Painting for Photographers: Steps and Art Lessons for painting Photos in Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop

66 Pages·2009·25.9 MB·English

by  Karen Sperling

Karen Sperling’s
PAINTING FOR
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Karen Sperling’s
PAINTING FOR
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Steps and Art Lessons for Painting Photos in
Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop
BikeLaneEnds
Paintingandphotosby
KarenSperling,coveredin
theDecember2005issue
ofArtistryTipsandTricks
http://www.artistrymag.com.
Contents
Acknowledgements
ThankstoallthereadersandstudentsoftheArtistrytutorialsandArtistryPainting
forPhotographersRetreatsfortheirfaithandsupport.PaintingforPhotographersis
dedicatedtothem.
SpecialthankstoRobMcDonaldatCorel,AllanChasanoff,MikeFrey,Rhonda
Introduction 6 Auto-Painted Portraits 60
RosburgandStanleyZabarfortheirkindsupport.
ThankstoSteveSzoczeiandKellyO’Dwyer-ManuelatCorel;VishalKhandpurand Impressionist Portraits 64
BryanO’NeilHughesatAdobe;andDouglasLittleatWacomforalltheirhelp. 1
Art Lessons 9 Tonal Portraits 68
ThankstoMarkSimonson,whodesignedtheMostratypeface;toFujifilmforthe
useoftheFinePixS3ProdigitalSLR;andtoAlkitfortheuseoftheNikon24- Choosing the Photo 10 Painting Backgrounds 72
120mmlens.
Choosing Colors 12 Painterly Portraits 76
Thankstothephotographerswhocontributedtheirphotos:
EvanAgostini,page72; Tones and Focal Points 14
4
KirkAllemand,page32; Landscapes 81
Composition 16
KatherineBeach,page30;
AlfredBurgess,pages34,38; Body Parts 18 Oil-Painted Landscapes 82
HernanCampero,page24; Art Examples 20 Watercolor Landscapes 86
PhillipStewartCharis,page42;
DavidDerex,pages36,54; Pastel Landscapes 90
2
TerriGold,page24; Painting Tools 23 Photorealistic Painting 94
NancyGoodman,page39;
JackieHicks,page58; Corel Painter Brushes 24 Auto-Painted landscapes 98
KevinKubota,page28; Corel Painter Tools 26 Impressionist landscapes 102
MichelleLamberth,page68;
Color in Painter 28
AnitaMorrison,page37; 5
RaymondMoy,M.D.,pages23,26; Layers in Painter 30 Pets 107
BarbaraOkun,page27;
Image Hose/Textures 32 Painting Dogs 108
KenPartington,page86;
EllenRoije-Pauwels,page108; Adobe Photoshop Brushes 34 Painting Cats 112
RhondaRosburg,page26;
Adobe Photoshop Tools 36 Painting Horses 114
SusanSexton,page107;
KarenSperling,pages5,6,7,10,11,12,13,15,17,24,25,28,29,30,34,35, Wacom tablets/Shortcuts 38 6
36,38,50,64,81,82,86,90,94,98,102,112,114,116,118,119,120,121, Post-Printing 117
122,123,124; 3
Portraits 41 Applying a First Coat 118
RenataSpiazzi,page107;
FrankStewart,page32; Oil-Painted Portraits 42 Painting with Acrylics 120
TerrieStrick,pages17,31;
ScottStulberg,pages9,46; Watercolor Portraits 46 Painting with Oils 124
FeliciaTausig,page60;
Pastel Portraits 50
MaryWynn-Ball,page41;
Index 126
Zarek,page76. Airbrushed Portraits 54
About the Author 128
AllpaintingsarebyKarenSperling. Photorealistic Portraits 58
Copyright©2009byKarenSperling
Firstpublishedin2009by
ArtistryBooks
POBox57516
ShermanOaks,CA91413
http://www.artistrymag.com
Sperling,Karen
KarenSperling’sPaintingforPhotographers:Stepsandartlessonsforpainting
photosinCorelPainterandAdobePhotoshop
ISBN-100-9818163-0-4
ISBN-13978-0-9818163-0-2
I.Art.2.Photography.
