Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting
When I see Cub Smit’s photos, I am drawn in by the oblique angles, the diffuse light, and a sense of being captured in the moment. Take “All the Same”, the photo above. I had to stop and take a second look to understand what I was seeing. It arrested my attention by cropping to the barest essentials, by being taken from above, not head-on, and by removing the face that is usually the focus of our attention when we look at pictures. People just naturally focus on the face, taking it away is disruptive and forces our attention elsewhere.
I sought him out to find out how he developed his style and if he has tips for fellow photographers:
There is a lot of variety in your photos, How would you describe your work?
It is hard to pick a single theme for my work; I've always tried to tell a story through my pictures, show my passions, joys or even nightmares so there's always a huge diversity of topics, colors and scenes in my pictures.
Lately I've been more focused on giving them a "sense of space" where the character looks off of the environment with just a second layer in the background that won't catch the attention of your eyes.
There's a dreamy quality to many of your pics. Is this to emphasize the fantasy elements of SL or do you just love the look of misty light?
Life won't be the same without that desire for dreaming and achieve that utopic success that we all have in our minds, no matter how old we are. That's why I try to bring my little bit of fantasy in my pictures so not only me but everybody who enjoys my work can have that dose of bliss with my misty and blurry scenes, which not gonna lie, it is a style I do enjoy.
Much more Cub below the break!
How do you go about coming up with your photo ideas? Do you start with an idea or with the clothes or with the setting? Can you describe your process?
It always starts with an idea, a feeling, a story or just any RL or SL moment that I want to capture and becomes the theme. I love thinking about the idea and all the details that it involves: how I'm gonna style the picture, which clothes I'll be wearing, background, camera angle, etc
Once I get all I need for the picture it is time to put them all together, sometimes you might find some of the points and elements won't match together so you need to be ready for changes and adapt yourself fast to the new situation.
Any tips for aspiring photographers?
Practice is the key, if you love what you do it is just a matter of time that you achieve it!
One of my favorites is ‘Your Energy” which seems very erotic, though completely G-Rated...what gave you the idea to frame the picture this way?
It's really hard to feature jewelry in a picture and don't make it look boring since you need to zoom in so much to show the items and that will take a lot of details away from the background as well. I'm constantly searching for inspiration for jewelry pictures and I remember watching something like this in a magazine to feature jeans in an editorial: a couple standing next to each other almost rubbing their hips. Picture was very simple and G-rated but yet so full of passion and emotions, I thought I could just add their hands standing in front to show rings, bracelets or watches from a different angle.
You have this mix of slice-of-life photos and roleplay photos, which are most reflective of your SL life?
I always try to reflect a mix of my life and showcase my life style, even though they have a touch of fantasy I have never done any kind of roleplaying in SL.
If you do roleplay, what are favorite places?
I haven't don't role play like I said, but I tend to visit many roleplay locations to take my pictures like Asphyxiation, Outbreak, Dead End City or the D O X Motel.
Who influences your art?
Friends, family it is hard to pick just one name, all those who have always been there supporting me or even teaching me I've been blessed to meet so many talented artist across my SL.
Who are your favorite artists in RL and SL?
Again another question where I cannot pick just one (laughs).
RL I'm a big fan of nature and underwater photography so people like George Lepp, Fritz Pölking, Frans Lanting or David Doubilet are always in my personal pinterest. In SL there are so many talented ones that I could mention: Skip Staheli, Hikaru Enimo, Diconay Boa or Goodie McCross. But recently I got really overwhelmed after watching the work that Antonietta Canucci and Coqueta Georgia did for L'Homme Magazine.
For more about Cub Smit, check out these links:
- https://www.facebook.com/cubitosmit
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/131850709@N02/
- https://cubblendedfashion.wordpress.com/
Cajsa Lilliehook joined Second Life in 2007 and has been enjoying the art of SL ever since. Disliking the common practice of critiquing poor photos, she decided to highlight good ones and explain why they work in hopes of inspiring with praise instead of criticism. Follow Cajsa on Flickr, on Twitter or on her blog.
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