Taking and Editing Your Photos for Painting 

The most professional RU-vidr ever, very consistent and super quick intro then straight into the gut of it. Tip of the hat to you Ian.

Ian, you are not only a talented artist but also a brilliant teacher. Thank you for sharing your thought process so well.

This was a fantastic video! I have been sketching compositions more and more before painting and I do find that it helps me to decide, sometimes, not even to paint that scene! Which in the end is better bc I skip the whole part about being disappointed when a painting doesn’t turn out! This video only confirms that process for me. I used to just have this urge, “gotta paint that!” I feel like your channel has helped me focus that creative passion to help me very intentionally use my skills of planning to help me be creative rather than acting upon my impulse. Thank you so much, Ian! I’ve been watching your channel for months now and have been meaning to tell you thank you!

It is so generous of you to share your thought processes . Novices like us benefit immensely from that, as they resonate with the kind of confusions we grapple with quite often.

Thanks! Each week is like a master class!

i already knew that planning is one of those keys to success in oil paiting, but really... by seeing how these photos translate to your sketches... well, now it all makes sense

I’m a beginner painter/artist at 62 yr old. That’s a capital B eginner and lower case a artist. I’ve taken art lessons from a local art center but mostly self learning. I gotta say Ian, your videos are incredibly generous. I believe you divulge information that many if not most capitol A Artists just would not. Not without a fee anyways. I get more inspired to paint by watching these lessons. And that’s exactly what they are, lessons. Thank you thank you thank you.

This was not depressing at all, this makes me feel much better about having such a hard time to pick paintable photos out of my huge collection. Knowing it's not just me makes a big difference! Thanks for caring and posting!

Tired of hearing “ WOw! You are SUCH a great teacher!” yet? 🤣🤣 hope not as I can’t stop thinking and saying it and sharing your name and books. I love how you took us through the steps you -the master- still make and sometimes decide meh that won’t work... even when you love the image.. I need to learn to let that love of the image go and move to one that will work and not plague me half way through...baby steps eh? Good to see the cozy sweater back. 🤣🤣. Oh, and where exactly did you go for these amazing views? I want to go for that walk along the cliff. Many thanks.

I am re-watching this in preparation of the 30-day challenge at the end of this year's course. I already know I will be traveling for one week and won't be able to draw on location everyday, so I need good photos to fall back on. The ratio of usable photos to photos taken is not unknown to me from my personal photographic experience, but it is still daunting. What I am learning in the course about editing is going to help.

I have so many city photos (mainly Madrid) which I want to do some paintings and more loose urban sketches. This video is just what I needed to help me know how best to go about selecting photos and cropping to get better composition for my reference. Thank you so much Ian Roberts.

Wow, Thank you so much Ian, I am a rookie in watercolor painting and yet have not come across a someone who makes philosophy into form and color with such vividness and clarity of thought and display. 🙏. I love it. You are my mentor💫

You and your wife are so lucky to have such beautiful scenery nearby. The cypresses on the hill with the ocean in the foreground looks like a spot Marcia Burtt plein air painted. Ii is obvious that you enjoy drawing and creating a map or plan. I am more of a what if sort of person and would have probably done some quick, plein air sketches in conjunction with the photos. I have lots of sketches that may become larger studio pieces but I am tempted to look at the photo instead of my plein air sketches/paintings which is not helpful to create looser, more abstract art in my case. Take good care, in these still uncertain times! Appreciate what you do!

This is brilliant. To see u going through similar thoughts to myself about your own photos. I thought it was just me. Very reassuring!

So interesting to see the scenes you loved in Cambria. I was just there. I need to really study my photographs. Thank you again, Ian.

This was great! I also take many photographs every day on my walks and paint from them. I could see a sort of rhythm and balance of light/dark areas in the preferred pictures. I find that in flat light conditions the juxtaposition of the shapes becomes important. Thank you so much! Your contribution is immense!

I feel like the right side of my brain is growing. Seriously, this is very, very helpful. My work is evolving.

What kind of a dope would give a ‘thumbs down’ to such a great video 🤨? Thanks, again, sir for all your fabulous teaching!