Author,Designer,EditorandIllustrator:KarenSperling
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproducedorusedinany
formorbyanymeans—graphic,electronic,ormechanical,includingphotocopying,
LandscapePainting
recording,taping,orinformationstorageandretrievalsystem—withoutwrittenper-
missionofthepublisher. PaintingbyKarenSperlingfromherphoto,
FirstPrinting,2009 featuredintheApril2007issueofArtistry
TipsandTrickshttp://www.artistrymag.com/.
4KarenSperling’sPaintingforPhotographers TableofContents5
Introduction
ingyourphotosintopaintingsusing Ofcourse,computerknow-howdoes
CorelPainterandAdobePhotoshop: playapart,andthat’swhat’scovered
Practice. next,informationaboutCorelPainter,
Andthepracticeisn’twhatyouthink. AdobePhotoshopandWacom.
Youwon’tbetryingtogetbetterat Next,you’llfindstep-by-stepinstruc-
drawingastraightline. tionsforpaintingportraits,landscapes
Thepracticewillbeintermsofmaking andpets,invariousstyles,including
decisionsaboutwhattopaintlikechoos- oils,watercolorsandpastels.
ingwhattokeepfromthephotoand Thebook’sfinalsectioncoverspainting
whattoleaveout.Thesedecisionsare onthecanvasaftertheartworkis
basedontheartconceptsthatyouwill printed,includinghowtoapplyafirst
learninthisbook. coat,andpaintingwithacrylicsandoils.
Iknowthatyoucanpaintyourphotos Keepinmindasyoupaintthatyou
inPainterandPhotoshop,evenifyou’ve willgetbetterthemoreyoudoit.
neverpaintedbefore,becauseIseethe Alsorememberthateverythingyou
photographersinmyArtistryPainting paintisaninterimstepandthemore
forPhotographersRetreatspaintingafter youworkonthepaintingthebetterit
threedaysinmyclass. willget.
AndinPaintingforPhotographers, Asyoupaint,refertotheartlessons
you’llfindinformationsimilartothatof- sectionofPaintingforPhotographers,and
feredduringmyArtistryRetreats. usetheartconceptstoguideyoutohelp
Ialsoknowthetipsandtechniquesin youfigureoutwhattopaint.
thisbookworkbecauseIusethemfor Justremember:Ifyouthinkyoucan
myownart. turnyourphotosintopaintings,you
ThoughIpaintedasachild,andmy probablycan!
motherwasanartist,mymaincareerhas
Tribute
alwaysbeenasajournalist,whichishow
Thepaintingontheoppositepagewascre-
IgottowritethefirstseveralPainter
atedonSeptember11,2001withared,white
Iwaslisteninginthecartoanaudio ingstoexhibitingmyartinagalleryin manuals,threePainterbooksbeforethis andbluecolorschemeinhonorofthosewho
CDofthebook,SuccessroughaPositive NewYork’sprestigiousChelseasection! oneandtwoPainternewsletters. losttheirlivesinthe9/11WorldTrade
Centertragedy.Photosandpaintingby
MentalAttitude,byNapoleonHilland AllbecauseIfiguredIcould. It’sonlyinrecentyearsthatI’vebeen
KarenSperling,featuredinthePainting
W.ClementStone,whenanamazing Sohereitis:Ifyouthinkyoucancre- painting,andifIcandoit,youcando forPhotographerstutorials
thinghappened. atepaintingsfromyourphotos,you it!Onthesepagesyouseemyfirstpaint- http://www.artistrymag.com/.
Iheardthesewords:“Ifyouthinkyou probablycan! ingfromphotosinPainter—Ithinkthey
candosomething,youprobablycan.” Manyphotographersbelievethateither makeaverygoodillustrationforencour-
Incredible!Ihavesaidthatinmy you’reanartist,oryou’renot. agingyoutotrytopaintyourphotos!
