Oh, no, here I go again. At the risk of beating a dead horse I would like to again clarify my feelings on painting from life vs. painting from photos.
First off, I do and will continue to use photographic reference. But I must add that I do this because it is more practical to do so, not more accurate. IMO a photograph is a poor substitute for real live objects, be it a person, props for an illustration or objects in a still life.
I much prefer to make the transition from 3D objects to 2D representation of those objects with my own eyes, mind and hands. I would much rather have a person return 20 times to pose than to work at all from photos. But, most often it is not possible for the person to return more then once, if that. And when they do sit they often do not want to sit for more than a hour or two (with breaks of course).
So it is necessary to use photographs so that I can continue to work when the person is not there or when it is impossible to get an actual reference in my studio to work from. I did a painting with a tiger in it once and although it might have been cool to have a tiger brought over from the zoo it sure would not have been very practical or very safe for the young model also in the painting.
I paint as much as I can from life and personally I feel that I get a much better result from life than from photos. Now that is my opinion and the goal I strive for in my work may not be what another artist is after in their own work.
Now, many of you might look at my work and say well this guy's work is not the most accurate or most skilled so why listen to him? What I say next might sound to some like an excuse but I don't care, since it is only my opinion and you are free to differ from it. IMO it is not important that the drawing be accurate to the millimeter. It is about the mental image you have for the painting that matters.
I ask, have I captured the person, their character? Have I created a mood and is the image pleasing to look at? If so then I feel I have created a good portrait. If not, even if I have a exact duplication of a photo, I failed.
Sure, the camera is a marvelous tool. It can stop motion, capture a fleeting moment, and bring objects from far off lands into my studio as well as give me reference of a person's likeness when they are too busy to be there in front of me, or when they are unable to pose at all.
But personally I feel I can better capture the essence of a person when they are sitting in front of me than when I have a photo of them. You just do not get that personal connection with a photo you get from a live human being. That is what we as portrait painters have over the camera: personal interpretation of the 3D form in 2D. A camera has already taken and converted the form to 2D shapes and for me that removes much of the information and interpretation I enjoy. But I will not deny the value the camera has as tool for the artist.
It is not more accurate than your own eye. It may be more accurate than your ability to capture what your eye sees with your hand and brush, but unless you are vision impaired you see much better than any camera.
Another benefit I find that live objects and live people have over a photo is that I can change the position of my objects at anytime to make my composition better. If a hand in a photo is poorly defined or in a awkward position then you have to try and draw it as is, change it yourself, or take more photos.
I can just ask the model who is still sitting in front of me to reposition their hand. And these things are not always apparent at the time of a photo shoot, for what looks fine in a photo can look strange in a painting.
I will always prefer to have a person sit for a painting than to paint them from a photo. And lastly, a studio can be a lonely place working every day from 8-12 hours or more alone with only photos as company. But a live person you can talk to as you paint, you can get to know them, and that I feel can help your peace of mind as well as help you capture the personality of that person. Things that just do not come out in a short photo session.
When a person sits for a long time over a few days they settle in, they become more comfortable and sometimes you get something that you might have missed if all you were interested in was capturing the shapes of their face from a photo.
I have mentioned before Everett Raymond Kinstler's commission to paint Katherine Hepburn in which he had done many sketches and studies and false starts of the actress before arriving at the final painting. A quote from this section of his book comes to mind.
[QUOTE]Above all, the artist tries to understand the person beyond the appearance