Using photo references for your painting

So you happen upon a scene that your eyes tell you would make a nice painting.  There are already things about the subject that you want to be sure to include and "push" in the work to make sure the viewer takes notice of what exactly it was that inspired you in the first place.  After all, look at all the detail here.  Way too much in my opinion.  But that is a topic for another blog.  Let us look at why I took three different exposures of the same picture.

Alas, our camera has it's limitations.  If we don't suffer from any eye problems, most of us can take the 3 major tonal values (lightest light, middle tone, darkest darks) and still pick out all the color and detail in the scene.  Cameras, I think are getting better and better at that but still lack the miracle that God gives us with our own eyes.

A "perfectly exposed" photo tries to balance the 3 tones as much as possible, giving you all that it can. Example is the middle photo.  But for a painting reference I will need more info about what colors are in the sky and what detail and colors are in the darkest dark (the tree trunk in this case).  So I decide to overexpose the first photo to see into the dark and underexpose the third photo to bring color back into the lightest light (the sky).  Pros call this technique "bracketing".

Please make sure you also do a sketch if possible because even still, the camera will not emphasize what you love about the subject unless you take it into photoshop and play with it.  Also spend a little time here and make mental notes or written notes about some of the things only your eyes will tell you.

Before and After

Don't worry if what you are seeing on your camera monitor doesn't sing to you just yet.  Remember that your camera is gathering information on it's sensor for the final touches you will apply in your photo software editing.  The better your program, the better your potential final results will be.  Do you have an idea beforehand of what you want to say with the shot?  Make it happen in post-processing!

It is very much like going on a trip.  Suppose you wanted to go somewhere exciting on vacation.  You would never think of just getting in your car and start driving aimlessly around and hoping that your vehicle would just magically arrive at it's destination.  Your best chance for success would be to KNOW where you wanted to go and exactly what route you were going to take to get there.  A map of course, or better yet, a handy GPS telling you what steps to take would get you there.

Make decisions about your image before you move the first slider in your imaging software.  There is a lot going on in most images and can be confusing to the viewer.  Pick out the focal point of your shot and make it pop out and then chose edits to push everything else out of the spot light, only using them to enhance the star of your show.  More about how to do that later....

Why I Edit with Photoshop Raw Tools

Showing you a great reason to edit in Camera Raw in PS CS4.  Much more here than readily meets the eye.  Yes there was a little color saturation, but Raw editing lets me sharpen, regain my little blown out white areas (love that!), and fill in the dark areas with some light without getting milky white results like simple exposure up dials.  Raw editing is easy when I begin with the first options and make my way down the list, editing as I go.  There really is a genius to the suggested order of doing this.  This feels like you are painting your image.  Remember, "Photography" literally means "light painting".  So Fun!

A short lesson on switching to Manual shooting and why you would want to make all the decisions instead of leaving things to your camera's discretion.

MaMa is never far away.  This little group is only half the bunch.  They waddled away from the rest of the group of ducklings.  About16 in all.  A good idea to increase your iso (mine was 1600)  The reason?: Ok you have plenty of light, right?  Why would I chose to increase iso then?  Remember, these guys are constantly moving and I really wanted alot of feather detail.  That required a higher shutter speed to stop action and get good focus.  Sooooo, increasing the iso increases the camera's light sensitivity enabling me to use a higher Shutter speed without underexposing my shot.  My shutter speed was 400 and 500 respectively.

The f stop (lens opening) was 6.3 and 5.6.  Each little duckling needed to be in focus so I really could not open the lens to 2.8 (that would have only focused on one little portion of the group and left the others blurry).  Opening all that light really would have allowed me to use an even faster shutter speed getting an even sharper image but I would have dealt with the outer ducks being blurry due to the 2.8 opening. So, this then becomes a balancing act of Shutter speed and aperture (fstop) and iso.  Every shot you take is such a dilema.  But there is the fun and thrill of it when you succeed and get the shot!

 How does a tripod help? (did not use one here unfortunately). Well, without handholding the camera you are able to slow the shutter speed down a little and still get good focus. Slowing the shutter speed lets in more light obviously.  So, then you can increase the aperture (make the opening smaller but letting in a little less light though) thus allowing for more focal planes and more little duckies could be nice and sharp, all the while getting a nicely exposed shot, not too light and not too dark. Sweet!!!

