The Model as Photographer

One great aspect of having a studio with such a large and diverse group of people is that no one need be pigeonholed into one role. This post proves that those who pose for the camera can also know how to work behind the lens, and that none of us should be relegated to only one place in the process.

Our lovely and successful Photogenix model, Joi Smythe, is proving to have a keen eye for working behind the camera too, as the following examples show.



This first, taken in the Antiquity Tartuga sim, is an excellent example of a simple subject rendered beautifully with lighting and composition. When an intriguing sight like this presents itself, then the photographer has an easy job - that of rendering the scene as true to life as possible, choosing only the moment and angle in which to capture the image.



This next shot, taken in the Blackspot Shipyard, reveals a bit more of a keen eye but also the ability to set the mood as the photographer wishes - something made easier by the Windlight settings in SL. With a few settings to establish a mood, a relatively simple composition can become an intriguing picture.

We're looking forward to more from Joi and others in the Photogenix family. Photography is our passion - behind the camera, as a subject, and everything in between.

The Lady and Her Driver

A quick experiment in location shooting, taken at a beach rendevous point on our home parcel of Merrywood:


Again, no post production involved here - just the setting, some Windlight atmosphere, a bit of lighting and a click of the shutter.

If you scroll through the works displayed here, you'll see a pattern I enjoy - settings of men and women in scenes that suggest connection and separation. This was a test of the ability to stage such a shot outside the studio, featuring the lovely Umma Nitely as "The Lady" (she rarely poses, as her role is more of an administrator of the studio, but I cajoled her into it) and a new addition to our family, Nigel Tiratzo, as her young driver.

I wonder what will happen next?


~B~

A Few Minor Victories

Contests have been a great way for our fledgling studio to get experience and exposure. I've chronicled below some of the "near misses", but here's a quick look at some of the little successes that have kept our spirits up.

First, one of my all time favorites "Breakfast in Bed" won Second Place in a contest hosted by MadamG Zagato in her New Paris Sim. This set piece, centered on my lovely wife Atia, was shot in our own bedroom on our parcel at Merrywood, using nothing but some Windlight settings for the atmosphere and some judicious lighting.



"Breakfast in Bed" was originally an entry in a contest sponsored by DollyRock to feature their clothing line (the negligee Aita is barely wearing is called "Breeze") - we did not place in that contest, but as an entry in New Paris, we garnered a red ribbon - our first award ever.

The next month, we returned to New Paris with an original composition that combined studio techniques and a bit of after-the-fact photo manipulation, entitled "Inner Child"



Our own Melinda, in a very different persona than before (see "Contests We Have Lost", below), as a dignified elderly lady hearkening back to her distant youth won us a Third Place, a few kudos from the other contestants, and a tiny bit of pride in a good idea well executed. We had no designs for this one as a commercial piece - we weren't showing off a clothing line or a skin or hair - it was just a spark of an idea that we fanned into flame in our studio.

But in that same month, this piece, titled "Windows" won us a Second Place in the ::Exodi:: Candace Skin Contest and then another Third Place at a subsequent New Paris photography contest.



As I've said, we like doing set pieces and try to capture everything in the camera - this example required only slight post-work to include the light streaming through the windows. Other than that, everything was done in the studio in an attempt to show off the ::Exodi:: "Candace Peach" skin to best effect and in an interesting composition, with Nance Bellic again being willing to bare nearly all in the effort. (I'm playing the part of "The Man" in the background) We also entered "Captive" in that contest (see below), but this one gained us the winnings, a few Lindens, slight recognition, and loads of good experience and fun.

And of course, our most recent and proudest victory came when one of the first to join our family of models, Joi Smythe, was named "Miss Sinatra Style" for September of 2009.



This snapshot we consider one of our finer attempts in our style - we built and lighted the set entirely in our studio, posed Joi and our senior fellow, Earl Ametza, as the chanteuse and the accompanist, captured the moment, and did nothing further to the final than add a border and our name to the corner.

All these works and more are on display at our Photogenix Studio Gallery, as well as our Flickr stream.



