To be a photographer is more than just taking snapshots.

My daughter is doing her degree in photography in rl. She says she still doesn’t feel good about showing her work yet. I ask her why not frequently. She says she wants perfection. When she says that, I think to myself, if I wanted perfection, I wouldn’t even dare to take snapshots in SL.

But I’m not after perfection.

It’s not about how we shoot an object or a person. It’s how we feel when we see the photo. To capture a moment in a photo may take dozens of snapshots. All of a sudden, there is one single moment when light, expression, camara movement they all come together to create a vision.

For me, a photo is never a still moment. There are so many things happening there.

Obviously, fashion photographers in rl are an inspiration. It’s such an artistic expression of themselves, intrincate and elaborate and yet, in some cases, it’s just a photo. Sometimes one photo looks so simple that it’s we don’t even think of all the work done to create that vision. Hours and hours of work and pleasure behind one snapshot.

Among the so many amazing rl fashion photographers, I was drawn to Patrizio di Renzo and to his Pure Poison Collection. Inspired by him and with my own vision, I took my own photos in SL.

Through all this process, I found so many things about myself.
At first, as a SL Model, I payed photographers to have my own portfolio. Why wasn’t I doing my own photos? I looked at any image editor and thought I couldn’t do it. Working with photoshop scared me to death *laughs*. Then, I thought … why not? How would I ever find my own style, my own vision, if I were just there, posing and not actively shooting? Well, my daughter’s search for perfection came from somewhere, right? I was after perfection, too.

But what happens when that search for perfection just blocks our own creativity?
So, I put perfection aside and started shooting. With time, found my own style. As a SL photographer, what I want to convey is what my eyes see. If I shoot an avatar, I want to show him or her as they are inworld. If I shoot a place, I want people to see through my eyes, the shadows, the sky, the grass.
Most of all, when I shoot in SL I want people to feel.

Distance

I care

Dare

We have our ways to keep blocking ourselves from success. And it’s also in our hands to go ahead and not be afraid of what others may think of our work. We just have to keep in mind that we cannot please everybody. There will always be someone who doesn’t like our work.
And that’s what art is all about: to express yourself, share your vision. No fear