Babysitter portrait
 

I asked our babysitter to come over this morning so I could photograph her for my portfolio. I have been trying to put together a portfolio and realized it would be nice to have someone over the age of 10 in my portfolio!

I asker her to come over in something formal if she was comfortable in that. I asked for something black or white and she showed up in this! I knew I needed her hands to be doing something and my husband gets the credit for having her hold a single red rose. I also shot some photos of her with her hand resting on the back of a chair.

I hope those black 'ribbons' on the bodice of her dress are not to distracting? I also tried out my new background: a large peice of felt from the fabric store which I could hang anywhere. I like the felt and it comes in a dozen different colors, it's 72" wide and $4.99 a yard. And it doesn't wrinkle!

I am ready to start immediately because this sweet young woman is going off to be a camp counselor in about 4 days. She's coming over Thursday so I can do a color study of her from life. I would appreciate any comments at this stage before I progress. I think these photos are about the best reference I can get so I hope I don't have to reshoot. I wouldn't know how to make them better myself but welcome any ideas if anybody can tell me.

thank you,

Joan

The first thing I noticed is that the light on the top half of her is completely different from the light that is on the bottom half. The top half of the figure is in a dark and very warm light of some kind but, starting about mid-torso, she is in a much brighter and cooler light source. This single factor will cause you far more problems than any concerns you may have about her dress, etc (which I think is fine, by the way.)

The second thing I noticed is that her nose is very red and looks like she has a cold or is about to sneeze.

Sorry, but I wouldn't spend time painting from these, mostly because of the lighting problem.

LIghting
 

Hi Michele,

Thank you for your comments. Yes, I see what you mean about the brighter light at the bottom half of her. She was standing about 4 feet away from my south facing french doors. I had draped a neutral cloth over the bottom half of the french doors. I didn't want light coming UP onto her face, I've had that problem before and I wanted to avoid that. I wanted the light to move down instead of up.

We have a brick patio outside the windows and our house is brown brick, so I don't understand where all that light is coming from on the bottom half of her. I thought it must be a reflection but there isn't anything for it to reflect off of.

My house only has 9 foot ceilings so I don't see how I could do this any differently. I don't have a place where light can come streaming in from above. All our windows stop about a foot from the ceiling.

The only thing I can think of is to have her come back again and this time kneel so she'll at least be a little lower. I used that flourescent lightbulb I was telling you about to supplement the daylight coming int he window, but that should be a cool light (daylight).

Oh, the tip of her nose is actually on the red side. I'll just have to minimize that when I paint her. Or try to get her in a cooler light.

Thanks again,

Joan

One more
 

I went through the photos I took and here is one that I took in another room with only daylight. Maybe some of the brightness is because of the white dress? Some kind of reflection. Is this one any better?

Thanks,

Joan

Try moving her a lot closer to the window. The daylight is probably angling downward to light her lower half and her top half is in shadow.

Closer to window
 

Hi Michele,

My problem when I move her closer to the window is that her face is half in shadow because the light is hitting her face from the side. I'm squished up against the wall and even if she's two feet away from the window, when she turns to look at me, half her face is in the shadow. That is why I moved her away from the window, so when she looks at me, I could try to get more of her face in the light. See my dilema? I hope I'm explaining this right. I even took a few where she was closer to the window and I opened the french doors and stood OUTSIDE.

Oh, let me show you one of those. Here it is below. It looks cooler, don't you think?

Thank you Michele for hanging in there with me and trying to help me solve this problem. I really appreciate it.

She is planning on coming over tomorrow so I can paint a little from life, I could shoot more photos then if I could figure out what to shoot! So you think the one below is an improvement?

Joan

Yes, it is an improvement, though the problem is still there somewhat. Having her kneel might be a good idea when you take additional shots, though, since your window isn't very tall.

Another possibility would be to use a large piece of white foam core as a reflector to bounce light up onto the top half of her. Position the reflector (held by an assistant) off to the left, aimed up at her face. (Whatever position it needs to be in to mimic the direction of the original window light but bouncing it up onto the top half of her figure.) You don't want TOO much light coming from the reflector though so play with how far the reflector is from the subject.

Since you're going to reshoot you might also want to ask her to stand up a bit straighter.

That must be it
 

I think you figured it out when you said this! That must be what's happening, I don't know what else it could be.

