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Taking photographs to use for drawing


Before taking a photograph, think about the purpose of the picture. Make sure you include in it what you expect you will need. Smart phones are amazing things but they don't do all the thinking for you. Think about:


  • Framing: where will the edges of the picture need to be? You can trim it later but if you trim too much you will loose some resolution (the image gets more blurry when it is printed or enlarged).

  • Light: more contrast is usually better so if you are inside use lamps or place the thing you want to photograph near a window. The aim is to get the light coming in at right angles to the object. If you are outside it depends on the weather conditions. Think about how you can get more contrast. Try taking pictures of the same scene/object at different times of day or in different weather conditions to see how the pictures look different on the screen where you can compare them.

  • Colour: you will be able to enhance colour later on your phone or computer but it is a good idea to try and get it the best you can when you take the picture. For example, if you are taking a picture of an object for its, what is the colour behind it? Does it enhance the colour of the object?

  • Space: think about foreground and background. Do you want to show depth in your picture? If you do you will need to think about the size of objects, who close they are to you and perhaps include lines of perspective. An example of this would be taking a picture down a road where the edges of the road come together in the distance to a vanishing point.



Edit your picture to make it easier to draw from. Watch this short film for more guidance on using photos for drawing.



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