~B~

Contests We Have Lost

Just to show off some of our work that has not gained any recognition, I thought I'd post a few pieces that we have entered in contests but which have not won any prizes. We're proud of our work, and hold no grudges - this is just an attempt to demonstrate the quality of our work despite losing out to other very talented studios.

First, one example of our earliest work in January of 2009. Designing Nicky Ree held a contest to show off her original cat suit. We selected a theme that included cats and the Japanese/Chinese kanji symbol for "cat" and submitted three versions. Here is the one we feel was the best of the lot:



That's our own Victoria Cooperstone (in an early incarnation), sitting on the back of Rush Goldlust, another of our "stable" of models, as the cat. :)

In April of '09, we again entered a Designing Nicky Ree contest, this time to show off her "Satin Shine" line of gowns. While we failed to place yet again, we considered this piece featuring my lovely Atia as our best effort:



Also in April, we entered a contest featuring a number of outfits from Dolly Rock - and this one, tentatively titled "Morning Walk in New Paris", again featuring Atia, we thought was our best offering, though we again failed to win a spot in the top three:



On a more whimsical note, we entered a contest in June hosted by the Photographers of SL Flickr group. In this, the challenge was to combine a sepia tone photo with a splash of color. Our models Melinda Freese and Earl Ametza agreed to help us by creating this version of an old theme - a man infatuated with a performer - with the twist of age hopefully creating an interesting piece:



In June, we entered a contest to feature a new skin line called "Candace" from the ::Exodi:: line by Ryker Beck. Of the two entries, we won a second place (see next post) with one but this one (our favorite) did not place. This is called "Captive", featuring Nance Bellic as the "captive" and yours truly as the pirate.



June was a busy time for us. We also worked with two newcomers to our model family, Bea Mistwallow and Sid Sopwith, to create two pics featuring the outfits of the MYTH clothing line - a small company with simple outfits that feature very realistic textures. The first, titled "On a Foggy Morning", suggests that Bea and Sid have had a lover's tiff:



In that same series, we featured Bea and Sid (along with yours truly) in a scene suggesting that Bea, in her MYTH outfit, was a pop star. Titled "Playing to Her Fans", this piece, while losing at the contest, was included in the Flickr site of SL Expressions, dedicated to photos of Second Life avatars using facial emotes, something we take pride in at Phototgenix



While none of these entries won us fame or fortune, we still take pride in our compositions, and include them here on our site as evidence of the sort of work we strive for here - interesting SL photos, with no or few post-production tricks, that capture the beauty and verve of Second Life.

You can see all these and more recent works at the Photogenix Studio Gallery, or at our Flickr stream. We hope you will visit soon.



~B~

Joi Smythe Wins Miss Sinatra Style!

Our very own model, Joi Smythe, was named Miss Sinatra Style for September, 2009! Here's the lovely lady in the winning Photogenix pic:



And here she is wearing the sash that names her Miss Sinatra Style



She will be featured on the cover and in an interview in the September issue of Sinatra Style Magazine, due out September 1st. She's excited to be moving into a larger modeling circle and we're proud to claim ourselves as her home studio.

We took over 150 snaps to get the one entered into the contest. This was a set piece - I built a set in our studio, hoping to create the environment of a chanteuse in a small New York club. Earl Amtetza, another member of the Photogenix family, sat in as our piano player. Here are a few more from that session:







We wish her well and can't wait to see what Sinatra Studios creates using her unique beauty!

You can join or vote in the next Miss Sinatra Style contest by visiting the Galleria at Frank's Place

You can see more of Joi and the work of Photogenix Studios (as well as pick up an in-world copy of Sinatra Style Magazine) at the Photogenix Stuidos Gallery. Hope to see you there.
~B~

Photogenix is...

A full service photography, modeling and consulting agency in Second Life®.

For fashion photography, we have almost 50 stunning models of all shapes, sizes and types ready to make your creations come alive.

Our product photographic services, from the tiniest jewelry to the largest building, will get your work noticed.

Model and artist portfolios using IntelliBook.

Avatar consultation helping you find the best vendors and the best settings to make your avatar a true representation of your desires.

Call on us to capture special events in pictures or video.

Professional post production services, finished advertisement and vendor panels, slideshows and video treatments.

~B~