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Photo Uploading 

What makes a good photo for a portrait painting?

Uploading your photos may leave you with a lot of questions.  Like, what makes a good photo?  Below are some good and bad examples of what makes a good photo for me to paint from.  You do not have to be a professional photographer to send me a photo I can use, However you do have to follow these simple rules.

Ellis_CORSE_2017.jpg
Not So Good

Squinting is Not Good

This photo reference is not so good. True the photo was taken out doors and at a 3/4 view but the reason this photo doesn't work well is because the eyes are squinting, his mouth is open, and his face is more in shadow than in light.

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Good Idea

Face Of Observation

Seat the subject in front of a window and snap a photo. The lighting will be good and the person's face will relax as they observe the world outside.

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Good Photo

Serious is Good

A serious expression is exactly what I am looking for as a painter. You may not consider this a good photo, and it may be low resolution but there is a distinction between light and shadow which helps when painting facial features.

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Click on the images to find out what makes these good, or not so good.

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