Portrait Tutorial Step One: Choosing a Photograph

Welcome! Glad you are joining me for this tutorial. This will be the first of a series of posts on portrait painting. I will be taking you step by step through my process. I am doing this for two main reasons; to help others who may be considering dabbling in portraiture, and to more clearly define (even to myself) the process and steps I go through as I attempt to create a likeness of someone.

Three comments I want to make here at the beginning:

1) This is by no means the only way, or even the best way, to go about completing a portrait. This is simply an explanation of the way I currently do it.

2) I primarily draw and paint commissioned portraits, so I use photographs and attempt to recreate the likeness as best I can. This could be very different from how you want to represent people in your artwork, so keep that in mind. I'll also mention that if I wanted to paint a figure in a painting that wasn't a commission, or at least wasn't commissioned for likeness, I may use a photograph or model as a reference, but I would be much less likely to go through all the steps in this tutorial.

3) This third comment is similar to number two, but different enough that it deserves it own point. My process for painting a portrait differs from my process painting pretty much anything else, particularly in the use of a grid for the under drawing. Capturing likeness is difficult, especially because the essence of a person is usually found in something intangible–a twinkle of the eye, a certain face made when laughing heartily–which may or may not be pronounced in the reference image. Because of this, I have found the use of a grid incredibly helpful in checking and rechecking proportions and placement. The best you can do as an artist, I believe, is to get the likeness as close as possible and hope that the curl of the lip, or the wrinkle in the brow, helps to make that intangible essence a little more tangible.

Choosing a Photograph

The painting can only be as good as the photograph it came from. This is often true, but not always. It is dependent on several things: the artists experience with painting–realistically being able to manipulate a photograph to get a better result takes a lot of practice and understanding, the artists understanding of light–how it interacts with forms and creates reflections and shadows, and the relationship of the quality of the photograph to the style of the artist–a low quality photograph will be unhelpful for a photorealist painter who is trying to achieve likeness using a very tight hand, whereas a looser painter may be able to gain the information needed to create a successful portrait.

When I say "tighter and looser", this is what I am talking about:
A painter who has a "loose hand", paints with larger, more noticeable strokes, whereas a painter with a "tight hand" uses a variety of techniques, including brush sized and blending to make the brush strokes harder to notice. I tend towards a tighter hand myself, but am always fighting to keep my strokes looser. Below are examples of a very similar cat painted by two separate artists. On the left, Dreama Perry painted the cat in a very loose style, while Chris Scalf, to the right, painted this black and white cat very tightly. (Note: Chris Scalf's cat is a digital painting, but the idea is the same.)

There are other factors as well, but overall the saying proves true, a low quality photograph will produce a low quality portrait. The reverse isn't necessarily true, but it should go without saying that experience and skill also play an important role in the success of any portrait. The important thing to know is the better the photograph the client provides–good lighting and a clear view of the subject, especially in regards to what is going on with their eyes–the better they will set themselves and the artist up for a successful portrait with a likeness that everyone can be happy with.

Things to look for:

Some artists are very picky about what they will and will not paint, and may refuse to paint from a photograph the client provides, for a number of reasons. Others prefer to photograph the person themselves if at all possible. I normally ask for several photographs so that I can help to pick the one best suited to portraiture (keeping the following criteria in mind). Sometimes this isn't possible, for instance, if the subject to be painted has passed away, and there are only a few photos, all with say, poor lighting. You just have to do your best at that point. If the client likes the photo as it is, hopefully by recreating the photo to the best of your ability, they will like the painting as well. Having said that, 

here are a few things to look for when choosing a photograph:

Lighting- Because artists draw and paint light (that's basically all it is), having a strong light source, or good overall lighting is very important. There are a few exceptions to the rule, but generally, you want a light source that provides interest by creating a range of tonal values. When I talk about value (more or less synonymous with tone), I  mean the darkness or lightness of a color, not the color (hue) itself. The question to pose is this: If the image was to be converted to black and white, would there be enough variety in it to maintain your interest? It may even be helpful to do this very thing–if you have photoshop or another image editing program, desaturate the photo and see what you think. Does it look "blah", or is it just as striking as it was in color?

A value scale for reference:

Would your photo, if turned into grayscale, exhibit values that run the gamut, or do they tend to hover in a smaller range, say between 2 and 7? A strong image will have a variety of values (tones).

