Taline WIP

[Leslie Ficcaglia]

Barbara, what a cute little girl; you're almost there, aren't you? But there are a couple of things you could tackle before adding back those few extra pounds.

The outer edges of her eyes in the photo turn down more than you have them, and the eyes themselves seem slightly more elongated in the reference photo than you've painted them. There's more white between the inner corner of the eyes and the iris, on the eye on our right. Also her mouth is wider in the photo, and again the corners, especially the one on our right, are a little lower.

I don't think the puppy fat changes the width and contours of either the eyes or the mouth, but it looks as though in an effort to reduce her, you've reduced those features as well. It also looks as though the bridge of her nose between her eyes is a little too narrow in the painting. To put her on a virtual diet it's really only necessary to make the face slightly narrower but leave the features alone. Of course the cheeks and chin need to be made slightly thinner, but you've done that - maybe too much in terms of the bony prominence of the chin, because that wouldn't change. Only the flesh on either side would.

You've also given her more flesh in that shoulder to our right; it protrudes more than in the reference photo.

Lowering the contrast and toning down the skin would also make a difference, I think.

Looking forward to seeing the next steps!

[Barbara Mae Hudson]

Hi Leslie.

Taking note of all that you advised, I have worked a little more on it today and I think that it is a little nearer to completion.

I will 'live with it' for a week or so before I put it to bed.

Thank you again for all your help and advice, I am very grateful for the expert opinion from all in SOG.

Take care,

Barbara

[Leslie Ficcaglia]

Hi, Barbara. I think that's made a difference, don't you? Her mouth on our right still needs to go down a little more, though, as do the outer corners of the eyes, and the iris needs to extend slightly higher on both eyes, as does the white area closest to the nose on our right, with a little less of a fold showing above it. Also try reducing the contrast on the eyelashes and softening the whiteness of the teeth and see how that looks. There is more shadow on the teeth on either side of the mouth, which helps create the sense of the mouth's curvature. Her lower lip is also fuller on the left, as it goes toward the corner, than you've made it.

You might put a touch more reflected light on the side of her face, on our left, to show the modeling of the head. It looks like her hair at the temple on our left comes in further above her eyebrow, too, which will make her face look a bit narrower and render the shape of the head better.

The shoulder looks much better now and the color of the flesh is much more lifelike in this picture of the painting. I really like the way you've done the skin tones and the hair, and that little hand is very nice.

[Michele Rushworth]

Trying to change the weight that is apparent in a subject's face is a sure way to run into major problems with likeness. You should talk to the client and paint the child the way she is.

There are many lighting techniques that can be used to make a full-faced subject appear slimmer, but with this reference photo, what you see is what you get.

[Joan Breckwoldt]

Michele,

Are there a couple of basic techniques to make a full-faced subject appear a little slimmer? Or is it the kind of thing that will take lots of experience, etc. . .

Any hints would be very much appreciated. In my last batch of photos of a 19-year old, she was concerned about looking 'fat'.

Thank you!

Barbara, I think in the instance of the cute little girl in your portrait, it must be the mom who is feeling the child is chubby, I think she's darling. Young children are supposed to have baby fat!

Joan

[Michele Rushworth]

The various lighting techniques are a bit hard to explain in writing without images. Generally, to make a face look slimmer you want the lighting set up so that the side of the nose facing the camera (in a 3/4 shot) is in shadow. Frontal, symmetrical poses and frontal flat lighting can make faces look fatter.

I highly recommend checking out a couple of portrait photography books from the library or ordering some of the ones recommended in Cynthia's book list on this site. Unless an artist has the luxury of working only from life, mastering portrait photography (and especially lighting) is essential, in my opinion.

[Joan Breckwoldt]

Thank you Michele!

Joan