You teach so well--telling what you think and the process of correcting is so helpful!

That's amazing. I was at your live session on Saturday, have watched the 20 minute video a number of times and have been absorbing your book for the past 3 or 4 weeks. I was sat here browsing perhaps 2-300 photos, musing on the differences between a good photo and a good painting. I thought, if I could ask Ian a question, I'd ask about his process for evaluating photos - and it popped up here! Thank you once again :)

Favorite video so far. 🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞For a visual art, I enjoy the thought process the most. Whenever I observe any artwork, I feel like I am glimpsing inside the artist's mind. Although I cannot interpret into words, I enjoy seeing the artist's preferences, choices, groupings, energy and moods. I really enjoyed your thought process. When you blocked out the areas, I could see a rough counterclockwise spiral that opened to your main point of interest. Maybe I am overthinking it, but I did see it as energy (like a wound spring) and direction. More, please... 🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞🏞

Always great, helpful videos. 👍

Thank you Ian for all the hard work you potting in these videos. It's a lot of information and it's really helpful. It's very interesting to follow artist mind of how to compose a painting (that's why I prefer longer videos...). Referring back to your "4 Fundamental Principles" video, the problem for me is when looking at photo I get confused of what to leave out. for example - it would be hard for me to take out the boat because I'm sure it will be the one thing catching my eye first of all, probably more then the shed... so I'll feel I left out something significantly important to the place I'm painting. Or even stumble across the log lying in the foreground which I agree it's not very attractive but it will fool me as an element to draw your eyes into the painting... Landscape versus painting - what to leave out?

Very educational, Ian Roberts. I learn as much about your preparation and thinking as in your painting. As a watercolor artist, these studies apply equally well. Your video supports my "Think-abouts" during plein air when I walkabout for 5-10 minutes after sketching, psyching myself in preparation for the next hour or so.

Ian, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts; sharing thoughts and sharing time - which you do too - is the best to give and to get! Love, Charlotte

Yes, excellent instruction about the process. I live on the California coast and there seems to be exactly the same issues around composition that you addressed. Thank you for walking us through how to choose compositions that can work.

Thank you for all the videos you shared with audiences. They are very helpful to my painting skills. because you analyze the painting scene structure very clear and made great painting out of it. This video is exactly I need to watch and learn. Because I always wondering what photo I use for painting, and end up delete a lot of photos I took. I admit I need this kind of skill to identify good photos and paint some interesting paintings.

Thanks for the lesson Ian! It’s great to learn about your process and how to be more critical in choosing a photo for painting. Btw-I thoroughly enjoyed your live session last week. Lots to absorb and apply😊👍

You know every time i see Mr. Ian's video i learn something new.

It's fascinating to learn to see structure as you see it. Learning to see is what art is all about. Once you see, you can describe as you learn to manipulate the medium you're working with. Outstanding helpful video!

one of my reasons for taking up a pencil etc to draw/watercolour was to improve my photograph, to gain a deeper sense of composition and create my interesting photos. with looking at these posts I'm finding myself challenged and going both directions, painting to photo and photo to paint and back again, and as you say, it is joyful to do....

This video was very helpful I learned a lot from watching you explain your process. Can't wait to try this with some of my photos from a recent hiking trip.

Hi Ian ! Thank you for your time and sharing your photographs together with an explanation on choosing the right one for a painting. I too love taking numerous photographs ! When my husband and I went to Santorini and the Greek islands I took more than 600 photographs 😁 ! I am always blown away by the lights and shadows ! I am just getting to grips with landscape paintings as my usual style is similar to Aboriginal Art and I also do lino prints /woodcuts and stone sculptures. Photographs help me to find strong compositions of strong light and shade which create impact. I love your work because you paint such beautiful paintings with strong lights and darks ! As you know, I am always intrigued and eager to watch you draw a sketch in pencil ! Thank you ever so much and I look forward to more videos and hopefully another Live ! Wish you a great week... Lorraine

Thanks much for tackling that subject Ian. Good to know my 1 good shot in a week of shooting is the norm! I too enjoy the process. Chasing the light…there’s worst things you could be doing.

