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Reference and copyright
Unless you intend to sell or publish this piece I would not worry about it.
As far as using clippings for reference or others' photos other than your own, if the work is for commercial gain, either as an illustration or as a gallery sale, then there is a simple solution. You pay the photographer or whoever owns the copyright to the original image. And many photographers even specialize in taking and selling reference photos for artists. Many wildlife photographers do this. Illustrators have been using other people's photos as reference for years.
You never know when you are going to have to do a illustration involving some far-off land and you certainly are not going to fly to China to take pictures of the Great Wall yourself for a $500-$1000 illustration commission. It is best to just use reference you can get the rights to. You also have to worry about using the likeness of a person as well if they have not signed a model release form - you can run the risk of being sued.
Also, it is not always the artist or photographer who has the repro rights, since publishers can and do buy full rights so that they can use and reuse the image any way they choose without having to pay the artist or photographer again. They can resell those rights.
Also, with photographers and artists that are under salary contract the employer may own all copyrights to their work as well. The short of it is that, if in doubt, contact the photographer or if you do not know the photographer, then the publisher and inquire about using the image or portion of the image as reference. Any fee you have to pay is billable in the case of illustrations; or in the case of gallery work, you make sure you cover your costs with the sale price. It is better to pay upfront than pay after.
As I mentioned, you have to worry about this even if you did take the photo yourself, if the person did not sign a release form, and your painting is published without their permission. You can be sued. Always make sure you are covered whenever you use reference, be it a photo or a model.
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