On Working from Photographs

Painting from photographs is very difficult. The photographic process pushes most of the light halftones to the light side and the dark halftones to the dark side. In addition where you have a wide range of value in a photographic scene the metering system of your camera will average the light which will result in either washed out skies or black shadows. I also think that people tend not to want to change anything when they’re looking at a two dimensional source even when it’s better for the painting. So what I’m saying is that often the values are nonexistent or wrong and you r looking into shadows where you can see anything. But I also know that many people do work from photos so I want to get you to thinking your photo before you begin.



 Make sure there is enough information in the photo you’re working from. If you think you can make something up to go into that dark shadow or maybe just paint it black like you see it, don't bother


 Are the shapes clear? Can you understand what’s going on within the picture? Sometimes this is a matter of not enough detail and sometimes too much detail.


 Does what you’re seeing make sense in terms of value. Can you find three or four values to mass your shapes?

Working from life or from sketches you made from life is always a better route.