I'll try her kneeling tomorrow. And I'll ask her to take her heels off. Either that or specialize in subjects that are less than 4' tall. :)

Thanks again Michele for taking the time to help me with this,

Joan

Joan.

Perhaps you could try to reflect the sunlight from outside the house would give a stronger effect?

Allan

Joan, how about just putting her in a chair? That ought to lower her down and get her into the light. Get your camera at her eye level; if you don't have a tripod, support yourself with your elbows on a table.

I often prefer seated poses anyway, for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that subjects often just look more comfortable that way.

Cooling filter
 

Dear Joan,

Having just done some very exciting bedtime reading - the Photoshop CS Book for Digital Photographers, I have discovered that the recent CS edition of photoshop has an adjustment that can change the Kelvin temperature of the image on the computer, and therefore on the print. It doesn't matter whether the image got into the computer as film or digital.

So it occurs to me that you might want to experiment ,if you either have the CS edition or know someone who does. You get to "Photo filter" in the "Image Adjust" area.

Another possible solution might be to simply work from a good B/W print, and commit to either a warm or cool light source. You probably have enough color information to guide you.

Good idea
 

Hi Allan,

Hmm, that's a good idea! There is a lot of sunlight out there when the sun isn't behind clouds. But . . . what exactly do you mean? I did use a white reflector, just a white poster sized thick matt board to reflect light back into the shadow side of her face. Maybe I need a huge reflector board of some kind? Or a white sheet draped . . . somewhere. It's not immediately obvious how I would do this but now I've got the whole weekend to figure it out. My 'model' can't come over until Monday morning, then she's leaving town. So at least I've got one more chance to take some photos.

If you can elaborate on your idea, I would love to hear more.

Thank you!

Joan

Another great idea
 

Dear Chris,

Lucky me that you have such exciting bedtime reading! I find what can be done with technology amazing. I have yet to purchase photoshop but I think I need to buy that program. I am very happy with the poses I have and the shadows. I have been working hard to get good shadows. It seems when I get one thing figured out, there is always something else that I didn't get! I know, this makes life interesting and challenging. :)

It sounds worth it to me to buy this program if it can alter my photos enough to make them good enough to paint from. And if it saves me from having to reshoot over and over.

I plan to paint the model from one of the photographs I took. I'll mix up skin color according to your book and then do a study from the photographs on Sunday. When she comes over Monday I'll adjust the colors however they need adjusting. It'll just be a painting of the face, a study with color 'notes'. Anyway, that is my current plan. But it sure would be nice to have a photo with the correct temperature to paint from. I was planning on cool light and warm shadows since it's daylight.

Enough of my rambling, Chris, thank you for passing on your suggestion!

Joan

P.S. What do you think about the skin tones in that last photograph above? Too . . . . what?

Other poses
 

Hi Linda,

Thank you for your post. She's coming back on Monday and I will try that. Your work is beautiful and any advice I get from you I will certainly try! I had in my mind a standing, elongated pose. But I should be more open minded and try different poses. That in itself is a very worthwhile lesson that I just learned. Just now. WOW :exclamati

I read over and over again how a portrait artist should go into a painting looking for the personality of the sitter, certain gestures, etc. And if someone would ask me, I would say, oh yes, I believe that. But what did I just do? I had in my mind how I wanted this portrait to look and I directed the model to fit my preconcieved notion. As I said, I have learned a lot today.

Thanks again Linda,

Joan

Reflector
 

Thank you Michele,

I will play with a large foam core board. I'm not sure how to do that without illuminating her from the bottom up, by this I mean bottom of chin and underside of nose illuminated. It may be very difficult to get the lighting I have pictured in my mind. But I will see what I can do! My 9 year old son is my assistant.

I'll ask her to stand up straighter too. Thanks,

Joan

I think Linda Brandon's idea of seating her in a chair is an excellent one.

I wouldn't try to invent skin color, personally, or try to extrapolate color that you see in one area of the body over to another area. I've had enough spectacular failures trying to do that in the past!

I'm totally in favor of preconcieved notions! Especially with subjects who are not paying clients. I'm thinking of putting my next "victim" in a tree after shooting them (so to speak) inside on a ladder. I doubt I could get a client to go along with this plan.

When I do a photo shoot I always play around with different poses and I don't always know what "feels" the best until I see the photos. Then you must ask yourself whether the composition you had in mind works as well. Should it be square, vertical, circular, or horizontal? (I'm working on a portrait that started out as a vertical before I changed my mind and made it a horizontal.) First thing to worry about, though, is the light, so you're going about this the right way.

