Glam Affair Layla skin Flickr photo contest!

(Above) Glam Affair Layla skin, Hair by Me. (Aida)

Until June 5th, Glam Affair is holding a fun photo contest featuring the Layla skin.  Great fun for those of us who LOVE headshots!  Check out their blog for further details:  Glam Affair Layla Photo Contest

Stella loves *Beauty Avatar*!

Do I love this skin or what?  I say Yesss!  From Beauty Avatar comes “Alyssa” shown here in  Natural #3.  The eyes are dramatic and the lips are glossy; two features that I just adore in a skin.  The shading is just beautiful too!

Photo credits:

Skin by Beauty Avatar

Hair by Amrita (Sati)

Beauty Avatar - Alyssa Natural #3

Tips on modelling for your portrait

Have an appointment to have your picture taken?  Here are some tips for when you go in for that fabulous glamour shot 🙂

1.  Be prepared! Most likely when you’ve made your appointment to have your pic taken, you’ve got at least a couple of days to prepare.  So, make sure you have a few looks all ready.  That is, skin, hair, shoes, accessories..the lot!  I love to talk fashion, but when I’ve only got a limited time inworld and probably a couple of other appointments back-to-back, I don’t really have time to talk about what looks good.  Often, clothing and hair items are copyable so you can save your look in a folder from appearance mode.  Then you can just click and wear.  You should wear what you’re comfortable in and how you would like to be best presented ~ a look that represents you, not your photographer’s vision. Hey, we photographers get paid to make YOU look good no matter what, so don’t worry about what we think too much.  That being said, please make sure the little details are sorted out.  These are things like, your hair should fit properly and eyelashes, glasses etc.  This will save a LOT of time for us in photoshop to correct, thus, you get your photos quicker!

2.  Have an idea of what kind of photo you would like to have. This would be things like, what are your favourite colours for instance.  Many a time, I’ve used a background colour that my client doesn’t like and then back to photoshop I go.  Having an idea of your fave colours will save a lot of time.

3.  If you can, stay away from “fringey” hair and clothes. This is not a hard and fast rule of course, but if you have hair that has a lot of fly away ends or fur or fringe on clothing, it’s REALLY tricky and VERY time consuming to remove the background to put your avie picture on another background.  This is mainly for studio shots where you’re standing in front of a solid colour background, so your avie can be removed and layered on another background.  When my model comes in with really fringey, fly away hair, I’ll scramble to find a prepared background and this limits the choice on how the overall portrait will look in the end.

4.  NO BLING. As pretty as bling can look (I can’t believe I just said that), the same problem occurs with bling as does with fringey hair.  The white bling can occlude your face or skin and doesn’t reproduce well in a portrait.  I can change my settings so that the bling doesn’t show, however, if the photograph being taken requires the use of a particle effect, that will also be lost.  So, best to either turn off or remove any bling if you can.

5.  Have fun! It can be intimidating if you’re with a photographer you’ve never met, but we enjoy shooting models and it helps us practice our craft, so you’re doing US a favour.

6.  Tell your photographer in advance if you are also looking for a Group shot with your friends or with your partner. Most photographers will be happy to accommodate your friends or your partner in a photograph during the same session, but sometimes a little advance notice will help us prepare the shot.  Personally, I don’t do group shots anymore due to time constraints, but I’m happy to recommend another photographer who can do them.

So, these are just a few tips to help you along for your next photosession and I hope it helps.  These aren’t rules that ALL photographers follow, so if you’re not sure, just ask them in advance.

Stella Stapleton Studio – Now Open!

After spending lots of enjoyable time taking photos of close friends..and their close friends…and some of their friends, I decided to open up a photography studio!  It’s been open for a couple of months now and I’ve luckily been quite busy by word of mouth, but thought I should spread the word a little more broadly.  Photo shoots don’t take long at all and all poses are provided by me in-studio.  Finished photos are 250L and you are not obligated to pay for any photos you don’t want.

The studio is a bit tricky to find..I have a TP in my classified portion of my profile or you can find your way to Stella’s Mall on Stella Isle and take a TP from the board or walk to the back of the mall up the set of stairs.  I’d be happy to see you!