ArtistryPaintingforPhotographersRe- Thisbookdispelsthatmyth. Awordaboutthisbook’sstructure…
treatstoencouragephotographerswho Ifyou’reaphotographer,youhavea Thebookissetuptofirstgiveyouan
thinktheycanpainttogoforit! certainvisualsensethatledtoyourin- introductiontoartconceptsthatyou
Andthereweremywords,coming terestinphotography. needtoknowtopaintphotos.
fromNapoleonHill,whogottheskinny Addtothatthetheoriesthatartists Aimedatphotographerswhodidn’t
onsuccessfromAndrewCarnegie. learninartschool,andtheknowledgeof takeartclasses,theseartlessonswill
SoIguessyoucanbelievemewhenI howtouseCorelPainterandAdobe helpyoutoknowwhatyouwantto
tellyouthatifyouthinkyoucanpaint Photoshop,andvoilá—you’llbepainting paint.
photos,youprobablycan! yourphotossoonerthanyoucansay Paintingis90%thought,10%execu-
Ofcourse,Ialreadyknewmywords Toulouse-Lautrec! tion.Knowingwhatyou’retryingtodo
weretruebecauseI’vedoneit. Sortof. ismoreimportantthanknowinghowto
I’vegonefromneverfinishingpaint- Thereisoneotheringredientforturn- doit.
6KarenSperling’sPaintingforPhotographers Introduction7
1
Art
Lessons
M
oreoftenthannot,whenyoutryto
turnaphotointoapaintinginCorel
PainterorinAdobePhotoshop,itseemstobe
missingsomething.Youcan’tquiteputyourfinger
onit,butthere’ssomethingnotquiteright.
What’smissingaretheingredientsthatmakethe
photoapaintingandnotaphotowithbrush
strokes.
Andthoseingredientshavetodowithtraditional
artconcepts.
Inthissectiononartlessons,youwilllearnthe
artconceptsthatyouneedtoknowtoturnyour
photosintopaintingsinPainterandPhotoshop,
includinghowtotellifaphotoisagoodcandi-
datetobetransformedintoapainting,howto
choosecolorsandhowtodeterminetones.
Knowingtheseartconceptswillhelpyouboth
whenyoupaintinPainterandPhotoshopandalso
whenyouaddacrylicsandoilstoyourprintedart-
workoncanvas.
Heidi
Painting(oppositepage)byKarenSperlingfromaphoto
(thispage)byScottStulberg,featuredintheJanuary
2005issueofArtistryTipsandTricks
http://www.artistrymag.com/.
9
choosing the photo
ThefirststepinpaintingaphotoinCorelPainterorin owsthataren’tthereintheoriginalphoto.
AdobePhotoshopistodeterminewhetherthephotoisa Youcanadjusthighlights,shadowsandcontrastinthe
goodcandidatetobeturnedintoaworkofart. software,butyouwon’tgetasgoodaresultaschoosing
Themainingredientthatmakesaphotoagoodcandi- aphotowithgoodcontrasttobeginwith.
datetobeturnedintoapaintingisifithasstrongareas AperfectexampleisDavidDerex’sphotoonpage54.
ofcontrastbetweenhighlightsandshadows. Thephoto’sinterestingshadowsmadethepaintingin-
That’sbecausewhenyoupaint,you’repaintingareasof teresting,andyoucouldn’thaveaddedthoseshadowsif
lightanddark,notobjectslikeeyes,hairandtrees. theyweren’tinthephototobeginwith.
Younowknowhowtopaintportraits,landscapes, Earlymorningandlateafternoonarethebesttimesof
pets—anything—becauseineverycase,allyou’redoing daytoshoothigh-contrastphotosoutdoors.
ispaintingareasoflightanddark.
Putanotherway,thebetterthecontrastsare
inthephoto,thebetterthepaintingwillbe.
Otherconsiderationsgointopainting,like
compositionandcolors,butthosecharacteris-
ticsareeasytoadjustinPainterorinPhoto-
shop.
It’snotaseasytoaddhighlightsandshad-
HighContrast
PaintinginPainterandphotostakenatButter-
flyHouse,Topanga,CA,byKarenSperling.