Just show up in something.
 

One of the most important aspects of portrait design is incorporating and deciding on the attire.

An average womans head is 8 1/4" in length. If you are doing a 3/4 length portrait of a 5 head figure you will be dealing with an approximately 50" long painting. You have 40" left to design well. Leaving the clothing to chance and punting can lead to unfortunate results. You are now as it is, faced with the dilemma of a strongly patterned dress overlayed with a very sharply colored red rose. Both are distractions and divert the eye from the girl's face.

Sargent did a painting of a woman in a black and white dress, but she also had black hair as a balance and was clutching a single pink blossom, sans the added linear distraction of the stem.

In a magazine article, Nelson Shanks relates the importance of the preparation, which sometimes can take more time than the painting.

Look at your model, visualize how she would be best painted, colors etc.. Have her bring over other dresses. If nothing works go to a second hand or designer consignment shop and get her something more elegant and suitable.

Powder her nose, that will help the red.

Painting is difficult enough, give yourself the aid of a well planned project. Remember, chic portraits will show your prospective clients your taste. Avoid at all costs the prom dress look, if you want to attract a more upscale client.

Up lighting can be very effective, Sargent used it, I use it.

This business requires a lot of work. Remember it is VERY COMPETITIVE!

Reflecting the light from outside
 

Hi Joan,

What I meant was simply to get the maximum light indoor. I imagine that this can be done by placing a big white sheet just outside the door, to catch the sunlight like a mirror and reflect it into the room. This will bee like a big soft lamp.

If the door is open, the effect will be stronger.

Allan

Sharon,

Thank you for your thoughtful response. I liked the combination of the black and white dress with the red rose, but there is a problem as I see now, it distracts from the subjects face. I guess I forgot this is a portrait of a girl, not a dress and a rose.

So if the dress, etc. is distracting, that would mean to me to have her in a simpler dress. Probably the white is not the best color since it's the only white thing on the canvas. One big white mass.

There is a great resale shop around the corner from us but, here's the problem, I wouldn't know what to get her. I'm at a loss here. Maybe a simple black dress. She may have one, I'll ask her to bring one.

I suppose I could keep her dress simple, and no rose, and using a chair could be an additional element. I'm not trying to add things, maybe just her standing there will be best. But she needs something to do with her hands. I thought she did anyway.

Oh, Sharon, do you think her dress looks like a prom dress? I agree, I want to stay away from that look. She's only 19 so I was going to stay away from too 'elegant', but maybe that would work. She usually runs around in RL polo shirts, she's very preppy. I suppose that doesn't matter though since it's for my portfolio and I'm not really trying to capture her.

I will continue to look for good examples on websites for portraits of a young woman.

Thank you,

Joan

Maximum light
 

Thank you Allan, that sounds like a great idea. My windows (actually 2 french doors) face south and I think I could get a lot of light to reflect into the room. At least it is worth a try. Now, I have learned, it's not just light I need, but a way to focus and control it!

Joan

I am not sure, but James Tennison (I think that's his name) has done some lovely portraits of younger ladies, some seated. They, I believe are on the SOG site. Notice how erect he has his ladies seated, no pouching stomachs!

Allan's idea of a reflector outside is great. I have a silver one I use to supplement the daylight from outside, but I also use a cut down sheet of silver covered insulation. It is about $8.00 and about 1 1/2" thick works just fine. Prop it up on a chair or whatever to reflect the light.

Young girls party dress, think debutant, country club.

Clothing
 

Hi Sharon,

Such good information! Thank you so much.

I think you have passed on some very helpful information about the material you use for a reflector.

I got the kids off to their grandparents and by that time I had thought some more about buying a dress. I realized that instead of being daunted by a seemingly huge task, I should look at it as an opportunity to shop for something special. Well, the only thing open this late in Houston was the Salvation Army and I didn't find anything there. Our church has a great resale shop and I'll try that tomorrow.

You hit the nail on the head when you said to think debutante and country club. This young woman, our babysitter, will be presented in December. When I asked her to model she had the idea that I could do this and then when she is presented, I could paint her again for her parents in her gown. (I don't think it's here, it's been ordered and is being made somewhere.) I don't know what the girls are wearing these days. As I said, my model is very preppy. But, I can find out. I can ask some of my friends with older daughters or go into any upscale shop here in Houston and get a good idea of what my models should be wearing.

