For Best Results

Many famous and successful artists rely on photographs for their paintings. Some take the picture keeping in mind that they are composing as they are shooting the photo.The photo then needs very little alteration before being transferred to the canvas. Many wildlife artists, Banovich, Seerey-Lester and Brenders rely on good quality references to be able to depict animals in a realistic manner. A safari without a camera? Never! Professional portrait artists also take photos as well as sketches.


How to take a great photo:

1. Common direction for light source.Place a mark or toothpick on your camera to see where the shadow fall from the light source. You can mix and match many photos to easily compose a painting as long as the light comes from the same direction. If the light direction is different in every photo,there is alot of guess work and fudging to do and that takes more time than necessary.



2. Have a strong pattern of light and dark. This adds drama to your composition. The strong patterns are usually in mid morning or late afternoon.



3. Take multi shots. Try a panoramic view. I like to take a photo in front of the subject and behind the subject. Many times these photos have nice details to add, and they are in the same light, under the same conditions so it is easy to incorporate them.



4. No flash! Use a flash only to clarify information in shadows. natural light is best. It shows off the colors more clearly.

Remember, with digital cameras there is no wasted shots. The hardest part is deleting those images that really aren't suitable.....be ruthless! There are a thousand more paintings just outside your back door.....