Hey Ian, this information will definitely help me with problems I'm having with a scene I'm trying to capture. Thanks

Thank you for the clarification. I too have so many pictures I have taken in Cambria, Pismo Beach, Morro Bay, etc. and I love them as they stand however looking at them as paintings seems a bit overwhelming with all that is in the picture. I see now that all the details don't have to be included.

That was so interesting and I feel a lot better about my process now. Thank you

So helpful, thank you Ian! 💖

So helpful- thank you!! Tuesday mornings are the best. Having your wonderful teaching videos right there in my inbox - so inspiring! Can’t wait to again go through my 10,000 photos in my phone and see about some paintings:)

The way you describe your thinking about your compositions is so valuable thank you! I really struggle with making good decisions about what to paint and how to judge what will make a strong painting. I seem to be drawn to 'the best looking photo' and I'm not considering what it will be like to actually paint it. Not design driven at all!

I so appreciate you sharing your thought process that goes into picking an image to paint. Thank you!

Your ratio of images to useful material for painting it is reassuring, I thought what I was able to pick out of what I shoot was very low, but now I know I am right in with the average. Great presentation as always and looking forward to how you will translate your photos into paintings.

Thanks for this wonderful video. Would you please share or demonstration on topics of what should know about plein air and how to paint abstract subjects in the future. Thanks so much!

Absolutely helpful! This also explains why I have such a hard time finding a spot when I want to go plein air-ing; I often find myself riding around on my bike for so long, the light has gone (lol). Thanks for a very educational vid.

Thanks, Ian! 👍

This was a really good episode. Thanks!

Very helpful analysis.

This is great as always! I love your book too. Can you please add a link here to the video of you painting this seascape?

This is so fascinating.

Great video. I also take tons of photos only to get home and realize none of them worked! You can always photoshop to get a better composition. I don't because I use my phone!

When I am on loation and find interesting subjects, I start sketching FIRST. I decide what my point of interest is and freely draw my composition, moving things around. Adding, eliminating, reducing or enlarging different elements to enhance my point of interest. Only then do I take a photo of the general area, mostly for texture, color and lighting effects. Then I move to the next subject and so on. Back home, when I review my sketches I'm surprised that almost all of them have decent composition. Taking photos first and trying to come up with a composition later at home has never satisfied me. There is magic in sketching on location.

Not just me then! I so often find the beautiful image I thought I'd taken doesn't translate at all - although like you I've already had fun taking the picture. This explanation i really helpful and I will look for the video you mention. Thank you!

Thanks Ian! You were in my stomping grounds (Cayucos) so it was especially fun to see your choices. Very useful and good to know how few photos you keep. It seems to be the same for me. Thanks for your ongoing instruction and inspiration!

This was very helpful! Thank you!!

This is really helpful - thank you! I'm a photographer and the photos that I love seldom turn into good paintings because I think I am not approaching the process properly. Also I think that since I started painting, it is changing the way I compose my photos. Where I once always looked for what drew me, now I'm considering the things you are talking about, like where are the points of interest and asking if I moved the camera position, might I get a picture that was more interesting because it is coming from a different viewpoint than most people get when they are standing. Now I need to do more of the sketches to make sure I'm not just being seduced by light and color.

Really a terrific video, thank you. It was very helpful to see more about your thought processes in choosing your landscapes. I wonder if you ever mix and match different elements from your photos. For example; You have a photo of an interesting tree in an unfortunate landscape, then later use the tree in a different landscape.

thank you so much for sharing this video 😍😍😍😍😍

Thank you. I really enjoy composition and found myself analyzing each photo you put up to see if it had salvageable content for a painting🤔. I found that with some adjusting there was one you rejected that had potential due to the lighting. If I have time I might try a quick practice sketch to see if it works. Loved the lesson!

Thank you, Ian, for sharing your thoughts and process. Very, very useful. I guess the same principle applies to watercolour painting. I end up using one out of a very big number of photographs and very often I get stuck half way thru the exercise. I have to remember to draw a small sketch first and analyse. Thank you.

