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what is the right way to paint from photo?
the size without details, or the real size that fit to the size of the canvas?not much detail:
fit to canvas:
It looks like you’ve got the basic concept about cropping, but should evaluate further the particular cropping and photo you’ve chosen. Is this the best composition available? Do you need to move elements around in order to make it better? Would a different photo taken in the early AM or late afternoon, with it’s slanting light that produces stronger shadows, make for a stronger image?
Mitchell Albala wrote what is probably the best current book on landscape painting and here’s a link to the articles on his blog that present some excellent info on working from photos: https://blog.mitchalbala.com/category/working-with-photos/
There’s info about his book, which is a great learning tool, on the blog too.[FONT=Arial]C&C always welcome ©[/I] [/font]
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Lazarus,
Crop means to select what you want in a photo, you did a crop in your first post that selected only the blossoms and leaves.
Here is a different crop from the same photo:
You can work from either image that you want to work from. If you want the detail, then you can reference the larger one, or you can choose to not include such fine detail and then only need a smaller photo. I have done both, sometimes I use a photo and it is just an inspiration for something that I imagine and is very different.
you missed the point Annie.
it could be any photo to demonstrate the problem.
i just asking here, what is the best way to paint, the small size photo reference or canvas fit zoom-in reference.
lets say i have 40x30cm canvas, would it be better to increase the photo at my pc screen to the same size of the canvas?Hey, Lazarus. I still think the articles at the link I gave can help answer your question. The thing to keep in mind is that it depends a lot on: 1) the particular photo; and, 2) what it is that appeals to you personally as an artist. There also frequently is more than one potential painting in a photo reference, as Sid showed in his cropping example. It depends on what you want your painting to be about: in the wide version, the painting is more about the landscape in general; in Sid’s crop, it’s about the people on the walkway. In the crop you showed, it’s about the flowers and greenery. There is no one “right” way. As an experiment, you might try selecting a photo that you like, painting the wide version and then do a separate painting of a more close up crop.
The thing that Albala stresses, and Sid also mentions, is that you don’t want to be a slave to your photo; you can even move elements around to make a more pleasing composition (although if you’re a newbie, you might not want to start out trying to do that). You’re the artist, so it’s all up to you. The question you might ask yourself is, “what is it about this photo that appeals to me or that I’m moved to express?” and then crop – or not – to emphasize that element. And please know that many famous artists haven’t necessarily gotten it right the first time. There are paintings by John Singer Sargent, for instance, in which he’s clearly rethought his original composition by cutting off part of the canvas and re-stretching the remaining part on new and smaller stretchers.
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From what I gather, I think you are approaching the whole issue incorrectly.
The question you should be asking- whether painting from ANY photo OR life is…. What elements in this image make a good composition for a painting?
The questions you are asking aren’t really about photos but are standard artistic questions about what to include/not include in your final picture.
These are decisions that YOU make at the start of your painting regardless of your reference. So even if you have a super detailed image, you don’t have to paint all that detail, and it is almost always better not to anyhow.
So if you are using your photo reference, before you start, analyze it according to your painter knowledge, don’t necessarily go looking for it in the photo. Determine the shapes and focal point composition first. Sometimes you will have to adjust.
In other words, let the painting determine the decisions. It seems like you are wanting the photo to provide the decisions for you, when it should be the opposite.
i hope this makes sense.
FWIW in your first post, neither the original photo nor the cropped image are good compositions.
Lady Mars Orange Marmalade Stapleford
Moderator: OIls, Pastels, Plein Air
Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken. -Oscar Wilde
From what I gather, I think you are approaching the whole issue incorrectly.
The question you should be asking- whether painting from ANY photo OR life is…. [B]What elements in this image make a good composition for a painting?[/B]
The questions you are asking aren’t really about photos but are standard artistic questions about what to include/not include in your final picture.
These are decisions that YOU make at the start of your painting regardless of your reference. So even if you have a super detailed image, you don’t have to paint all that detail, and it is almost always better not to anyhow.
So if you are using your photo reference, before you start, analyze it according to your painter knowledge, don’t necessarily go looking for it in the photo. Determine the shapes and focal point composition first. Sometimes you will have to adjust.
In other words, let the painting determine the decisions. It seems like you are wanting the photo to provide the decisions for you, when it should be the opposite.
i hope this makes sense.
FWIW in your first post, neither the original photo nor the cropped image are good compositions.
so, you if i understand it correct? at my 2nd example, if i can’t recognized details correct because of the zoom of the small photo, i should ignore them.
the roof of the barns, or the cows. and the farest mountain look like one block of same colour.
so size of the photo might or for sure will influnce the results of my painting.I think that a good composition should be your primary concern, not details, regardless of your reference.
Lady Mars Orange Marmalade Stapleford
Moderator: OIls, Pastels, Plein Air
Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken. -Oscar Wilde
Working from a bad/blurry photo just makes life harder.
When I choose a photo to paint from I choose the composition first and then I check to make sure there is plenty of detail. If there is plenty of detail my brain can tell me what actual shapes and what things are rather than random blobs of color. Painting random blobs is difficult to pay attention to and generally looks turble.
I take my own photos and I make sure I have enough detail in them at the size my painting is. It’s very important for doing a portrait or something. If you blow up a 3×4 photo from a client to a 20×30 for painting. You’d be lucky to even get a likeness. There is no detail left in the pixel for you to render a likeness. So I take the photo myself and save it as RAW so that I can edit in photoshop to get the most detail possible. I specify the size of my canvas when I crop it and add in my camera and lens profile so that it removes as much distortion as possible.
Check out my work in the acrylics Hall of Fame Camellia WIP
oil and acrylic paintings..
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