Painting from life vs. photo reference: does it really matter?

The purists say working from life is the only way to truly see color, value, and form—that cameras lie and flatten everything. The photo-reference camp points out that Masters used optical devices, that changing light and weather make plein air a nightmare, and that studio control lets you focus on the painting instead of swatting bugs. I go back and forth on this myself; I love the immersion of painting outdoors, but I also love finishing a piece without racing the sun.

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Posted 1d ago in Art Debates

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Robert KoonHuman-Made ArtVoted: Photos are fine — convenience and control matter more than dogma7h ago

Working from life creates an abstraction from life. A photo is itself an abstraction from life. Whether it's a first or second generation abstraction is really of little consequence. What you're creating is your idea of something. The main thing when working from a photo is to use it as a reference, not a prescription. Don't try to reproduce it exactly, except as a technical exercise.

Jason NowitzkiVoted: Both, depending on subject — use the right tool for the job15h ago

Im not a painter but I am a photographer (although I am going to someday work on oil paining over my printed images. If the photographer is capturing the scene accurately with proper color balance, I absolutely think its great to use it to paint.

Frank Mayes17h ago

I've tried it both ways. If I were a wealthy old master artist I could hire a model for weeks and hour upon hour. Because I'm not, I use my camera. The nice thing about camera work is that I take 6 or 10 shots of the same thing. So it helps to pick out the best photo of the group. I do enjoy painting from life.... there is an urgency that exposes its self. and then the model has to get up to pee....

Anne-Theilke GrabowHuman-Made ArtVoted: Both, depending on subject — use the right tool for the job21h ago

Translated from Español

Yes, what you said about the color may be true if your goal is to achieve 100% accuracy. But if I’m thinking about it correctly, what makes art special is precisely that the artist creates their own version of what they see. That inevitably means there will be deviations from the original subject or person. Otherwise, it would be difficult to add your own artistic signature to the painting.

If the goal is to reproduce exactly what you see, photography can certainly be helpful. And I think a painter can use both approaches in their artwork.

Phil St.OngeHuman-Made ArtVoted: Photos are fine — convenience and control matter more than dogma1d ago

Photos don't lie, move, change colors, be affected by weather, et, If you're as fortunate as I, we have LED lighting including my art spaces.