Creativity
Ingrid ChristensenJohn Singer Sargent, Claude Monet Painting by the Edge of a Wood, 1885. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Classical art training in the Western world has long called on artists to work from life. Students learn to draw, paint, and sculpt by observing the objects, models, and scenes they see firsthand. Outside of these formal settings, however, working from life is not a given. Today, many artists use photographs as the basis for their creations. And while photos are useful for capturing fleeting moments, looking at one is not equivalent to actually looking at a subject that’s actually directly in front of you. Artists who rely solely on photos may spend their time recreating a camera’s view of the world, instead of their own uniquely human one.
A drawing class, possibly at Central School in Lethbridge, c. 1930s. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
People don’t see the world the way that cameras do. In a millisecond, a camera can capture a location in incredible detail, but the resulting image lacks depth and discrimination. In image below, for example, from flowers in the foreground to roof shingles in the background, all of the elements of a scene are in focus at once. We can only tell that some objects sit behind others due to their diminished size and position behind other objects. Trees and shrubs don’t appear three-dimensional; they look like flat shapes patterned with leaves.
With our eyes, we can see both less and more than the camera. We’re incapable of focusing on more than one thing at a time, so to see each element of the scene we have to shift our gaze from one object to another. By centering on something in our visual field, we can see it in detail and with strong color and contrast.
How a digital camera captures our surroundings.
How our eyes see our surroundings.
However, by bringing one item into focus, the rest of the scene is sent into our soft-focus, peripheral vision. We may be unaware that most of what we see is blurry and indistinct, but it has an impact on the art that we create.
Edgar Degas’s Café-Concert at Les Ambassadeurs (1876–1877) shows his understanding of how we see as he manipulates degrees of focus in a natural, believable way. His interest is centered on the face and right arm of the singer, both of which are crisply rendered. The woman in blue is less defined as she is of secondary importance, while all the other figures are subordinated with soft edges and diminished contrast.
Edgar DegasCafé Concert aux Ambassadeurs, 1876-1877Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon
Look closely and you can see that the artist chose to omit the singer’s left hand. Knowing that our eyes couldn’t follow the path of her outstretched hand while keeping her face in focus, Degas made a daring choice, creating an image of such authenticity that we may not even notice upon first looking at the work.
A painting of the concert rendered from a photo might have given the viewer more information and abundant definition, but it would feel, in contrast to the original, static and lifeless.
Edgar DegasSketches of Caf‚ Singers, 1877J. Paul Getty MuseumPermanent collection
Edgar DegasSketches of a Caf‚ Singer, 1877J. Paul Getty MuseumPermanent collection
Where we outdo the camera is in depth perception. We see a world with three dimensions. In our view, trees have volume: Their branches are arranged side to side and front to back. We can also judge the distance between ourselves and the trees because we perceive the expanse of space between us and them.
J.M.W. Turner, known for his devotion to working from life, spent his career capturing the human capacity to see and perceive space.
James Mallord William Turner, Rain, Steam and Speed - The Great Railway, 1844. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Our eyes are also capable of dynamically adjusting exposure. As we scan a scene, object by object, our vision adjusts the exposure for each one, allowing us to see its value and color relationships more clearly. We can study a scene that has both dark shadows and brilliant lights and see everything in proper exposure thanks to the movement of our gaze.
Cameras, by contrast, choose a single exposure that works reasonably well for the entire scene. As a result, some values are inevitably skewed, becoming too dark or too light. Artists who work from photos frequently copy this defect, marking their work as photographic rather than observed.
The flexibility of human vision is apparent in Rembrandt’s Self-portrait (1661). A detail of the work reveals the airy, color-filled quality of his shadow. The skin, in the light, is likewise full of carefully discerned color and maintains a believable mid-value.
Rembrandt van Rijn, Self Portrait as the Apostle Paul, 1661. Courtesy of The Rijksmuseum.
If it were created from a photo reference, the shadows of the portrait may have become impenetrably dark and heavy, and the lights may have been blown out. Most of the subtle color notes would be lost in these extreme value groupings.
Finally, our way of looking at the world gives us a different understanding of perspective than that of a camera’s lens.
Meghan Boody
It was one of those exquisite days that come in winter, in which it seems no longer the dead body, but the lovely ghost of summer, 2009
Rick Wester Fine Art
This photo shows typical lens distortion—the result of the camera’s fixed point of view and the proximity to the subject. Standing in the same location, in real life, we wouldn’t experience this distortion. Our continually moving eyes encounter large objects piece by piece, not as a whole. We scan the subject, focusing and refocusing repeatedly and, as each new area comes into focus, the previous one reverts to our blurry peripheral vision. Our brain strings together these many discrete views into a coherent, sensible whole.
Thus, we don’t see a horse as having a huge front half and a tiny back half and we wouldn’t render it that way in an artwork.