How to choose
Itookthephotosonthese
pagesclosetosunset.
Thoughmostlookedgreatas
photos,IchosetheoneIdidto
paintbecauseithadalotof
contrast,andintherightplaces.
ThefaceinthephotosIdidn’t
choosehadeithertoomuch
contrastortoolittle.
Inthechosenphoto,thefea-
tureswereabitinshadowwith
nicehighlightsonthesideof
thefaceandinthehair.
Ichosetheverticalversion
(oppositepage),notthehori-
zontalone(above),because
paintingmoreofthepathand
lessfoliagewouldresultina
moreinterestingpainting.
10KarenSperling’sPaintingforPhotographers choosingthephoto11
choosing colors
Adjacent Ifyoulookatthepaintingcompared
tothesourcephoto,you’llseewhereI
Colors
usedthecolorsfromthephotoand
whereIaddedmyowncolors,based
Myotherfavoriteway
onmycolorscheme.
tochoosecolorsisto
Mostpeoplemakethelogicalassumptionthatturning Thereasonisthatthemaindifferencebetweenaphoto useanadjacentcolor Themoreyoupaintthebetteryou
willgetatchoosingcolors.Justkeep
photosintopaintingsrequiresbrushstrokes. andapaintingisthataphotohasrandomcolorsanda scheme,whereyouuse
yourcolorschemeandthephoto’s
colorsadjacent,or
However,justaddingbrushstrokeswon’tmakeyour paintinghasachosencolorscheme.
contentsinmind,andchoosingcol-
nexttoeachother,on
photoslooklikepaintings. Sometimesthephoto’scolorsfitintoacolorscheme,in orswillgeteasier.
thecolorwheel.
Oneofthekeyaspectsofcreatingpaintingsischoos- whichcaseit’sOKtousethephoto’scolors,asyou’re Belowisanexample
ColorHarmony
ingacolorscheme. abouttosee. ofapaintingwithan
adjacentcolorscheme.
Anotherideatokeepinmindwhen
Choosing a color
Ilookedatthephoto,andsawmostly Ifyoucompareit
choosingcolorsiscolorharmony,
scheme skyandwater,bothofwhichareusu- withthecolorwheel, wherecolorsarerepeatedinthefore-
allyblue. you’llseethatithas
groundandinthebackground.
Colortheoryisavasttopic,and SoIhadmyfirstcolor—blue. thecolorsstartingwith
Noticeinallthepaintingsonthese
therearemanywaystochoosecolors Ilookedatthecolorwheelandsaw red-orangeandgoing
twopagesthatthecolorsarerepeated
withwhichtopaint. thattheoppositeofblue,orcomple- clockwisethroughor-
throughouttheartwork.
I’vefoundtwocolorschemesthat ment,isorange,soIhadmysecond ange,yellow-orange,
InthecaseoftheNewportpainting,
workwell,andIdescribebothbelow. color. yellow,yellow-green,
theorangeofthebuildingsisrepeated
Idecidewhichonetousebasedon Whenyouchoosecolors,youare greenandblue-green. intheskyandinthewater.
whatIseeinthephoto. choosingallthetoneswithinacolor. Ichosethesecolors IntheSargentportrait,theyellow
Sometimesthephoto’scolorsfall Bychoosingblueandorangeasthe basedonthephoto. andorangeinthefacearerepeatedon
intooneofthesecolorschemes,in colorscheme,Iwasalsochoosingall Isawthatithada thechairandinthebackground.
whichcase,Iusethephoto’scolors. theshadesofblue,includinglight blue-greensky,green Andinthelandscapeonthispage,
Whentheydon’t,Ipaintwithmy anddarkblue,andalltheshadesof grassandatree,which theyellowandorangearerepeatedin
owncolors,basedonmycolor orange,includingcreamandbrown. (oppositepage)isanexampleoftwo couldbebrown,a thetreeandontheground.
