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The Bare Essentials

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If you’ve been following my posts you’ll know that we’ve spent the last few months – in fact a year and a half – debating a home extension versus moving house and many other options, to find the space we need. A fair chunk of this fantasy was to include a studio.

I won’t traumatise you with the ins and outs of why we eventually opted to move.  But we’d made the decision and so our journey began.  Our home was particularly ‘busy’ (to put it nicely) and probably not too attractive to buyers. We had to completely rethink how we used the space and whittle our possessions down to the bare essentials.

So, with all my pastel drawing equipment safely hidden away in storage, our cramped cluttered home was transformed into a space that somebody could picture full of their own possessions and would actually want to buy. And eventually they did!

So here we are.

I absolutely love my sparkly new studio! It has everything I need. Walls, floor, light and SPACE! The only thing left to do is erect some shelving – next job after writing this blog!

And drawings? Well, I have been experimenting with all sorts. I conducted a secret ballot with members of my family to see which pictures were preferred – I didn’t want them influencing each other. I was particularly surprised to see how popular the rabbit is. I like it, but I wouldn’t have rated it compared to the others. However, this is a pleasing revelation as I had been thinking of drawing more wild animals, especially British wildlife. In fact my head is buzzing with all of sorts birds and mammals, I can barely make my mind up. If you have any ideas for animals you’d like me to draw, please let me know.

So, surrounded by boxes of paper and stacks of equipment, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I have my cup of Yorkshire tea with soya milk and my gluten free Hob Nob. My studio is feeling a lot like home.

Some of the People and Animals That Have Kept Me Busy Lately

FAQ

Photography Guidelines

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You are probably here because you are considering sending me some photographs to draw. In which case, I encourage to to read this post and consider the principles set out below when choosing/taking your photos. However, we all lead busy lives and I understand many customers don’t have time to read and digest all the information, so if you are just about to click away from the page, then I’d like to draw your attention to just the two MOST IMPORTANT principles. (On the other hand, if you’d just got yourself a cup of tea and put your feet up, then please continue to the end – you’ll be glad you did!):
[content_band bg_color=”#ffe6cc” border=”all” ] [container] [custom_headline style=”margin: 0;” type=”left” level=”h4″ looks_like=”h3″ accent=”true” class=”my-custom-headline”]Daylight and Focus
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[icon_list] [icon_list_item type=”sun-o”]Take your photograph outside, out of direct sunlight. Even at midday on a summer’s day it is very hard for a phone camera (or average DSLR lens) to pick up enough light to provide any level of detail whilst indoors.[/icon_list_item] [icon_list_item type=”bullseye”]To gain enough detail for a striking likeness the image must be focussed. Most modern phones make this easy by allowing you simply to touch the area on screen you wish to focus (generally the eye). It is not necessary to create any fancy depth of field or even know what ‘depth of field’ means![/icon_list_item] [/icon_list][/container] [/content_band]
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When drawing portraits, there are a few things I need from a photograph that are not necessarily the same things you would want from a portrait photograph. Most modern smartphones are perfectly suitable for photographing portraits and as long as you bear in mind a few simple principles, you will have no problem creating some wonderful images.

Resolution: Most smartphones have great resolution and as long as you take care to focus correctly then it should render enough detail. However, remember that although your phone may take a picture in dim light without flashing, this doesn’t mean it has enough light for a well-rendered picture. Good quality, diffused, daylight is always best (see ‘Light’ section below). To check the level of detail, take a close look at the image. Can you see individual eyelashes and lines on the lips?

Light: I prefer to photograph in natural light – outdoors or close to a window on a bright overcast day. I find this kind of light preferable for all photography and drawing. The diffused nature of the light means the facial features cast soft shadows. Stand the subject so they are facing in the general direction of the light, or up to 45 degrees away, rather than with their back to it.
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Professional studio photographers will often use diffused flash. This is great if using a single flash placed to the side, or even a single flash and reflector. Too many flashes will remove all shadow, which is great for fashion photography, but not so great for drawing, where some shadow is needed in order to create a three dimensional illusion.

Expression: In my drawings, I like to think I capture a personality rather than a moment in time. So, I encourage you to supply expressions of a pensive nature or a hint of a smile. This also helps with the illusion that the picture was drawn from life.

[block_grid type=”two-up”] [block_grid_item] Permission: If you supply any photographs that you didn’t take yourself then please make sure you have permission of the photographer.

Background: For my pastel portraits, I am drawing the subject’s head. I don’t care what the background looks like!

Finally: I am not judging your skills as a photographer. Just send me a few images and we’ll take it from there. [/block_grid_item] [block_grid_item] [image src=”http://wendybooth.co.uk/art/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Oscar-Contrast.jpg” alt=”Backlit photograph” type=”thumbnail”] [/block_grid_item]
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