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Michele Rushworth · 11-30-2005, 10:31 PM

Here's my two cents on all the various subjects that have come up in this thread:

I think more space around a subject makes it look more like a portrait and less like a snapshot. I also think it's a bit more elegant. I'm tending to want to put more space around my subjects in my current work, too. Purely subjective, of course. Lots of empty space does make for a big canvas or a small head size, things that some of my clients would prefer to avoid, though.

I love cats. That said, lose the cat. At least that's my thinking. With the cat it becomes a double portrait and that means both subjects have to be posed properly, not looking awkward, not looking like they want to be somewhere else, etc. If the cat doesn't look great in the photo you won't be able to make it look great in the painting. It will completely distract from the excellent job you do with your daughter.

I recommend you use a tripod. Almost all the shots are blurry.

I'd suggest that you might want to consider stretching your own canvases. It's not hard. Pre stretched canvases generally are of an inferior quality, and also give you much less flexibility for compositions. Hardly any of my compositions would fit a standard size canvas.

I also highly recommend you get Photoshop, or some less expensive competitor, and a photo printer. Maybe you could ask Santa. There is an absoutely HUGE benefit to being able to size, crop, compose your own reference, in high quality color, whenever you want it. I literally couldn't work without it.

Keep us posted on how this progresses! I look forward to seeing how you work all these issues out.

11-30-2005, 10:31 PM	#18
Michele Rushworth CAFE & BUSINESS MODERATOR SOG Member FT Professional Joined: Jul 2001 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 3,460	Here's my two cents on all the various subjects that have come up in this thread: I think more space around a subject makes it look more like a portrait and less like a snapshot. I also think it's a bit more elegant. I'm tending to want to put more space around my subjects in my current work, too. Purely subjective, of course. Lots of empty space does make for a big canvas or a small head size, things that some of my clients would prefer to avoid, though. I love cats. That said, lose the cat. At least that's my thinking. With the cat it becomes a double portrait and that means both subjects have to be posed properly, not looking awkward, not looking like they want to be somewhere else, etc. If the cat doesn't look great in the photo you won't be able to make it look great in the painting. It will completely distract from the excellent job you do with your daughter. I recommend you use a tripod. Almost all the shots are blurry. I'd suggest that you might want to consider stretching your own canvases. It's not hard. Pre stretched canvases generally are of an inferior quality, and also give you much less flexibility for compositions. Hardly any of my compositions would fit a standard size canvas. I also highly recommend you get Photoshop, or some less expensive competitor, and a photo printer. Maybe you could ask Santa. There is an absoutely HUGE benefit to being able to size, crop, compose your own reference, in high quality color, whenever you want it. I literally couldn't work without it. Keep us posted on how this progresses! I look forward to seeing how you work all these issues out. __________________ Michele Rushworth www.michelerushworth.com [email protected]