scheme. Asyouseebelow,Ipaintedthe colorsandtwocomplements. ofyellow,thechairisyellow,thecom- shadeofred-orange. Onewaytocreatecolorharmonyis
Color Complements water,sky,shoreandmountainsin SargentpaintedLadyAgnewwith plementofthedress,andarepeatof Ilookedatmycolorwheelandde- touseacolor’scomplementinthe
tonesofblue,andthehouses,cliffs yellowandorangeandtheircomple- theface.Thebackgroundisblue,the cidedIcouldfindawaytoincorpo- shadowsthewaySargentshadedthe
OnemethodIuseallthetimeto anddockinorangetones. ments—violetandblue. complementoforangeinthefaceand rateallthecolorsonthecolorwheel backgroundinhisportraitwithor-
chooseacolorschemeistousecom- Ingeneral,ifyouaddanothercolor, Thefacehasyellowandorange,and repeatedinthechair.Theyellowis inbetweenred-orangeandblue- ange,thecomplementofblue.
addingitscomplementwillimprove alltheotherelementsarethecomple- repeatedinthebackground. green.
plementarycolors,orcolorsopposite
yourpainting. mentsorrepeatsofthefacecolors. Aerial Perspective
eachotheronthecolorwheel(above,
LadyAgnewbyJohnSingerSargent Thedressisviolet,thecomplement
right).Todecidewhichcomplemen-
Tocreatetheillusionofdistancein
tarycolorstouse,Ilookatmyphoto-
paintings,artistsuseaerialperspec-
graph.
tive,thetermformakingthecolorsin
Forinstance,Itookthephotograph
thebackgroundalittlebluerandless
belowinNewport,RI.
saturatedthanthecolorsinthefore-
Ilikeditbecauseithadgoodcom-
ground,whicharebrighterandmore
position,butthecolorsinthephoto
saturated.
wouldn’thaveworkedinthepaint-
ing—theyweredarkandunrelated.
Therefore,tochooseacolorscheme,
ComplementaryColors Adjacentcolors
PhotoandpaintingbyKarenSperling. PhotoandpaintingbyKarenSperling.
12KarenSperling’sPaintingforPhotographers Choosingcolors13
Tones and Focal Points
editing tones
imageaboveit. tionaboutpaintingtools.
Onceyoufigureoutwhatyouwant Butfornow,it’senoughforyouto
Asyousawinthefirstchapter,it’s
yourfocalpointtobe,actuallycreat- knowthatyoucaneditthetonesin
bettertopaintphotoswithgoodareas
ingitisrelativelyeasy. yourpaintingstocreatethefocal
ofcontrastbetweenlightanddark.
Tomakethehousethefocalpoint, pointbyusingDodgeandBurn.
However,eventhephotoswithgreat
Younowknowthatphotoswithstrongcontrastsof Whenyouchoosecolors,youalsochoosetones. chooseEdit:Undotorestorethecol- Whilepainting,turnoffthecolorsto
contrastdon’talwayshavethecon-
lightanddarktonesmakethebestcandidatestobe Justlikeyoucansometimesusethecolorsfromthe trastintherightplaces. ors,thenlightenthehouseinPainter seehowthetonesareshapingup
bypaintingwiththePhoto’sDodge usingAdjustColors,thenchoose
turnedintopaintings. photo,youcanalsosometimesusethephoto’stones. Thisisespeciallytrueoffocalpoints,
variantanddarkenthefoliage,sky Edit:Undotorestorethecolors.
whichdon’talwaysappearwhereyou
Youalsonowknowhowtochoosecolors. Andyoucanalsochooseyourowntones,justlikeyou
andwateraroundthehousewiththe Makingthehousethefocalpoint—
wantthemtobe.
Contrast,tonesandcolorsareactuallyrelatedconcepts canchooseyourowncolors. Photo’sBurnvariant. andusingachosencolorscheme—
Thenextchaptercoverswhereto
becauseallcolorshavetones. Thischaptercoverswaysinwhichtoworkwithtones. positionfocalpoints. SelectingbrushesinPainterisdis- madethepaintingapaintingandnot
cussedinmoredetailinthenextsec- justaphotowithbrushstrokes.
