There are many things in Second Life that serve as a creative outlet for its residents. Some love to build things, script or socialize with people half way around the world. Several people make their living, their REAL life living with their Second Life job. Myself and Snow White have graced many a stage in Second Life, and showed off our literary prowess by being virtual strippers. But that job was never the one that I loved. My favorite creative outlet is of course, Digital SL Photography.

I found this new love quite by accident a few years ago, while talking to one of my fellow strippers who wanted to become a model in world. She needed photos for her virtual portfolio and liked my profile pictures. That same week I’d downloaded a new little viewer called Wind Light. The addition of Wind Light in Second Life completely changed the photography game. You could adjust lighting to get all sorts of cool effects; most noticeable to me was the ability to make the pictures look almost like real people. Before, this was accomplished by taking a photo, dropping it into Photoshop and then adding photo-realism post production. After taking photos for my friend, I was immediately hooked, sometimes creating elaborate sets and spending hours buying poses and dances. Watching those dances, over and over, I could see pose after pose after pose and shared them with friends who were amazed. My photos never resembled any other in Second Life, because I played not just with lighting, but with angles and tried everything, not just photos straight on.

"Subtle Changes make a HUGE difference"

So began my career in SL of taking photos. I earned quite a bit of extra cash, taking photos of everything from furniture to fashion. I even had a steady gig photographing SL weddings for a time. This seems like it’s easy to get into, but like any craft it requires practice, lots of self promotion and a really good eye. You’ll need to first learn which colors look good on which skin and Second Life has better than a million types of skin, from different skinners. Also to add more realism you’ll need to have a higher end video card. The more your video card is able to render, the better your photos will look, that’s even without Photoshop.

The photos you see below are even without the latest in world goodies such as Lighting Reflectors. There are also several photography groups in SL that share job info and techniques and know all the cool places to get poses. As far as starting a new business goes, this is a minimal investment with really great returns. Remember practice makes perfect.

So you have a few questions, yes?

How much do I charge?

This will depend on how much work you do. You may want to come up with an hourly rate and also charge extra if you have to do any touch up work (such as hair sticking through skin, or redrawing missing hair if necessary). You’ll also want to limit the amount of shots you show your client; otherwise you’ll have your hands full with someone wanting every shot they see and for a very small price. When first starting out you’ll most likely be your only model. This is when you spend your time playing and taking as many photos as you can. Remember to save them to your hard drive, not in game, that costs and you’d be surprised how fast you can rack of the expenses doing it that way.

How do I protect my SL photographs from being stolen?

There are several tutorials on how to use an automated feature in Photoshop that will place a watermark over your work. Meaning, you can show your client their proofs and not worry that they will not pay you. Just because it’s Second Life, doesn’t mean you don’t ask for a deposit up front or expect to be paid once the job is completed. I’ve never had any trouble with anyone paying me, but you should always be prepared.

How Do I Get Started?

You’ll need:

Second Life
Well, first if you don’t have Second Life, then you’ll need to get that first. Once in, you’ll look for the Environment editor, found in your menu and then select Advanced Editor. Once there start to play around with the lighting and notice the effects. Even with this lighting your model (which at first will most likely be you) will need to have what’s called a Face Light. The Face Light will illuminate your models face (or wherever you place it) for better effects. You can create your own as well and give it subtle color changes which will also change the way the photo looks. Much like real photography is an art, so is Digital SL Photography. Study real magazines and look at how the photographer captures a mood or tells a story with just that picture and emulate it in Second Life.

Photoshop (or some other image editor)
some people can use any image editor and get gorgeous results. Myself, I prefer Photoshop. Once you get yours set up to your preferences, things like retouching photos can be done quickly.

A really good video card
Without a really good video card, you won’t be able to take those really breathtaking photos. Your photos will have a cartoony quality and rest assured, you’ll either be spending a lot of time in Photoshop to fix them or have a lot of pissed off models.

Lots of patience
I can’t tell you where to get patience, but I’m sure if you dig deep you’ll find some. This is not a quick process as you’ll sometimes spend hours, just playing with the light, just to get the right mood. You may also have a know it all model, who will be very vocal about their photographs, even when they can’t see what you’re doing. Just remember what your assignment is and you should be fine. If these are wedding photos, you want to find out first if the wedding party is traditional or are they going with a theme and then adjust accordingly. If it’s fashion then find out if it’s high fashion or just catalog. A quick trip around the web should help you capture the mood nicely. Remember to play to your strengths and always be ready to take a photo, never know when the lighting will be just right.