Thanks you so much, Ian - it really was incredibly helpful and, Yes, there is great enjoyment in taking photos in the first place. Very helpful video - keep going (I hope). Thanks. Jane

Thanks Ian. The combination of this video and the 20 min one really runs the process home for me. I'm not a landscape painter though. Although I watch your videos religiously, I often find myself wondering, how effectively does this process work for not-landscape painting, i.e. portraits, figures and still-life?

Thank you so much for this! You have just vindicated me! For years I used to paint/travel with other artist friends, and they always teased me that I had to bring along so many rolls of 35 mm film. I was so happy when the digital cameras was invented! So glad to hear that I am not the only one with a hitting average of 1/100 👍. I sometimes use more than 2-3 photos as references, getting interesting details from each one to make a great made-up composite if I cannot find all the perfect information in one image--which was usually the case. So even the "baddies" have some redeeming value! 😉 But, that makes me reluctant to delete most of the "baddies"...Are you like that, too? How do you manage all your "baddies"?

Only if I could draw landscapes this well 😂 but thank you so much for sharing your thought process in this detail.. very informative 👍👍

Tune in next week. What a cliffhanger...

Very helpful!

Thanks!

Thank you.

hello Ian. Another great video !. I did see the live recording, you didn't cover my question, but no problem it must have seemed like an impossible task to reply to all , but you did a grand job ! I thought that if I remind you now you might be able to cover it sometime. I asked if you use black into colours to darken them or what is, or what are the alternative colours that you use ? Thank you in advance . Brian

I’m a photographer as well as a painter, and three great photographs a YEAR, is considered a high average of success. 99% of photographs are failures.

Hi Ian, What kind of camera do you use for these photos. It is so easy to just use my phone camera. It takes relatively good images and it is easy to print or transfer images to my computer. But I am wondering if an SLR ( I have a canon) would be better with more control of light and values. Any thoughts on that?

Hi Ian, I did just watch the 20 min video and it does help clarify your approach, it was interesting and helpful. I do have a question: please tell me you use an actual digital camera not your phone for your photos? I have a D40--ancient I know--and find it easy to use but our daughter tells me that my (smart) phone has a much better lens and thus better pictures. Also, quickly, northern CA does have nice coastlines but you might consider traveling a bit farther north, we have some gorgeous scenery up here in Oregon, at least from the Willamette Valley west to the coast.

Thank you for showing your progress. It really helps. How big is your sketch?

Sorry to be off topic but did you say somwhere that you had or were going to make a watercolor vid? 😁 I looked but couldn’t find one on your channel. I haven’t yet found a watercolor teacher as good as you are in oil. Thanks very much!

Thanks. Great video as usual, extremely helpful. Practical question. What kind of camera do you use when you are taking photos to paint? A SLR? I often just use my iPhone as that is what I have and results are often dreadful. But I use the photos as memory aids not trying to get a great photo. Also, do you also just do sketches on location as well instead of painting plein air?

Great demo thanks. my question is when you have finished sifting through all your photos and decided which you will use do you delete the others ?

Another very interesting lesson. I rarely leave a image "as is" when I do the preliminary sketch -- thanks for that idea, by the way. I may add a hill, a cabin, some birds, narrow a cliff, expand a beach, etc. Artistic license, right?

ok, dumb question. what do you do with the 297 pics? Do you delete them?

After you have chosen the photo do you go back out to the site and paint from life?

you don't use a zoom lens

shore pictures reading right to left, ie land on the right, is counter intuitive to my eye. I’d flip this type.

Once again the small preliminary drawing is the truth or consequences of a more successful painting.

Amazing! That's all I can say. I've watched hundreds of hours of art instruction, from dozens of artist on the web but no one has ever really gotten to the core fundamentals of what makes a good painting. It's like you're pulling back the curtains and revealing what's underneath - a hidden world. I've been painting for a few years now and sometimes compositions work and sometimes they don't. I'm starting to understand why. And I'm also beginning, for the first time, to really appreciate what makes good art. I thank you for that Ian.

Thank you Ian, for a wonderfully exciting week! Loved the live video from the week-end and this is such a helpful lesson. I will come back to this many times, I feel. Your weekly presents to us are a joy.