Here's the difference. The first photo set is of a photo that looks at first like it may have a good tonal range, but really, it's the contrasting hues, not the value that catches your eye. If I desaturate the image, you can see that the value range is limited. The lowest steps on the value scale have been almost completely eliminated. 

Conversely, this second image not only has contrast in color (not complementary colors, but still contrasting) it also has a range of values, as you can see in the desaturated portion.

Composition- There is so much to say about composition, and I will not take the time to exhaust the subject, but I will point out a couple of things. Generally, composition is a combination of balancing form, line, shape, color, etc. with creating an area (and possibly secondary areas) of interest–a focal point. It is also helpful to create a pathway that you wish the viewer to take with their eyes, and lead them through. This can be difficult when painting portraits as you may have less control over the composition than you'd like. (One reason it may be a good idea to shoot your own reference photos.) It is important to note that balance does not necessarily equal symmetry, though strict symmetry is a form of balance. I tend to prefer asymmetric balance in compositions myself, but a nice graphic symmetry is nice now and then. Generally, portraits of one person tend to have them large and in the center, creating somewhat of a symmetrical balance. There is a time and place for this type of portrait (I have done many of them myself), but see what you can do to create more interest, or find a photo that has more interest. Maybe there is a flattering photo of the person looking back at you, or maybe there is a neat shot of them in action. If you do have some control over the composition, consider the ever faithful Rule of Thirds. The Rule of Thirds very simply suggests you place your subject, or at least the highest areas of interest at the "power points"–the intersections created by gridding off your paper or canvas into thirds vertically and horizontally. Google "Rule of Thirds" for more information.

 photo credit

Most of the time, however, you will just be given the photo you are given, and you just go with it. Consider though: Would it be possible to crop the image in such a way that the composition is more interesting without losing overall balance? Is there a color that could be shifted to create interest or draw the eye to a focal point you are wanting to emphasize? How about the background? Is there something you can change there, and how would it affect the overall composition? Ultimately, and I may be berated for saying this, the goal is to use your specific style and your specific giftings to serve and bless your client (and create a piece that they will treasure for years to come). If you have to deal with a less exciting composition, I say, "So be it!"


Clarity- This one is pretty obvious, but like I mentioned above, it is best to choose as high quality of a photo as possible. If you are submitted a digital photo, especially one off Facebook, that is low resolution (okay for screens but not necessarily for seeing detail/zooming in) you will only have so much information to work from. Unless the photo is a closeup selfie, you are not going to be able to see the face. And what you cannot see, you cannot paint, with any accuracy anyway. Ask your client to email you the largest file they have of the particular image they want. Try zooming in and out to see if the image contains adequate information. Be honest with your client. It is better for them to know what is going on up front, and have the option of choosing a different photo, than it is for you to frustrate yourself to no end, squinting and guessing, and it turning out unsatisfactory. If you decide to print out the photo, the larger the better, if you ask me. It can also be helpful to print out large details of certain areas like eyes and hands.

Here is an example of a photo off Facebook that looks okay from a distance, but trying to see any details clearly becomes a nightmare. (Yes, this is my husband and I at our wedding, swoon.)

My Photograph

For this tutorial, I will be using this photograph of my two sisters and myself, taken by a dear woman and family friend, Hollie Rouse. She has shot our family photos for several years now, and has done a fabulous job. She is based in Austin, TX and you can find out more about her work here. I want to also take a moment to discuss image permission. Some photographers make prints for their clients, but often continue holding the rights to the actual image (which makes sense, they captured it, it is their art). If this is the case, you will need permission to use their image to create a portrait. All the client needs to do, is contact the photographer of the photo they wish to use and ask if it would be okay by them. It would be preferable to get this in writing, just in case. Copyright issues can be tricky, and it is better to be safe than sorry.

There are a few changes that I will be making as I go along, including things like the background and the color of Brooke's sweater (far right), but overall it will be close to the original.

On a personal note, I love this photograph. It was taken right after a tragic event in my life. My sisters were there for me, at that time, in ways that were not surprising (because I already knew their love for me) but very touching, particularly when I needed them most. It means the world to me to have my sisters near me, and the love that is expressed in this photo by being cuddled all together warms my heart.  I look forward to completing this portrait, but if I'm honest, the level of importance it holds for me makes my blood race a little. 

Well, that's it for Step One in this tutorial series. I hope you join me again next time for Step Two: Choosing a Canvas + Doing the Under Drawing. Have a great week, and don't forget about Thursday's throw back piece.