It seems I have twisted the in-laws to come visit next month and bring Sara (without an h, she was quite upset that I didn't remember that).

So, with this lovely model coming to stay, I can do with her as I please.

Any thoughts, examples of really wonderful portraits of girls this age, or inspiring ideas on ways to paint her would be much appreciated.

Mary,

My advice would be to find that space which you feel gives you the best light and practice as much as you can before she gets there. Even if it's with a still life like we did once before.

One thought I had while looking at these photo's, and something to think about going forward. You should not establish the height of your camera (tripod leg's adjusted) until the subject is in front of you.

What I try and do when I begin with a subject is start with what you might call a benchmark pose. I set the camera height at something very close to eye level. I then like to set them in a simple kind of three quarter head and shoulder pose. After doing all the chin up, chin down, nose left, nose right adjustments, I then take a few shots of the subject with their eyes burned right back into the camera.

You could call this a sort of warm up for both you and the subject. You may have other objectives in mind as far as posing, camera angle etc., but I think it's good to always have a starting place and a drill that you go through. It's a kind of mental check list (it can be a literal check list), set tripod height, check lens for fingerprints, check ISO for current light conditions. All this while constantly evaluating the light on the subject, move closer to, farther away from the light source. These things become second nature after a while and require no thought at all.

If you watch a field goal kicker, a golfer as they address the ball, or an opera singer in the dressing room before curtain call, they all have a routine that they will not vary. It's not just superstition, it's setting in motion an established mind set which brings about a predictable results.

And more often than not, I find that those simple poses with the direct gaze are the ones that keep sticking to my fingers, defying the culling process.

Nicely said! I think I will print this out, Mike.

Just wanted to add that in portraiture it is really important to find the most flattering pose and angle of your sitter. If you don't, the sitter won't like the painting no matter what you do.

Point of view
 

One of the most important things for me to consider is point of view. What do I want to express with this painting. A good portrait or representational painting of anything for that matter, has to be more than a faithful copy of the subject.