Photo resources for demo

[Jean Kelly]

I'll try to get another shoot with him. I took these over a year ago, so I hope he's still cute.

Jean

[Jeff Fuchs]

Other than the technical issues Chris pointed out for the red head, I'll offer this:

As nice a shot as that is (I love the skin tones and opportunities for good grays), it's still a snapshot. Are you going to do a demo, then try to stress the importance of a carefully composed reference photo? Don't be surprized if people want portraits from their snapshots after watching you do a good job with this one. What wil you tell them?

[Allan Rahbek]

Hi Jean.

I too would recommend you to concentrate on the boy with the ball, his colors are so painterly. My reservation on why you should not use this shot is the same as Chris mentioned. Also the background would seem hard to do.

I have a way to decide if a motif is usable. I close my one eye, and if I can still see all the structures clearly, it may pass the test. When you do this you see things in 2 D.

My first concern about a motif is if there is anything that I can not explain and I think that the hat is a good example on that problem. The hat is almost a part of his (present) personality, so it

[Jean Kelly]

Thank you Jeff and Allen, your comments are noted and I'll address them a little later. I've been having some problems posting images (file size) so this is a test to see if I've finally figured out how to do it.

Here's another photo of the redhead, hopefully!

Jean

Well, still a no go. I'll be back in later.

[Jean Kelly]

Good news, I was able to track down "Noah", and spoke with his mother tonight. She's delighted that I'd like to paint him, and we're going to meet next week, and talk tomorrow about how to depict him.

Jeff, Madison is kind of "casual chic", so I'll probably be doing an informal portrait. But, hopefully with a better composition and less hair problems. I hope I can find the same type of lighting, his skin tones are just perfect in the other photo. I'm glad you brought up the snapshot thing, I don't want to paint from client's flash photos.

Allan, I love the hat and basketball too, at that time it was definately part of his personality. But this is almost a year and a half later, who knows what little boy things he's into now! I'll squint and close one eye and ask for advice on this one. It will help my nerves to at least feel like I'm a half-pro.

Jean

[Jean Kelly]

I just got back from my photo shoot with Noah. What do you do when you have about 60 great shots??? This kid is delightful! We went to Tenney Park and I just let him do his thing. Here's three of my favorites. I also have closeup shots for details.

Jean

[Chris Saper]

Jean,

The third one is the charm. Although the second is cute snapshot, it will not give you any visual variety to use - the top one's lighitng is very nice, but the expression won't work.

So go no farther, and let us know how the demo goes!

[Garth Herrick]

Jean:

What is really appealing to me about the original snapshot of Noah from a year ago is the soft and diffused lighting that works so well with a young child's face. The hues of the skin tones are where they should be; fresh clean unadulterated colors. I would choose this photo of all you presented.

The potential problems I see with the new batch are partly lighting issues. They are all back-lit, compromising his cute face in an obscure dull shadow. A couple of them have strong raking sunlight in a direction that does not particularly flatter his face. To paint this, you will be a slave to the photographic color, and not the clean natural skin tones of a year ago. I would strongly recommend reshooting him on an overcast day, or when the daylight is diffused like your first shot.

Of the poses in your three new shots, I like the last one best by the water, because it is the most stable pose. If he were to sit for you this is the kind of pose he could hold the best. Even though you are working from a photograph, I think this priority still holds true. He will look better hanging on a wall in a pose he could truly hold for a sitting.

See if you can get more pictures. It will be good practice, and he seems a willing model. You will have an easier time with the demo portrait too.

Good luck!

[Garth Herrick]

Dear Jean,

Good choise. I bet you'll draw crowds. Let us know how it goes!