 When shooting in manual thank goodness for the little exposure bar in the viewfinder telling me to raise or lower my shutter speed or/and aperture to balance this act.  Takes all the guess work out.  If shooting a group of subjects like this required an aperture so high (to get all focal planes sharp no matter where the subjects are in the viewfinder) that you lose the artsy soft background then, "no worries mate" simply go in photoshop and chose the blur tool and paint away areas of your choosing.

-and you thought I was just a pretty good photographer.  Now the secret is out.  It's all smoke and mirrors. LOL

My Sissy

Our beloved English Setter, Sissy.   Had to say goodbye to her this week.  Painting followed to help ease the pain of missing her.  She was 15 years old, a long life for a bird dog.  She will live on in our hearts forever.

Don't Feed the Bears!

Was just going to shoot the Trillium flowering at the Chimney's the other day and was given this little photo op as well.  Someone left the lid open to the dumpster and this is what happened.  This poor guy already has two ear tags "proving" he is a problem bear.  Three strikes and he is out.  Not fair I say.  Nice nails though, wonder who does them?  Wish I could grow mine that long.  BTW, don't let the cropping of this image fool you.  I was also in my jeep with the windows UP (and hastily driving by) - a drive-by shooting you might say.  I would later learn that Park Officials had to relocate this bear due to the fact that he now had been "fed" by humans and could potentially pose a danger to visitors by frequenting this camping area.  PLEASE REMEMBER TO CLOSE THE LID!

Baby Blue and Table for Two

Can't really say I am an avid bird watcher.  But with the weather warming up some the birds are showing up in abundance.  They are busy planning out their hang outs for the season and reminding me that I too should prepare for a busy summer.

Mountain Laurel Study

I have to admit these complex flower groups are hard to paint.  Love the species of flower, hate the time it takes to relay to impression to the canvas.  Each flowerett is different than the one next to it and there are so many....  it takes a little discipline to take a stoke of the brush and not duplicate it over and over in some mechanical, meaningless way.  Richard Schmid said it best when he related flowers to naughty little children, each one competing for our attention.

Rocky Flats

Rainy, damp, cold and muddy days are the best!  No kidding.  It only takes a smidgen' of dreariness in the air to make me want to paint.  A pot of coffee on and I'm zoned out.  Now there was no way I was going to sit out in the cold and paint these guys and just a photo won't be enough reference material, sooooo I spend a little time in my warm car and study the scene for awhile.  What color is the mountain in the background?  No camera could adequately reproduce that violet color so I decide right then and there what I will need to mix the right hues.  Will I remember all of this?  You bet.  Do those guys in the painting wonder what in the world I am up too?  You bet.

Community Bath

There is that crazy lady again.  I saw her screeching to a stop in her jeep, do a 180 and pull up next to a puddle filled with birds.  What is she photographing?  Can't you give her something for this condition?

Now she has gone and used pumice in her gesso!  Wait a minute, see how the texture grabs the "water sparkle"?  Time for bed, I'm speaking to myself in 3rd person...

Winter on the Greenbriar

Back to reality now, it was one of those days when the snow was almost completely melted and emptied into the river, turning it a beautiful pastel teal color.  Where does it come from?  Not sure.  I know that snow also makes a lake blue.  Anybody know why?  Another mystery I ponder...why does snow in the shadows appear purplish blue?  I'm embarrassed I don't know the answer to that.  Just paint it Kathy and stop asking so many questions.  I used my handy artist license and cropped out excess foliage.  Simplify, simplify, simplify!!!

Red Russian

The Russian impressionists enjoyed their own flavor of illustrating light for us and I LIKE IT!  Load up the brush and paint wet into wet.  The apples are American, the artist is American and the pie I put them into was as American as....well... you know...   Below is also my block-in stage.  I basically have three different ways to start a painting.  This one is a local color block in, then work the background and foreground colors together at the same time, thereby "knitting" the image together.  There had to be an excessive amount of sharp edges since the apples are in our face so to speak.  That had to be balanced, I felt, with plenty of lost edges in the leaves and background.

wet paint

OK, so I have left my post you guys.  Forgive me but I find it increasingly necessary to focus more on one thing at a time. Paint and canvas have been my best friends this winter and have done a pretty good job of keeping me sane.  Thank goodness this is MY blog and there are no family members that can disagree with that.  Anyway, hope you enjoy the new attempts.  Trying to loosen up as usual here...