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Author Topic: Ideas for a picture of you in your signature  (Read 1589 times)
Soul
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« on: April 23, 2017, 06:41:05 AM »

Hi forum trolls and saber enthusiasts!

This topic is to present an idea.
'Saberforum.com' gives you the option of having both an avatar picture as well as a forum signature.  Some people like to use a picture of themselves for their avatar, like I do at the moment.  Some people already have a cool image for their avatar, but want to be able to include a picture of themselves somewhere.  I'd like to present a way of doing that, without making your forum signature take up half a page.




It is worth nothing that this is predomentantly for people with limited to no photography experience or photo editing software skills.  All of the pictures here were taken on a smart phone, and edited using MSPaint Cheesy
...it's probably obvious  Tongue
It's all about how you stage your photo, making it possible to crop down into an interesting yet spatially economic signature image.  Add your lightside/darkside alignment, quote, and whatever else you want above and below the picture, and you've got an interesting signature with you and your saber.  Without taking up a heap of room either.
When staging your photo, there are a few things you need to keep in mind.

The first is that you need to keep all the important elements you want in the signature banner in line horizontally.  On this forum, that probably means your face and a lightsaber.



You need to keep everything tightly in line so that you can crop the crap out of the photo, and still have it look good!
I was able to crop the above photo to this...



Second, your picture needs to have purpose!
Your picture should be interesting, and a straight-on picture of yourself is rarely interesting.
You can create purpose or energy in your photo by doing some sort of pose of course.



If you're not that brave, it's fine.  As an alternative, try taking the photo standing slightly side-on.  If you're facing slightly side-on then you give the impression of action to an otherwise static picture.
Not comfortable showing your face, but you still want to use a picture of yourself with your saber?  There are always ways around that.  Costume masks are an obvious option, or having your back to the camera can work.  Of course even something as simple as a bandana can play.



Don't be afraid to have fun with it.  If you have a costume or cosplay character you want to use, find a costume element you can include in the picture  Cheesy



Lastly, think outside the box when it comes to the location you pick to take your photo.  A picture in front of your garden hedge can work just as well as driving 2 hours into a forest.
If you want to have your lightsaber on in the picture, you may need to take the photo in the dark, otherwise natural or staged lighting can wash out your saber's colour.  Of course, if you're taking the picture in the dark, that may mean using some imagination when it comes to getting the lighting right ;-)

Yep, that's a Nerf pinpoint sight I'm shining at my face to give it a red glow over the orange lighting from my Aeon LE V4.


I hope this has helped give people some ideas.  Feel free to comment with other suggestions you might have for this kind of thing.  If you have a picture of yourself you'd like to use, but are having problems cropping it in a way that works, feel free to link it here or PM it to me and I'll give it my 2cents :-)


May the force be with you.
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Neither Sith nor Jedi, however dark side points are appropriate

My saber: Aeon LE V4 Fire Orange stunt

Drahcir
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Shiny saber you got there, let me fix that.


« Reply #1 on: April 23, 2017, 07:28:54 AM »

This is a really creative idea - I like it.
Might do this myself eventually!
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Want your hilt customized? Visit my Thread and I'll do it for you : http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=24643

Rapine
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Always scanning the horizon...


« Reply #2 on: April 23, 2017, 08:00:34 AM »

Well done Soul. Smiley

A great tutorial for folks new to all of this...

Looks good too.  The Twi'lek one...lol

-1
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"The thing that always drives me hazy, is wondering whether it's them or me who's crazy." ~ A. Einstein

Soul
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« Reply #3 on: April 23, 2017, 08:35:54 AM »

Thanks Drahcir and Lord Rapine  Smiley

The Twi'lek one...lol

I know, it's fabulous isn't it  Wink
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Neither Sith nor Jedi, however dark side points are appropriate

My saber: Aeon LE V4 Fire Orange stunt

Rapine
Honoured Recipient of the Warlord Order
SaberForum.Com Moderator
Knight Commander
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Force Alignment: -3020
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Always scanning the horizon...


« Reply #4 on: April 23, 2017, 09:16:58 AM »

Is the dude in the leather jacket (nice jacket BTW) you?

If so, where did you get the green blade?  It's in your av pic too... hmmm
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"The thing that always drives me hazy, is wondering whether it's them or me who's crazy." ~ A. Einstein

Soul
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Force Alignment: -115
Posts: 640



« Reply #5 on: April 23, 2017, 09:58:08 AM »

I'm in all those pictures.  The jacket was from an old work friend, the green saber is from a local supplier here in Oz  Lips sealed
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Neither Sith nor Jedi, however dark side points are appropriate

My saber: Aeon LE V4 Fire Orange stunt

Rapine
Honoured Recipient of the Warlord Order
SaberForum.Com Moderator
Knight Commander
*****

Force Alignment: -3020
Posts: 7792


Always scanning the horizon...


« Reply #6 on: April 23, 2017, 11:13:20 AM »

I'm in all those pictures.  The jacket was from an old work friend, the green saber is from a local supplier here in Oz  Lips sealed
OH right on.

Cool, cool, and cool. Wink
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"The thing that always drives me hazy, is wondering whether it's them or me who's crazy." ~ A. Einstein

Dauntless Seven
Lady of the Sage Order
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« Reply #7 on: April 23, 2017, 06:05:24 PM »

I like this personalization idea and really appreciate your instructions.  Gotcha on those signatures that can be way too large and long.  Totally not necessary to make one's statement and the wordy repetitiveness gets stale.  This includes listing each and all sabers down instead of across the page.  I have 25 sabers and the huge signature was ridiculous.  Trying to find the often brief message between all those billboard signs is a challenge.  I am aware that that sigs can be turned off for one's personal Forum setup.  However... the majority of the members don't seem to mind the current look of the forum.

Just a pet peeve of mine and I have tried to address this before.  And the avatars are much larger now then was allowed in the past so perhaps the sigs could be reined in a bit.  Smiley

Will consider a more personal signature soon... or when I finally get an EH saber.

point  Cool
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Darth Tepes
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« Reply #8 on: April 23, 2017, 06:25:29 PM »

I had this format in mind as soon as I get my costume finished..point for bringing it up
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Lord Bladewraith
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Either you like Star Wars... Or you're wrong.


« Reply #9 on: April 23, 2017, 07:35:05 PM »

This guide is really done well. What a great idea for the community, especially for newcomers. I would have liked to have something like this when I started. Nice work.  Point!
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blasterjunkie
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« Reply #10 on: April 23, 2017, 09:25:47 PM »

I must admit coming across to this forum from the other couple of forums I frequent was a bit of a nightmare with the signatures, particularly when viewing on a mobile phone. Often the signatures are coming up in larger text than the posts.
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Soul
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Force Alignment: -115
Posts: 640



« Reply #11 on: April 25, 2017, 10:57:14 PM »

Thanks very much for the positive feedback y'all  Cheesy
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Neither Sith nor Jedi, however dark side points are appropriate

My saber: Aeon LE V4 Fire Orange stunt

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