Digital technology has come on in leaps and bound over the last few years and there are many cameras available at reasonable prices for the amateur photographer. But what would be the best camera to choose for taking portraits?
To begin with, you shouldn’t be too concerned about the number of pixels, unless you want to print your photos out as posters.
When you think of portraits, you normally think of oil painting. Nevertheless, many superb portraits have been done using water colour. Water colours offer a way of capturing quick informal studies that where they lack on detail, more than make up for it in character.
If you wish to take-up figure or portrait painting, you should understand the proportions of a human figure. By and large, artists will use the head when working out the proportions of a full figure. A standing figure is, on the whole, eight times the length of the head.
Whether the artist wanted to paint expressive portraits, landscapes or abstract works, they have long found that the texture of paint can be an integral part of the painting experience. Painters found that this effect could be utilised to show form and texture and, by the nineteenth century had developed it further into the technique now known as impasto. As the nineteenth century progressed, artists started using this technique for it’s own sake, creating works using this method alone.
Easels should help make the life of the pet portrait artist much easier, by offering a secure support for their canvas, at just the right height and angle. However, there are a number of varieties to choose from, each one designed to meet the particular needs of the artist whether they are in a studio or outdoors.
The most versatile is the sketching easel.
