I love all sorts of photos and artworks created in Second Life, but the ones that stop me in my tracks most often are the simplest in composition, the closeup head shot. Usually there’s no set dressing, no complex background, nothing except a plain wall and an avatar. Â What makes a good portrait? Â The best portraits reveal something about the character behind the avatar. More than anything, I think capturing that elusive thing we call character. That’s done with a combination of pose, framing, expression and the eyes. There are wonderful tutorials on how to take good portrait photos and though they are for real life photography, the suggestions still apply. Check out 10 Ways to Take Stunning Portraits and 10 More Tips for Stunning Portrait Photography. Even the tips that seem purely real life such as using a wide angle lens are applicable to Second Life photography where you can change the lens using CTL-8, CTL-9 and CTL-0 (or CMD on a Mac) and give yourself a zoom lens or a wide angle lens.
Bronson Twine is one of my favorite portrait photographers. He epitomizes the studied simplicity of a successful portraitist. At first glance, this is an incredibly simple picture. But notice how the unfocused background divides the picture into horizontal thirds and how her eyes, Â those piercing eyes, are at the intersection of horizontal and vertical thirds. He poses her body at one angle and turns her head in another, giving us a dynamic tension and keeping her looking into the frame. He uses lighting to add interest, dimension and as a frame for her face. Â This is, for me, a breath-taking photo that I have gone back to more than once to look at and admire.
I love this portrait because it seems so immediate and in the moment. It does not feel at all like a posed portrait. That comes from her leaning forward and looking to the side. She is looking into the frame, to be sure, but not in the “posing for a portrait” sense of it. She appears to be looking to the side because she heard a noise, perhaps. There’s an element of the startled tensing, questioning, fight or flight moment in her body position that adds drama. With just a plain white background and a head and shoulders shot, Bronson Twine tells a story – one that has us wondering what happens next. That is real artistry. Twine also has a blog called McGreavy Place. The tag line is “Where All the Bad Things Are”, which clues you into its macabre aesthetic. For his stunning portraits, however, be sure to take a look at his photostream.
I love this portrait by Syra Hyun for the blog SL Extravaganza. I love the angle she used in shooting the photo. It adds a unique perspective and allows the feminine floral gown, that normally would not be seen, to become a frame for the picture.
When you’re really good, you know when to break the rules. For example, this photo from Di Hoorenbeek not only has the body facing out of the frame, her face is also turned away and looking out of the frame. Yet it works. It arrests our attention, though notice how she compensates by using her arm to lead your eyes. In fact, you will probably notice that your eyes are drawn to the arm and the skirt then to her face, contra the usual expectation in photography. This effectively highlights the stunning details of the fabric and the dress, part of the purpose of the photo. However, that is somewhat balanced by the desaturation that makes the bold red lips something to catch and hold your eye.  The distressed texture that is layered over the portrait adds another dimension to the picture, suggesting it was taken long ago and giving it a bit of history and mystery.
This portrait by Cobra Barbasch for FashionSL is very arresting. With sunglasses, he loses that “window to the soul” that is one of the most effective tools for drawing us into a picture and directing our gaze. However, this picture loses none of its emotional punch. He does some amazing things wiht the styling to focus our attention. Note the hairstyle with the shaved lines that lead directly to the face and notice how those three vertical lines on each side are repeated in the glasses. This portrait is all about framing and centering and then adding an element that unbalances that perfect centering and adds tension. In this case, the cigarette with its strong vertical line of smoke cutting the face into thirds, two-thirds on the left and one-third on the right of the smoke. Â The fact that the ash is poised to fall at any second also helps give the story immediacy and expectation of what happens next, adding a dynamic element.
I like this picture from microblogger Caoimhe Lionheart or Cao. I love all the negative space that fills the portrait and the unusual angle of the picture. We don’t see many shots in profile in Second Life, partly because many people make their shape to look really good from the front and have not paid much attention to how it looks from the side when moving those sliders and some unpleasant surprises when they first take a look from the side. The unusual angle, though, makes the picture fresher and more exciting.
I love this picture from Zachary Zufreur for his blog. Â The foot in the foreground and the active pose makes it dynamic and interesting and gives it an added dimension. Â You can see how he used the Rule of Thirds in cropping this from the larger Flickr picture, placing the strong vertical two-thirds from the left and the shoe two-thirds from the bottom. Of course, there’s the added suspense of whether his wild kicking might land him in the drink as he’s doing it on a dock.
This portrait from Serene Fairey for slTransfusion is stunning. You really must click through to the post to see the fabulous study in dramatic lighting she did as well. I chose the portrait to highlight, though, because I love how much personality it has. Her casual ease in her body and the confident expression in her face. This is the face of a woman who faces the world boldly, with confidence and ease. From the arch of her brow to the catchlights in her eyes to the uptilt of her chin, this is the face of female power.
Holy Vargas Girl, Batman! This picture from Ilanit Orsini evokes the nostalgia of the classic pinup with the pose, the bit of glow in the skin and the rich colors. The composition is fabulous, using the rule of threes with the floats which also form a triangle that frames the subject. I love the use of the hat to complete the nautical theme and its clever incorporation into the pose. Simply fabulous!
p.s. What I Like has moved to Wednesdays!
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