Fornow,let’slookathowyoucan
understanding tones
Asaresult,tomakesomethingthe starkcontrastsoflightanddark.
recognizeandeditfocalpoints.
subject,orfocalpoint,likeaperson, Intheexamplesonthispage,you
Forinstance,Idecidedtopaintthe
Allcolorshavetonesandtogether makeittheareaofgreatestcontrast canseehowtheartistsused
photoItookinManhattanBeach,CA,
thetonesareyourimage’scontrasts. betweenlightanddark. chiaroscuroandlimitedcolorstoadd
thatyouseeatrightbecauseithad
Thefewercolorsandthemoretones Theformaltermforthecontrastof dramatotheirartwork.
goodcontrast.
yourpaintingshave,themoredra- lightanddarktonesinapaintingis Youcanalsoseehowtheymadethe
Toseetherangeoftonesmore
matictheywillbe. chiaroscuro. figuresthesubjectoftheirportraits
clearly,includingthefocalpoint,shut
Fromnowon,thinkofthesubjectof It’stheideabehindallthefamous bymakingthemthefocalpoint,or
offthecolors.
thepainting,alsoknownasthefocal paintingsthroughtimebythemas- areaofgreatestcontrastbetweenlight
InPainter,chooseEffects:Tonal
point,intermsoftonesinsteadofob- ters,goingbackasfarasLeonardoda anddark.
Control:AdjustColorsandmovethe
jectslikepeopleorhouses. Vinci,andincludingCaravaggio, Youcanapplythistheoryprettyeas-
Saturationsliderallthewaytothe
Thus,thedefinitionofthesubject, Rembrandt,Rubens,GeorgesdeLa ily.Nexttimeyoucreateaportrait,if
left.
orfocalpoint,is:Theareaofgreatest Tour,Velázquez,andanyoneelse thefigureislight,maketheback-
InPhotoshop,onewayistochoose
contrastbetweenlightanddark. whoseportraitsandlandscapeshave grounddark,ifthefigureisdark,
Image:Adjustments:Hue/Saturation
makethebackgroundlight—it’sthat
andmovetheSaturationsliderallthe
simple!Landscapeshavefocalpoints,
waytotheleft.
too—seeoppositepage.
Withthecolorsturnedoff,it’seasier
toseethephoto’stones.
Chiaroscuro
Inthetoprowatrightnexttothe
Examplesofchiaroscuro,orcontrastof
ManhattanBeachphotoisthephoto
lightsanddarks,areseeninthepaint-
afterIappliedAdjustColorsin
ingsofMichelangeloMerisidaCar-
Painter.
avaggio,DiegoRodríguezdeSilvay
Ifyoulookatthephotowithout
Velázquez(toprow);RembrandtHar-
color,youseethatthefocalpoint,or
menszoonvanRijn,GeorgesdeLaTour
areaofgreatestcontrastbetweenlight
andPeterPaulRubens(bottomrow).
anddark,isthetrees.
However,Iwantedthehousetobe
thefocalpoint.
Inthesecondrowatrightisthe
painting.
Ipaintedusinganadjacentcolor
scheme,discussedintheprevious
chapteronchoosingcolors.
Nexttothepainting,youseeitwith
thecolorsturnedoffusingAdjust
ColorsagaininPainter.
Noticethedifferenceintonesbe-
tweenthetopandbottomblack-and-
whiteimages.
Inthebottompicture,thehouseis
nowthepainting’sfocalpoint,orarea
ofgreatestcontrastbetweenlightand
dark,andnotthetrees,asinthe
FocalPoints
PhotoandpaintingbyKarenSperling.
14KarenSperling’sPaintingforPhotographers tonesandfocalpoints15
composition
Eliminate Details
lineandmoreaboutgettingbetterat
makingthedecisionsaboutwhatto
Oneofthedifferencesbetweena leaveoutandwhattokeep.
photoandapaintingisthatapaint- Photographershaveahardtimewith
inghaslessdetail. thisconcept,sometimes.
