Hi Mary, in my opinion, photo references are a necessary evil. In this case you may have to reach farther and find the personality inside the girl. I would ask the parents to tell you many good stories about her, what makes her smile etc. You've already met her, what did you feel from her? I see a very fragile, sensitive and deeply introspective little person. Design your painting more from the heart than religiously following the perfect photo reference (you may never get one). Your third photo looks like a possible, it has better modeling of the shadows in her face and the light is quite nice. It also has less of the green reflections which I don't believe are flattering to her.
We talk a lot about value, drawing, composition and all the technical aspects of portraiture, but very little about the "heart" of the powerful painting. What did you find to love about this little girl, and what did you feel from the parents? If you use this knowledge and the 375 photos of her you will succeed, I'm sure of it.
Jean
|