This will help with creating that character
that your customer will so appreciate.
Go for interesting angles
If it’s a pet, try as much as possible to get
to their eye level. Photos looking down on
the pet rarely translate well to art unless the
angle has created some innate cuteness.
Avoid flat light as much as possible.
Strong light is good but if it is too
strong, highlights can be washed out
and the shadows can be too dark to
give any detail.
Avoid light from directly above. Try to
go for good side lighting which gives
you much more opportunity to create
a dramatic and characterful portrait.
Backlighting is also a great way to add
interest, but you must make certain there
is enough detail or information in the
shadows. The reference for my portrait
of a meerkat had great backlighting, but
I had to make certain that the eyes still
shone through to create that connection
with the subject
With regards to eyes, one trick you can
use to get the best out of your reference
is to add some background colour to the
relections in the eyes. Here I have a photo
of a dog called Derby. I wanted a green
background, and though the photo had
no green in the eyes, I have used some
to unify the whole image which hopefully
makes for a more pleasing inal result. ■
Helpful hints and tips
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photos
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you can
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photos you want to get to give you
some direction
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background colours in relections and
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their eye level
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software if you can. There are free
versions if you are strapped for cash.
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expensive and well-known brands and
it is freeware. Make a donation if you
wish
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collecting. If you enjoy your work, your
viewing public is more likely to enjoy
the result too.Tools
BacklightingBacklighting – Close upartists (^71)