Inthepreviouschapter,youlearnedaboutfocalpoints Itseemsthatcompositionrulesaretheonesthatpeo- Ifadetaildoesn’taddtoourunder- Theywanttoincludeallthedetails,
standingofwhatwe’relookingat, inadditiontokeepingthecolorsand
andhowtoeditthem. plefloutmostoften—ormaybetheydon’tknowthem?
thenitcanbeeliminated. thecomposition.
Inthischaptercontainingcompositionrules,you’ll Inanycase,here’sinformationaboutwheretoplace
Insteadofpaintingallthedetails Ifthat’sthecase,thendon’tpaintthe
findoutwheretoplacefocalpoints. focalpointsandsomeothercompositionguidelinesto thatyouseeinthephoto,paintthe photo!
Ofcourse,rulesaremadetobebroken,butit’sgoodto keepinmind,bothwhenyou’retakingthephotoand areasofhighlights,midtonesand Butifyouwantaphototolooklike
shadows. apainting,theneliminatedetails.
knowwhattherulesarethatyouarebreaking. alsowhenyou’repaintingtheartwork.
Ithinkbeinganartistislessabout Belowandatrightareexamplesin
Rule of Thirds learningtheskilltodrawastraight portraitsandlandscapes.
Theruleofthirdsisaguidelinefor
settingupyourphotoorpainting’s
compositionorlayout.
Whenyoufollowtherule,youthink
oftheimageasdividedinthirdsand
youputyoursubject/focalpoint—
i.e.,areaofgreatestcontrastbetween
lightanddark—neartheintersection
ofimaginaryfolds,markedbythe
bluecirclesintheimagesatright.
Eliminating Details in Landscapes
Thisruleisfrequentlybroken.You’ll
InthephotoItookinNewport,RI(above),the
oftenseeportraitswherethesubject Eliminating Details in Portraits
backgroundhadalotofdetails,includingtrees
isrightinthemiddleoftheimage.
Iblendedoutdetailsintheskin,lips,eyesandhairinTerrieStrick’sphotoofherdaughter,Haley. andbuildings.InthepaintingIdid(top),I
Butifyoumovethesubjectover, ThenIpaintedbacksomesuggestionsofthedetails.Thestep-by-steptutorialsinthePortraitssec- eliminatedthedetailsinthebackgroundby
withthefacehavingthegreatestcon- tionwillshowyouthevarioustechniquesforeliminatingdetailsinPainterandinPhotoshop. paintingasuggestionofmountains.
trastandfallingneartheupperleft-
leading the eye in
orright-handcircle,forinstance,the
portraitwillbestronger.
Youwanttoleadtheeyeintoyour
ArandomsamplingofMonetpaint-
composition,notoutofit.
ingsrevealsthatMonetfollowedthe
InthephotosItookatright,the
ruleofthirdsinmostofhisart.
ladiesonthepathintheleft-hand
Noticethatinallthepaintingsby
photoarewalkingofftheimage.
Monetonthispage,thefocalpoint,
Theright-handphotohastheladies
orareaofgreatestcontrastbetween
onthepathwalkingintotheimage,
lightanddark,fallsneartheimagi-
whichisanimprovement.
naryintersectionofthepaperfolds.
Elements touching
RuleofThirds
ExamplesofMonet Imageelementsshouldbetogether,
paintingswhere
likeinthephotoItookofRossi
thesubject/focal
Musicbelow,right,andnotapart,like
point—areaof
inthephotoItookbelow,left.
greatestcontrast
betweenlightand
dark—isnearthe
intersectionof
paperfoldedin
thirds,represented
bythebluecircles A Different Angle
shootstraighton(photoabove,left).I
intheaboveimages.
tookthesephotosinthesameplace,
Inthetoprowof
Takephotosatanangletocreatedi- buttheoneontherightissomuch
paintings,it’sthe
agonallines(photoabove,right), moreinteresting.
buildings;inthe
whicharemoreinterestingthanhori- Also,shootfromaboveorbelowat
bottomrow,it’sthe
women’sfaces. zontallinesthatyougetwhenyou anangle,likethephotoontheright.
16KarenSperling’sPaintingforPhotographers Composition17