Painting reference photos from your trip - 3 tips to take better photos for painting

Students tend to use a typical vacation photo for painting, that's usually not a good idea. I will share with you why today.
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0:00 - intro
2:13 - 1 - look for paintable shapes
3:05 - 2 - Imagine a painting from it
3:35 - 3 - compose your shot like a painting
4:19 - Photos comparison
13:08 - Painting demo - drawing
14:20 - First wash
15:02 - First wash - sky
16:13 - First wash - greens
17:08 - Second wash - middle value
19:07 - cloud shadows
21:44 - Third wash - adding darks
24:03 - Cows
26:36 - Glazing
27:03 - Conclusion
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Download the reference photo:
www.dropbox.com/s/o3wrjkupnd8...
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[@Cafewatercolor]

Any upcoming trip? Hope you get to take some good photos for painting reference! =)

[@heinhtet2234]

This helps a lot to me 🤗🤗

[@emilyadams6194]

This is a lovely painting, Eric. The darks, lights and color on the buildings is beautiful as your focal area and again the trees and mountains. The grasses mountains and trees make a beautiful, soft scene.

[@dianeing403]

Hi Eric This is Diane I have been watching your tutorial. I have learned a lot from watching and working on my own water color. Thank you for teaching me!

[@lorraineclark3517]

I agree that using your own photo rather than another has more emotional flashbacks. These can give more authenticity to your work. Thanks Eric, great demo!

[@ernes103]

Great lesson, as always, and stunning painting!! Love the colours you manage to get, brilliant. I think we all fall into that mistake of trying to get pictures of amazing places to use them as reference for a painting and more than often is the simplest things and daily scenes that make a much better and interesting subject for a great painting. Thank you so much!!

[@louisegardenia7674]

I’ve been watching your videos everyday. You’re so kind sharing your skills and I love how honest you are. You’re a master and I’ve learnt so much. Your voice is very relaxing. Thanks for the videos 💖

[@Cafewatercolor]

Thank you so much! 🤗

[@StClair008]

Very nice painting! You improved on the photo in SOOOOO many ways! Great to see the process.

[@LisaSDonovan]

This tutorial was very helpful! I’m going to look through my vacation photos with a fresh eye, and pick one to paint, based on the 3 principles. Thank you for doing these tutorials!

[@lorraineclark3517]

Although I had viewed this video when it was first posted, reviwing it I have found the last half of it to be valuable for kick starting my studio time. Having a warming up session has given me a more foced approach.

[@sirishmosale]

You hit the nail on the head. No painting is dull looking because it was badly done, but as it was not a good composition. A great generous tutoring. Thank you

[@mme8555]

The photography is Very helpful and clear done with finesse and taste, no blaring music. Thank you so much I paint in oil and your instructions apply as well.

[@janesanchez213]

This is my favorite painting you have done. Love the one of your son and the cat as well! You definitely inspire me 😊 . The info on selecting scenes or photos to reference for watercolor painting is extremely valuable. Thank you Eric.

[@RobertHopkinsArt]

Excellent painting and advice on taking reference shots. I always try and take my reference photos at the two golden hours of the day: one hour after sunrise or one hour before sunset. The colors are a little bit warmer then and the shadows are at their best. Landscape photographers live by this rule, when ever it is convenient to do so. Thanks, Eric!

[@EvertPieterseArt]

Great advice, thanks. Your painting at the end has captured the atmosphere beautifully.

[@Regulus1999]

I am so pleased that I found your videos Eric because they make so much sense to me especially with all the photo references and explanations that you use and demonstrate. I have so many landscape photos and now I know what to look for to paint. No one else has explained this. Your videos are also very calming to watch without unnecessary music. Please do not stop sharing your work!

[@michaelthornton5113]

Now if I could get my daughter to watch this she might understand why I can't paint from most of her beautiful photos. Very nice painting, as always, Eric. So Happy 2 B 1 of 100K.

[@Cafewatercolor]

I can totally relate. I often get some beautiful photos from commission clients that are not really suitable for painting. Takes a few rounds of back and forth before we can set on what's good for painting. =)

[@marcoa.morales9297]

Bravo Eric! Nice watercolour!

[@silviasunesen7649]

Thank you very much for this video. Very helpful. the lovely photographs were great to see

[@cristinasalesluis3075]

Marvelous painting! Beautiful light and loved the way you glazed in the end!! Thank you so much for sharing!

[@wenwenzhu8039]

Thanks for your lesson! I learnt so much out of it.

[@sarrigayat6937]

Thank you Eric for the tips and now I know the difference between a vacation photo and the photo taken for a painting reference.

[@DorisSK]

This is BEAUTIFUL! Thank you for the tips!

