Post an example of - A Good Reference Photo

[Marvin Mattelson]

Did he grow up to be president?

[Mike McCarty]

He was once president of a construction company. He was last seen impersonating a portrait artist somewhere in the midwest.

Actually I was rooting around in my office closet and came across this old school picture of moi. I believe this, one month before my tenth birthday, was the pinnacle for me. I played baseball all day, could run like the wind, and had not yet met girls.

I may try and do something with this. The only other self portrait I have done has been defaced by the author.

[Mike McCarty]

My mother tells the story of the cold calling photographer who came to the door one day. All his equipment in tow ready to take pictures of your children. She let him into the house to take pic's of me and my sisters. As the story goes he was all set up in the living room when my father came home. My father took the man and all his equipment and tossed them into the front yard.

Apparently this photographer got there earlier in the day.

Marvin, be careful with your traveling photo set up.

[Michele Rushworth]

Man, I thought I had a lot of stuff to lug around on photo shoots. A stuffed pony!

[Elizabeth Schott]

Dang, my photos get slammed when I don't even post them!

[Mike McCarty]

This is a photograph I took about fifteen years ago. It is one of the images that I am most attached to. My now 18 year old daughter on our left and my adopted daughter on the right. I scanned this through glass, it's actually a good quality black and white photo.

I am always reevaluating my old resource photos. Each time I look at them, with new eyes, I see possibilities that I could not see before. I may try and do a charcoal, black pastel, or dare I say, sauce drawing of this some day.

[Rebecca Willoughby]

I took this recently and I really love it. The model and the lighting. I can't remember taking a better reference photo recently.

Rebecca

[Denise Hall]

Hi Rebecca,

I agree - a great shot and the quality of the shadow area looks good enough to paint to me - not too dark and I can see contour. Did you take this with your mondo digital I read about in the tech section awhile back? (she says jealously)

The only thing I would change about this beautiful photograph would be her eyes- I just wish she had not been looking so far over her shoulder - the whites of the eyes may need to be really played down in order to not appear bulging I'm afraid.

Sincerely,
Denise

[Rebecca Willoughby]

Denise,

Yes I did take this with my wonderful new camera. As a matter of fact a pro photographer friend of mine that I know from my art director corporate days (she says with a smile because she got out of the rat race!!) saw my photos and went out and bought himself one!! He has a Hasselblad medium format and a Nikon/kodak hybrid but wanted a not so expensive camera that was more portable for his out of the country shoots.

I do have a closeup with the eyes facing more forward. So when I paint it I will probably use the closeup.

Thanks Very Much!
Rebecca

[Elizabeth Schott]

Rebecca, as I mentioned before to you, I am not sure if you saw it, I think her right hand is going to be a nightmare. You might want to adjust it from bearing all the weight.

I'll have to go read about this camera!