All this seems to be taking me away from painting but I think in the long run will be very helpful. And it's fun!

I also bought a reflector lamp for the bulb I have so I will experiment with adding that light to her face when she comes to sit for me on Monday.

Thank you Sharon, I'm getting an idea of what my model should be wearing, or importantly, what kind of message or image this portrait should project.

Joan

As you're finding, all this is every bit as essential to a successful outcome as anything you might do with a brush in your hand. As Nelson Shanks says, "Great paintings are made at the beginning, not at the end."

The beginning
 

Hi Michele,

Hmm, this is very interesting. I am beginning to understand this. But still, I have this voice in my head that is always telling me I should be painting!

Joan

Thank you all
 

Dearest Michele, Allan, Linda, Chris and Sharon,

I just wanted to say thank you for all the help you have given me on this project. I feel like I am immersed in some kind of class with a group of wonderful, but tough (!), teachers.

Seems like every time I check for a response, there is one. There is also usually an 'action item' to add to my list with each response, something to look up, something new to try, or something to buy! You guys are wearing me out but I love it! This is why I say I feel like I'm taking a class, though I have the best teachers I've ever had and so much support. It means a lot to me.

Thank you again and please keep the ideas and responses coming. I've got a full tank of gas for errands, a credit card for purchases and I'll get a good night's sleep so I'll try to keep up.

Joan

"Doing planning for a painting" IS "painting", and is far more productive than just slapping colors on a canvas with no forethought.

All that essential stuff (working out lighting problems, evaluating clothing choices, planning camera angles, deciding what it is you want to communicate, thinking about mood and how to support it with your composition, cropping, balance, thinking about sight lines -- all that stuff IS painting. Don't feel guilty about it. It's the most important part of "painting".

Every hour of careful thought at this point in the process will do more for the end result than any amount of fancy brushwork or color mixing will ever achieve on its own.

Some final tips; overrouge her cheeks, an eighteenth centurty portrait trick. It may look strong for street or even evening wear, but it works well for portraiture. Also find a makeup base that will cover her reddish nose. Adding deodorant to a makeup base will keep a face from glowing too much on a hot day.

Get the look you need. I have even called in makeup artists and hairdressers when needed. The clients have always picked up the tab.

Ah, what artist's can do. It is like plastic surgery, only the result, ie. the painting lasts longer.

Paint as many heads from life so you can loosen up your brushstokes and give your work individuality. I recently found a portrait site and I would not have been able to tell if the portraits had been done by different people if the vignettes had not been labeled. The style, design and concepts were all alike. A good deal of the portrait artists were well known also.

My favorite
 

This is my favorite of the new batch of photos I took this morning of my model. And I NEVER could have come up with this without all the help I got on the forum and specifically this thread!

I went shopping over the weekend and bought a dress for the model. Sharon, I never would have thought to do this without your suggestion. I found this dress at a resale shop and knew it would be perfect on my model.

My model showed up with her mother this morning. :o I was a little anxious, not nervous, just anxious, to have the mother watching everything I did. But it turned out well because the mom was impressed with my set-up and she amost fell over backwards when she learned I bought a dress just for her daughter to wear for this portrait. ;)

Here is my favorite:

Joan

Runners-up
 

Here are some others that I liked from the photo shoot this morning. I tried a different pose in the white dress but it just doesn't compare to that gray dress, in my mind. Sorry to post so many but I tried lots of different poses and I wanted to share.

Joan

Hi Joan,

Here is my opinion.

I also like the standing one, because of the fine dress and the colors of the light on it.

But I think that the hair on her left shoulder makes her look like she is hiding herself, it should be back. Her hands form a too closed figure, maybe try with other positions of the hands. And her upper body should be seen more frontal like in the one with the chair ( my other favorite )

Finally I think that the yellow light on her face should be less hard.

Allan

Ps. Would it be possible to do something with the dress to make her bosom look more natural? I am a foreigner, so maybe this request should have had another form ? Please remove it if i said something wrong.

Hi Joan,

I have a very simple photo program called "Pixelenance" that I use to modify some of my photos. I removed some yellow and red in your photos, I hope you don't mind. The second one I also took out some of the blue reflection also. They look much more natural now, what do you think? If you don't have a way to manipulate your photos and would like me to enhance them, send me a high res image and I'll try it out.