[@shitalkanitkar5995]

Gorgeous! Thank you much

[@sallyfinch540]

Outstanding!

[@janakinakka]

You are fantastic. Your videos are very informative and educational. Thanks a lot

[@srt9580]

Awesome work and good tips. Thanks much 🙏👍❤️

[@ARTYCOATY]

Beautiful artwork! You're very talented! So perfect!!

[@WediEre6654]

Very nice painting indeed! I loved your valuable lesson about the reference photos as well. Thanks!

[@martynsnan]

Lovely video, thanks Eric. Your description was excellent. It seems that I'm more likely to take a photo with a painting composition in mind. Maybe I'm too old for or disinterested in selfies and holiday snaps. It's wonderful how the memories come flooding back when you've given the scene time and attention.

[@featherweightswoon6855]

Beautiful painting. It looked so real and peaceful.

[@josebueno52]

Beautiful outcome

[@TheLeahsKitchen]

Beautiful painting, love the shades of the greens and play against light and dark.

[@thokchomjayshree8089]

Another great tutorial and awesome painting.

[@theviper1999uk]

Thank you!

[@anilvinayakan1701]

Another nice and simple painting !. Great job Eric. Thanks for sharing.

[@kathrynandrea8075]

A perfect lesson for me! We recently visited eastern Washington and the scenery makes me want to create a painting! I took way too many pictures. This will help me decide what to paint.

[@katherinelove7358]

Really helpful Eric. Beautiful painting too!

[@Drumaier]

Great video and painting! Thanks for sharing!

[@conniehenricksen9533]

Very good demo and your painting instructions were very clear also! Enjoyed it and hope you do some more paintings from photos! Thank you Eric!,

[@DavidMiltonJones]

Great video, Eric. Lovely painting

[@ravleenkaurchhabra]

This was really helpful. Now I can somewhat shortlist some old vacation paintable pictures! :) thanks !!

[@mattwj77]

Eric -- congrats on 100k subscribers! I've only been following you for a few weeks, but have been very helped by your videos. Thanks for the great demonstrations and tips, the format is great.

[@torrynerheim2887]

Nice landscape, great value, and good association of color. going coastal again end of September, I will paint on-site along with a photograph for the future. Great suggestions I'm sure many will put to the test.

[@mohandoctor1930]

Fantastic..!

[@lauraellis5741]

Love it.

[@heinhtet2234]

This is gold ❤️❤️

[@SC4RArt]

Thanks for the info! 😍

[@masanirashed913]

Thanks Eric It was really helpful

[@ysvry]

great tips thx.

[@riikkaliinaturkki]

Thank you.

[@spiritualastrohealer9430]

It's really amazing.

[@iqbalpreetpadam7521]

Thanks sir for sharing knowledge

[@Marilynnr53]

Wonderful

[@roxannalynn6332]

Thank you for your help and i personally think your painting was more beautiful than where you took photo!

[@mygranddaughterstungac7232]

Thank you..

[@tericarter2886]

oh yes !! this is exactly where i am I was going to mention this on the other video about tearing up paintings THIS is my issue more often than not these days when i am having trouble with a painting and end up tearing it up I am not taking photos from a vacation but for the pleasure of sharing nature with my family I am pretty good at photography but am finding out that just because it is a decent image or maybe even a good to excellent image THAT alone does not make it a good subject to paint in WATERCOLOR I try to find the darks and lights to photograph but it doesn't always work out Thanks for the help with your videos

[@SchaeferArt]

I think the photo at 11:03 could potentially be a good painting :) Just break up the fence a little so the viewer can enter the painting, add a few more cows, some closer to the viewer and in the foreground slightly. Plus that contrast between light and shadow is great. Just my thoughts. Really awesome video overall.

[@JesusIsKing96]

As with all your tutorials, this was very helpful. I love how you explain things. Can’t wait to put it all into practice. Did you say you live in Seattle? Well your videos are being watched from a small village called Brora, on the north east coast of Scotland, UK! How great is technology! Thank you for your inspiration!

[@alisonkent5902]

I don’t take photos on a trip, I make sketches. If I see something to paint I do take a reference photo for color... This gives me a different eye than just trip photos. I have a lot of travel sketchbooks... I take unbound sheets and bind them when I get home, so I don’t end up with a bunch of unused paper.

[@ritzie3131]

Eric...maybe you have a video on this. Do you use fresh paint every time....and if not, how do you keep your paints soft? I feel like I've tried many things, but the paints always harden. I think it would be easier on the brushes to use soft paint, but to discard paint after each session feels like wasting a lot of paint. I try to paint something every day, but don't always fulfill that goal. Thanks.