Hi, I was just thinking that if you crop a photo, decide what to forget about in it when you're gonna be painting, enhance some colours, make some bushes etc bigger, ...then practically any photo- provided you are interested in it- might work, no? Am saying this because in next week's painting you might decide - as I find in today's sketch- that in fact that cliff at the back, the whole of it, or another element of it, is what you are going to lead the eye to...Therefore adjust your horizontals and verticals accordingly... And in that way you might feel less captive to that photo. Also, the same process would apply if one was to go go further into abstraction: crop the picture, simplify the shapes, add contrast, go into colours that are let's say weird if compared to the original. Would love to give a way to send you some photos, but maybe you don't want that. Quite understandably. Bye for now, thanks for sharing and for the live session I haven't managed to watch completely yet.

This video really helped me see design elements in photos and explained how to simplify scenes. I am going out on a photo shoot now that I have more of an idea of what to look for! Thank you!

You make it seem so simple. Now I want to start going through our hundreds of photos with new eyes. Not just looking for my favorite scenes, but looking for ones with potential. Thank you!

yes you have a great skill for teaching and thank you for sharing that with us. I would have thought maybe you might select aspects of various pics to create single combination out of the 100s of shots. 😊 . I might keep a pic because I like a tree line or a boulder or colour of the sunset, that kind of thing.

I can definitely relate to the 1 out of 100 photos being paint-worthy. It was nice to see your thought process behind the photos

really enjoyed Saturdays live you tube chat and look forward to Tuesdays.

Dear Mr. Roberts, Your teachings have been precious and very inspiring to me. I’m revisiting my photos from a new perspective. Thank you so very much...

Thanks again, Ian! I'm reviewing several of your videos as I'm going out plein air painting tomorrow. I must say again how beautiful your drawings are. I have a new goal to do mine in a 'keeper' sketchbook, not just slap a few thumbnails together! 🤣

Everytime I watch you I learn something! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise. 😊

As a plein air painter with a two hour window more or less, sketching seems counterproductive. When I pick a location I consider east and west and best time of day to paint. Then using my artist’s eye as I begin ‘drawing’ with my brush, and decide then what to leave in or out in the composition. I compliment your thoroughness but think such planning defeats the plein air spirit. Especially if one is using photographs for studio paintings.

The good decisions of what to paint leaves you enough time to do these videos - and do a lot of other things rather than being stuck on something that won't work. Very helpful. As it turns out I have not watched the recording of the live video. I did watch the other video you posted last week- great! I was driving up the coast while you had your live youtube. It was a beautiful drive and I wished someone else was driving because I saw so many things I would have liked to have photographed. The vineyards and the rolling hills studded with oaks were gorgeous. However I now think about composition. A lot of those places along the 1010 were beautiful to gaze at but were mostly horizontal lines and might have been boring paintings. Then when I got to my destination in Santa Cruz I took some photos of the beach. Most also too horizontal. There might be one good one. I have the same question as Miki- I wonder if you ever have an idea that you want to paint not from a photo or a single photo?

I can't find that video on your website that you mention: The 4 Fundamental Principles to Create Better Paintings. No longer available?

Every time you cropped an image it seemed arbitrary. It would be useful to know why you crop to a certain aspect ratio. Is it with the usual canvas size you use in mind? I ask because I think a crop more in the ratio of 16:9 or even 2:1 in some of those photos would have been more impactful particularly in a landscape painting.

What a great video. Because you showed us how you think through your own process is huge! So very generous. Thank you for this!

Another super interesting video. It is actually quite heartening to hear that you might only select 1 in a 100 of your photos for a painting subject as I have discovered with my own photos that very few of them inspire me towards the easel. It is also extremely interesting to see how you analyse the features of a photo - in design terms - to work out whether it will work as a painting. You're work is so inspiring & your explanations of what you're looking for in any image seem so logical once you have pointed them out. Thank you once again, Ian.

You make painting easy :) I appreciate the synthesis you make of a complex image. I'm learning a lot from your videos, especially how to observe and "read in between lines". Thank you! 🙏✨

Ian, thank you for this info. can you let us know which photo editing software you use? I'm looking for something pretty simple. thank you.