Strike a Pose

If you are an amateur SL photographer like me, I'm sure you are interested in model poses. They add an element of character and emotion to your photos. And lets faces it, the standard animations get a bit boring. But I'm not a professional photographer nor a model, and I have not reached the point where I am willing to shell out $L50-100 for a single pose. So, here is what I do to get great poses on a budget.

First of all, there are all kinds of free animation boxes you can picks up in the newbie zones around SL. Yes, most of them are silly animations where your head spins round or you do a zombie dance. However, you can find some decent poses amongst the fodder and they are not always labeled obviously. The best thing to do is to take the time to go through them, delete the useless and rename any good poses so that you call recall them later.

While you can find some decent poses in free animation boxes, they aren't model poses per se. The free animations are more useful as narrative aids than for showing off fashion. Unfortunately, free model poses are not nearly as prevalent as the zombie dance-type animations. However, I have found an excellent box of free model poses made available at
ESB Photography Studios

Just look for the pink box which contains ~30 very useful standing and sitting poses. I use these A LOT.

**UPDATE** I found another great set of free poses at Sirena Hair and Fashion. There are a few repeats from the ESB box, but some great new ones as well. It even has a pose bracelet you can customize for a quick and easy AO. Go to the store and look for the board that says Tutorial Supplies. At the very top of the board there is a poster that says Stand Animations. And that's it! If you want a tutorial for how to put an AO into the bracelet or another object, check out Natalia Zelmanov's AO Tutorial.

**UPDATE** Lots of awesome free poses at Builder's Paradise Freebie store. Look for boxes labeled Free Poses, Free Animations, and Free Sexy Poses. There are many different boxes (there is no real organization here, so check everywhere. The labels are clear.) so you should be set for a while.

Other than the rare freebie box, model poses are hard to come by. One thing to look for is a free pose included with an outfit, skin, shape, or accessory. Some designers will include a free pose with an item or even in their store freebie box. Keep a look out for these when you visit your favorite stores. You might walk out with more than just a outfit.

Another option is to consider items that contain AO scripts. Yes, these items do cost money. Think of it this way: you are going to buy shoes, purses, and accessories anyway. Why not lean towards items that contain an AO script?? Basic items will only contain a sexy walk, but some items contain 4 or 5 standing animations and even sitting animations. These animations are wonderful for exploring and modeling pictures. And you can turn the AO off when you don't want it, so you don't have to worry about high lag areas.

Speaking of pictures, I haven't taken any lately. SL has been so wonky lately it has been near impossible. I have had much trouble with failure to rez and the search function being down. In addition, I lost some items out of my inventory :-( Hopefully things will be back to normal soon so that I can have something to blog about!