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In Search of Perfect Pictures

A short note before the typists turns the corner into Rest and Relaxation Land.

A reader left a comment a few minutes ago about about how lovely my photo are and what great Photoshop skills I have. I appreciate the compliment, certainly. In the interest of clarity and full disclosure I wanted to be precise about what I do and do not do to photos you see on this blog.

I DO frequently soften the very hard lines that sometimes appear at joints -- like inside elbows. I also frequently soften the shadow line around the nose. For some reason the camera (or at least mine) captures harshness in those areas that I don't see when I look at my screen. Who knows. I have been known to airbrush in or out joint lines when poses are a little off. I may love the pose, but it might not quite fit my avatar or it may actually be a bit off. I can live with that if it helps with the mood I am trying to capture.

I tweak sometimes for saturation and if a photo is looking rather flat I will add some lighting effects (much like a RL photographer would with lamps only my additions are in the post processing phase). In general though, my photos are good because of 1. my understanding of Windlight and composition; 2. my stellar graphics card (new) and 3. thousands of hours of practice.

Here is the important part. I never EVER airbrush out flaws in a garment. If it isn't good enough to stand on its own, it isn't good enough to show you. I expect that YOU expect I am being straight with you on the craftsmanship of items. I have done my best over the years to improve the quality of goods I show you. There is no point in making something of poor quality look good. The minute you buy it you know and both the designer and The Blog are blamed. That is simply not what I want.

I remember Strawberry Singh commenting on this subject. I cannot remember the details, but she said that she too was after the best possible picture and so did not often take review items (I hope I have that correct -- if not someone let me know). I accept a huge number of review copies these days. You only see a fraction of them, the ones that caught my fancy, that I thought some of you would love, the ones that I will keep forever until the database goblins descend again.

Not everything will work for every body. Sculpty clothes are a very good example, belts a more simplistic one. So even if it looks great on me as Chic, it may not look good on your avatar; still, you can trust that is it good quality or it never makes it onto these pages. Now and then I may miss something, but that is my steadfast rule.

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