Rosa BonheurThe Horse Fair, 1852–1855The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Though photo references are ubiquitous in artists’ studios, they are no substitute for the world as we actually perceive it. Our vision works differently than the camera’s lens, and to create artworks of subtlety, originality, and honesty, artists should consider working from life.
FAQs
With our eyes, we can see both less and more than the camera. We're incapable of focusing on more than one thing at a time, so to see each element of the scene we have to shift our gaze from one object to another. By centering on something in our visual field, we can see it in detail and with strong color and contrast.
Why is drawing from life better than photos? ›
Drawing from real life regularly empowers you to see things in a new way. Your eye is far more powerful than a camera is. Don't underestimate how you respond to the light, how your eyes adjust and develop their own types of exposure to colour as well as in tandem with the other senses such as smell and touch.
Why should you draw from real life? ›
You'll find more expressiveness in your work and better image memory and recollection. When sketching outdoors, you will have to train your eye to 'see' better; you work in less convenient situations and have to interpret your location for a drawing. Drawing from life is dynamic, and you respond to those changes.
Is live drawing better than drawing from a photograph reference? ›
Its generally better to draw from life, but photo references can be used as substitutes. Most art professors agree that people interpret photos a bit differently. It would be harder to create depth, and you would only have that one angle that the photo is taken from. If you have the opportunity, draw from life.
What advantages do drawings have over photographs? ›
Your drawings reveal your interpretation of the scene in front of you. One of the benefits of drawing in this case is that the resulting picture is much more dynamic. It's why there is a liveliness to the picture you drew from life as opposed to the picture you took with your camera.
What are the benefits of life drawing? ›
Life Drawing teaches you hand-eye coordination, hones your observational skills and does wonders for relaxation. For those of you who are about to take your first class or pondering whether you should take the plunge, this article shares a few things to think about beforehand.
Why not draw from a photo? ›
Artist's eyes get used to flat images and it is very hard if not impossible to re-educate such an artist into drawing from life. Here is the biggest downside of drawing from photos – if you get too used to copying flat images, you will most likely limit your ability to learn how to draw proficiently.
Why is realistic drawing important? ›
Realism offers artists a starting point from which they can launch themselves into an infinite number of artistic styles. When you understand how to faithfully render what is in front of you in a way that expresses the reality of those objects, you can begin to bend and shift the realities into something more abstract.
What is it called when you draw from real life? ›
Artists create figure drawings, also known as still-life drawings, by making observations of the physical world. Subjects are often human models, but can also include objects like fruit, vehicles or items in nature. Artists who work in figure drawing try to capture the world as they see it.
Is it better for an artist to work from a still life or from a picture? ›
To cut to the chase, there is NOTHING WRONG with painting from photographs, especially for beginners. There will never be a final answer concerning whether it's better to paint from life than from photos because both are good, for different reasons. It all comes down to which skills you choose to develop and why.
Not much has to change in terms of moving from the photograph to your drawing. When you draw from life, your eye has to work much harder to translate the 3D objects in space in front of you into a 2D drawing. You have to learn to observe, investigate, and visually analyze what you are seeing.
What is the difference between drawing from photo and real life? ›
To draw from a photograph is to create a drawing of another artist's work. You are merely attempting to duplicate something the photographer experienced and captured. Drawing in real life, even from the exact same scene, enables an artist to capture it as they experience it themselves.
Why are illustrations better than photos? ›
If you're going for a more logical feel, illustrations might be the way to go. Illustrations can help provide easy-to-understand imagery that is simple and to the point.
What are the 5 benefits of drawing? ›
7 Great Benefits of Painting & Drawing
- Improve Communication Skills. Some people may find it difficult to express themselves properly in front of people. ...
- Enhance Creativity. ...
- Increase Emotional Intelligence. ...
- Improve memory. ...
- Problem Solving Skills. ...
- Self-esteem Booster. ...
- Reduces Stress.
When we apply this definition to drawing from life, it means we are extracting or pulling visual information from what we observe in real life. Being able to draw visual information accurately from real life is even more important than drawing an image on paper.
Why is drawing better? ›
A sketching habit strengthens fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. New pathways form and, according to studies, increase blood flow to the reward center in your brain. You are training your eyes to deliver visual information to your brain, which, in turn, communicates with your hand.
Why do you look better in real life than in pictures? ›
Because of the proximity of your face to the camera, the lens can distort certain features, making them look larger than they are in real life. Pictures also only provide a 2-D version of ourselves.
What are the benefits of still life drawing? ›
Still life drawing is a great way to build essential drawing skills like hand-eye coordination, creating shadow and perspective, and noticing finer details. If you know a creative mind who wants to start learning art, a drawing class experience gift may be perfect for them.
