Many artists carry a camera specifically to capture an image they come across in their everyday lives so that they can paint it afterwards. Phones with excellent cameras fit neatly into any pocket or handbag. It isn’t cheating to make a photograph part of the process between what the eye sees and that image being painted on to canvas. It provides much more opportunity to get special and sometimes unexpected images to paint.
Personal creativity
There are some tips for people who might like to paint from photographs and the first is to generally stick to your own photographs because you will be painting an image you have actually seen. It means that your eye and experience of the occasion can help you as you paint. In any event you will need permission to paint someone else’s photograph if you have seen it online or published in any form.
If you see something you would like to paint you will be able to take photos from different standpoints unless you are talking about moving objects. Try catching a cheetah in full flight more than once!
Digital Advantages
Digital photography has made things so much easier. You can crop any photograph to the exact image you would like to paint. Unnecessary background can be removed if you have a central image in mind. If you are taking a landscape you can balance the amount of sky in relation to land. Eyes are actually better than cameras at capturing light and it may mean you will want to adjust a photograph in other ways to capture the true image that you saw. When it comes to colour you can buy everything you need from companies such as www.jacksonsart.com and mix paints where you have not got the exact shade you require.
Your camera will become part of the creative process so it is important to learn how best to use the facilities it offers. Many allow you to simply switch to automatic and let the camera do all the work but cameras do have limitations, including the one mentioned above.
Remember
You need to recognise that every picture can be distorted. A skyscraper does not taper towards the top but that is the impression that is given but few will want to paint such things when there are so many more interesting things in cities. Similarly, a photograph focussed on an object will tend to have a blurred background some distance away. Your eye will not see the background as blurred so you may want to focus on the background in a second shot and combine the two when you are painting.
Rather than being regarded as cheating, cameras have opened up far more opportunity for the artist. Their creativity begins with the photograph or series of photographs. The final painting should reflect what the eye actually saw even if it is not an exact replica of any one photo.
Are digital cameras starting to look like smart phones
Because most people tend to reply on a single product to have multi-functions and digital cameras are an example of such devices that have to compete in an already established market place, cameras that can offer more functions or that are able to be used in multiple locations will be more attractive to the purchaser. The new generation of compact cameras is emerging in to this ‘go anyway and do anything’ environment and the ‘Adventure’ camera is designed to withstand the shocks of a hard fall and the occasional dipping into a stream or even fully submerged into the sea. These hardy little cameras are becoming very popular with parents to give as presents to their children so they know that within the first drop or dip their investment will not be damaged. These cameras are designed for everyone to use and their ability to resist shocks and submersion allows them to be used in a variety of environments. For the traveller they are very worthwhile and as a relatively cheaper alternative to a DSLR camera these traveller orientated adventure cameras come with just as many functions as their compact counterpart.
All the major camera manufacturers (Sony, Nikon, Panasonic and Canon) produce some quite versatile compact digital cameras with the quality of the images really rivalling those of the more expensive DSLR’s. The ability for the manufacturers to create even higher mega pixel compact cameras is the main attraction for those seeking a compact rather than a DSLR camera. The quality of the image is always the first requirement and the cameras ability to give a clear, sharp and well toned image is a must and with the processing power of a compact camera almost equalling that of some DSLR cameras the competitive market place is full of these types of cameras. Some sacrifice functionality for image quality but in a compact camera one can be forgiven if it doesn’t have every single function built in because all a user really wants to do is to point and click and hope that the camera does all the focusing and processing to get the best photograph possible.
Some of the high performance digital cameras are starting to look a lot like smart phones or maybe it is the other way round? The technology running the high performance camera has been developed in conjunction with smart phones and the use of touch screens is now quite common. Touch screens add a sense of ease and functionality to a compact camera and the menu systems are very user intuitive with easy menus and the ability to scan videos and images at a touch is making using these cameras very easy but also very exciting. The ease of use may be the attractive element for these gadgets and for digital cameras to have more functionality will always set them above their competitors.
The compact camera is designed and is very suitable for those who want a quick shot and slip the camera into their pocket and get on with their activities but the DSLR is designed for a more ‘professional’ feel to photography and the DSLR camera offers more in terms of adaptability rather than unique features for a quick ‘snap’. The DSLR camera will enable the user to modify and play around with the aperture, shutter speeds and focal lengths to create a photograph rather than to capture a memory. The range of DSLR’s that are emerging in to the SLR market is staggering and every year, new and improved features are exemplified with better quality images due to higher resolution lenses, improved exposure meters and anti-shake devices, higher specification optics. Also the emergence of 3D lenses will certainly add a new dimension to digital photography.
Some accessories are always a must when out and about and a good bag is essential to keep the digital camera safe from dust and knocks. A good sturdy mini tripod is always useful to help reduce camera shake especially for close up shots or portrait shots from afar. A clear UV filter is always recommended for an expensive lens; these relatively cheap screw-on lens filters protect the main lens glass from dust and scratches and help prolong the life of the lens. The ability to connect wirelessly is still relatively new and few cameras have the ability yet, but as technology emerges to enable a quick and secure download from camera to a laptop or a phone the frequency of phones with this ability will be more common.