I like the grey dress, and the poses are very nice, good job. The extra work is well worth it. I took me two years to get it, you are on your way now.

Jean

Thank you
 

Hi Allan

Thank you for your suggestions. I see what you mean about the chest and I think it's the dress, not her. I'll fix that shape when I paint it.

I had taken some photos from a more frontal point of view but the model and her mother seem to prefer the more 'sideways' shots. I think it makes her look more slender and elongated. Thank you for your observations, it's always good to hear different points of view. It helps me to understand how important it is to shoot many, many poses.

Joan

Quite an improvement!
 

Hi Jean,

Wow, what an improvement! I love what you did with your program to the colors. I think it's about time I join the 21st Century and buy some kind of program where I can manipulate my photos. I plan to buy photoshop as soon as I can get a minute to get over to the computer store. (Then I'll have to learn how to use it . . .).

But thank you so much (!!!!!!) for offering to enhance the photos for me. If I can't get it figured out I will take you up on that offer. I'm not familiar with "Pixelenance".

The extra work was worth it. And I haven't even started painting yet!

Thanks again for your comments and the changes you made,

Joan

I think "Pixelenhance" is a Mac program, I downloaded it free from the internet. Free is always good. I have "Photoshop Elements" but still haven't learned how to use it, I need "Photoshop for Dummies"!

Jean

Their choice
 

I thought I would pass on how this process of taking photos of our babysitter has evolved. Our babysitter and her mom reviewed the photographs from the two photo sessions and they have made their decision about which photo is their favorite. They like the very first one posted, she's in the white dress and she is almost perpendicular to my camera sight line. They like the facial expression on the fourth one, the close-up one, and I said I could put that face on the pose they like. They were both taken in the same place in my house within a few minutes of each other, for lighting purposes.

They felt that with the babysitter in the long grey dress she didn't look like herself, she looked like she was 'dressing up'. They felt with her in the white dress, that was more like her. They felt the one where she is in the grey dress with her hands on the chair looked like a corporate portrait.

Hmm. Everybody has a different notion of what a portrait of themselves or their loved one should look like. Very interesting! I know there are people who dress up their kids in their 'Sunday best' for a photograph, probably same for a painted portrait? Then there are those who want their kids photographed in jeans (that, by the way, would be me).

This is not a commission so I can paint whichever one I want for my portfolio. Even though it's not a commission I really wanted their opinions and it was great practice for when I have a commission.

Joan

One of the poses in the gown will get you more commissions from wealthy clients, I think. Besides, that would be a really fun dress to paint!

Joan,

I only show a client those poses that I would want to paint. Out of a hundred photos I may only show 5 to a client. If they ask where are all the other photos, I say they were unworthy and they were thrown away.

I believe that if you give up artistic control to a client they will lead you down the path of ruination.

Artistic control
 

Michele,

I'm with you. I think the photo of her in the grey dress would make a stunning portrait. It'll be a stretch for me to paint something that grand in size but what the heck, that won't stop me from trying. And that dress would be wonderful to paint, I was already in love with it when I held it up in the dingy light of the resale shop where I found it.

Mike,

Your point is well taken. I showed them 5 from the first photo shoot and 5 from the second photo shoot. I felt they would all make nice portraits. The model was very focused on her expression, more than anything else.

I think it must be a fine line between pleasing the client and still producing a piece of work that one feels is artistically pleasing.

I guess I felt like I had quite a bit of control since I directed her poses and chose the lighting, not to mention buying the grey dress. That is, until her MOTHER started telling me where to put the light. :o

Do you think I gave too much of the artistic control to the client on this one? I value your opinion. Thanks!

Joan

I believe that you can "manage" the will and desires of the client by allowing them to be in on decisions that have basically already been made. In order to successfully perform this management you must first know your own mind. That is why this exercise that you are going through is vital training. I say place yourself into these circumstances as often as you can. You will be so glad that you did. Your style and tolerances will emerge while not under the gun of a commission.

As far as whether others should be a part of the photo shoot, my preference is that it only be myself and the subject. I do, however, appreciate and use assistants. This assistant works best as an unattached party. It could be a mother, right up to the point that she becomes a liability to the end result.

I think it works best when all parties except the subject start out in the other room. This is less awkward than asking someone to leave half way through. If I find that I really need help I can then call them back.

Did you give up too much control? If you allow the client the opportunity to fall in love with something which is unacceptable then I believe you have erred.