When I first discovered facelights, it was a revelation. This was before SL adopted the use of Windlight and the harsh SL lighting, especially in the afternoon hours, was exceptionally cruel. The shadows created by the lighting made the best skins look terrible. And being a bit of a vain character, I instantly fell in love with facelights and I now never leave home without them. However, now with Windlight, there is some controversy about the use of the lights. Many find them not only useless, but annoying and many SL photographers will tell you to leave them at home when coming to a photo shoot. However, I find that the shadows can still cause some undesirable effects so I continue to use them. But I’m a bit more cautious. Before, I often cast a powerful beam on my face to counter the dark shadows even at nighttime, becoming a light source for the entire sim. Now, I only use as much as I need…and on occasion, none at all.
I do have some friends who don’t use them. And I occasionally find it difficult to make out their facial features in certain light settings which can be frustrating. So I’m guessing that it may possibly be the settings on my computer…a variable that we can’t all measure very well since we all have different levels of graphic cards and settings. What you see and what I see will often be different. So as a compromise, I’ve taken down the wattage of my facelights. The powerful ones aren’t really needed anymore in Windlight…but I still want to control the shadows. And I’ve now got the perfect solution which I will share with you all.
A good facelight will mainly illuminate your face and body with only a mild light cast elsewhere. It will also cast an upward glow to your face to eliminate shadows and not washout details of the skin.
I used to use a freebie facelight with only one setting, for all occasions. But a friend shared with me a wonderful facelight called the CG Facelight 3.0. It is an absolutely wonderful item! You wear the facelight as well as the hud. With the hud you can control the brightness level (dim, normal, bright, blinding), the radius, and light color for some pleasing effects with about 9 softly colored lights to choose from. This amazing tool is not only well made….but its FREE! You can find it here at CogNation where it is provided free and full-perm by the creator, Cognitive Gears. What a guy! You gotta love him for that…thanks Cog!!! I just love the generosity of some people who use their powers for good and not eeeeevil! In fact, according to his profile ALL of his items in his shop are free and full-perm! Wooohooo! I know where I’m going after I post this blog!
Another wonderful facelight that I just discovered at June Dion’s store, Bare Rose is designed to be used with Windlight. It is also a complimentary gift and offers several lights for different effects. You’ll find it here in the freebie/gift area of the sim. I really love the first one in the pack called 2points/windlight. It casts a soft glow that seems useful in many settings and lights up the body as well as the face for a great effect. Especially good when showing alot of skin. Thanks June!!! (the post to Bare Rose is forthcoming…it’s a MUST SEE)
One tip is that the lights can be directional. There are occasions to just light the face, and times you want to have a glow on your entire avi. Some skins are designed to be lit up to enhance a glow effect, so keep that in mind. This is why some skins don’t look as good to you after you buy them. Lighting is everything.
So, my final word about facelights is this: use them with discretion and keep in mind that a little bit goes a long way. Use good manners. In sims where the light setting is set to midnight or low light settings, take off your facelight. The light from your light source can ruin the environment for others. When in doubt, do without.
CG Facelight 3.0 settings
If you think we don’t have this problem in real life, you should watch the episode on Seinfeld where Jerry’s date is either pretty or ugly depending on the lighting. Funny stuff! If only I had a rl facelight.
