Have some fun with your art!
Many artists work from photographs. I find that the best way for me is work from my own photos! Here are my reasons for taking my own photos:
- I like to experience the subject. What kind of personality does the animal have? This baby giraffe stole my heart. She was adorable! Watching her antics helped me to capture her in my painting. I could have watched her all afternoon, but I only had about 5 minutes to remember how cute she was.
- Experiencing it through the camera lens allows me to visually study it. I only had a few short moments to photograph the giraffes but I was able to capture part of the personality. I zoomed in to take close up shots. I didn’t realize when I took the photograph that she had stuck her blue tongue out. Not only did I incorporate the pose into my painting, but the color blue became a design element.
- The camera allows me to create compositions. I can crop areas, take just a portion of the subject etc.
- Digital photography allows me to take unlimited photos which I can either delete or keep. I have gone “green” and no longer print out my photos but view them from my iPad.
- Working from my own photographs eliminates any worry about copyright infringements by using other images from photographers.
Here is my painting from the above photograph. I decided to have some fun with the color and design as a friend of mine is going to be a new grandmother and the new mom’s favorite animal is a giraffe and her favorite colors are yellow and magenta. I probably never would have made this painting if I had not stopped and taken 5 minutes to photograph the baby giraffe at the zoo!
How do you work from photographs? Leave your comments below, I would love to hear from you.
Mindy,
This is charming.
Thanks so much for sharing your process.
Thanks Kathryn for stopping by my blog. I had a lot of fun doing this baby giraffe. Do you paint? and do you typically work from photos or life? I would love to hear how you found the blog and how you create your art. What do you struggle with or find super easy?
Happy painting,
Mindy
Hi Mindy,
Love this giraffe! It’s so happy! I wonder sometime if you could do a blog about how to take photos of your subject – you know with the light on the left side, etc. My biggest struggle is observation of my subject and my poor photos don’t help me. lol. I just have little digital camera…maybe that’s the problem.
Deb
Hi Deb,
So glad you liked the giraffe. I am finally putting together the online class that will in part deal with the light source and how to use it in botanical paintings. I will keep you posted.
Mindy
my camera is my best resource for my art.
Especially dragonflies, although it took a long time to learn how to stalk and take good sharp pictures of them. , showing all the detail in their thorax and wings. ican get close to them just no sideways movements and don’t let your shadow fall on them. this works with butterflies too, shadows. I use a 200mm zoom lens. But you probably know all this 1
Thanks Janice for the reply about what you use for your camera lens. I have a point and shoot with a 24X zoom lens and it really helps me to stay far enough away and get in close. I thought about buying a digital SLR but I am not sure that I want to lug around the lens. Do you find that the equipment bogs you down? What camera do you use?
I use a Nikon D50 SLR -ITSits actually quite light and I use a Nkkor 200mm zoom lens almost doubles the focal length in digital.not heavy at all requires both hands of course. Ihave just acquired a monopod so we’ll see how that goes.Most of my art comes from my photos. it just takes practice.
Thanks Janice for sharing what you use. I purchased a monopod a few years ago and I really like it.I use the monopod in the field for shooting video and it make a HUGE difference in camera shake.Not only does it help with holding the camera steady but I also use it as a walking stick to keep myself upright when hiking and taking photos. Much easier than a tripod. Let me know how you like it.