “blink” would have worked in a full-frame shot, I liked how it turned out for a close-up.

This one, on the other hand, didn’t.

1 aussie day blink

I thought I could pull off a dreamy look when I saw this one. Instead, to me, it just looked like…I blinked.

Sometimes those droopy eyelids will allow me to show a different mood by happy accident. But most of the time, it’s just one more shot for the rubbish bin.

As for the title of this post? Yes, it’s true…sometimes even kittens blink 🙂

1 Petal blinks