[@katherinelawrence1608]

Hey Eric! Love the youtube and love taking your online class. Question: exactly what do you mean by a 'clean wash?' My washes aren't beautiful like yours, but, I'm still struggling with the concept. Maybe you could do a demo comparing clean versus not clean? Or, you may have done this already? Thank you so much!

[@Cafewatercolor]

Clean means there's no cauliflower edges. The consistency is good so you don't have inconsistent values and looks spotty

[@christinedowney6638]

Hi Eric. I only recently tapped into your site and love your tutorials. I am not noticing you mentioning what kind and size of brushes you use. Would you mind sharing that in your videos. Much appreciated!

[@danqingzhou983]

lovely kids

[@terrycardinaldesigns]

Beautiful and some really good tips. How long does a painting like this actually take you?

[@Cafewatercolor]

Terry Cardinal this one takes a bit more than an hour. That being said.. I painted this one two times. So you can say it’s 2-3 hours hah

[@shekhing]

Eric, I really enjoyed watching you paint this. You mentioned "wetting the back of the paper, if it is not wet enough". Could you explain when does one wet the entire paper, front and back, and when one just wets an area for a first wash? The acrylic painters on KZbin also talk about wetting their paper but then use gum paper to tape all four sides down to stop the paper from buckling when dry. Do we need to do this for water colour?

[@Cafewatercolor]

I don't really do that just because I don't want to hassle. And I paint on block so I can't get to the back of paper. If you are working on a free sheet then you can wet both side and use gum tape. I just want to keep the process as simple as possible 🙂

[@orcamum]

@@Cafewatercolor how do you flatten buckled paper?

[@JesusIsKing96]

@@orcamum I watched a video where someone puts the buckled painting face down on a clean surface and puts a cotton tea towel over it and iron’s it. Check it out on KZbin.

[@barbaragemin5117]

This was important for me Eric. So many times I look at a reference photo and think “What the hell can I do with that?” You said large shapes are important, not the 'bits' of the photo. Thank you. I'll try and look out for that and of course, I always use Snapseed, as you demonstrated in a video.

[@user-vy2fm9dh5e]

What kind of software do you use to edit your photos? Especially the function at 10:18?

[@Cafewatercolor]

photoshop =)

[@david-oj6yz]

Hello eric , for your next vidéo is it possible To put french subtitles please 🙌🙌 thanks! 😊

[@disenfranchisedrealist4433]

It sounds like maybe it would go a long way for aspiring artists to take some photography classes. Once you learn the basics of how to take photos you do it automatically with all of your photos and there is no need to try and find "special" subjects because you automatically treat every situation as a special subject. Most of your photos will start to have potential though you'll find that for every top notch photo you take there will be 20-25 shots that won't make the cut. That said, when I look at photos online I find myself saying, this is an excellent photo for a painting, or that is an excellent photo for pastels. There is no substitute for putting in the time to learn the techniques so that you are able to recognize what's suitable for your intended purpose.

[@6Pope9]

Is a good idea to blur the reference photo to prevent painting too much of details?

[@Cafewatercolor]

I've made a video about using snapseed to help that process. I don't personally do it all the time, but it can be helpful

[@6Pope9]

@@Cafewatercolor Thanks for your answer 🙌

[@robot7759]

12:43 No I don't see the difference, because I'm nearsighted & haven't worn spectacles for over a decade. Per definition I see everything nice and blurry, the big shapes only with some minimum of detail, just an impression. You have the option to put down your glasses and look at the world without squinting? My eyesight is approx -3.25. Trust your eyes 🙏

[@santoshwithpencil]

Please viewers, think of we small content creator 😭

[@Cafewatercolor]

Keep going :) i started with 0 sub years ago

[@santoshwithpencil]

Thank you so much sir, for your valuable advice 🙏

[@coboldt]

6:41 more German flags than in Germany

[@Cafewatercolor]

Hahaha, yes, Leavenworth is a German town 😄

[@Welther47]

9:07 Not paint a fence, sign (car, trains and airplanes etc.) WHY NOT!? I think we see way too many pretty watercolor paintings - they all look so similar. There is always, a mountain, some trees, a pool of water with reflections and a building. The trouble is, that's not how the world looks. We have cars and signs and fences. And they are very paintable. Just watch James Gurney.

[@Cafewatercolor]

I agree, but not everyone can do it as well as James. The point of me making this video is trying to help people not to look for detail but overall big shape. People who are already at James Gurney's level... they can paint whatever they want and not bother listen to me :)

[@Welther47]

@@Cafewatercolor I understand. I just thought you discouraged it. Painting a fence or sign isn't complex. Cars can be difficult, but they are great fun to try.

[@charleswhitaker3700]

Wonderful