Tonight's Photography Studies feel Fascinating.

The one on the Glow-Orange Background ~ the White Paper in the Photo shows up sort of Opposite of Glow-Orange. I'm feeling like the best choice is the Dramatic Setting on the Black Background ~ White being Opposite of Black. A little disappointed because the lines/colors look a LITTLE washed out, but the most accurate one here -- No. I PREFER THE PHOTO ON THE BLACK BACKGROUND THAT WAS DONE IN THE ORIGINAL SETTING. EVEN THOUGH THE PAPER LOOKS PINK (Why? Why??), THE COLORS OF THE COLOR STICKS ARE MORE ACCURATE.

I was surfing around on my iPhone tonight ~ trying to figure out how to Photograph my Caricatures in such a way that the Colors would look the same in the Photos as in the Original Caricature. I felt excited because I Thought I figured it out, but not really. Still, what I did figure out is that I Might be able to set up early at gigs so I might be able (if they don't change the lighting on me) to determine the best possible placement for photographing my Caricatures?

I found two on/off buttons on my iPhone. One called "Auto HDR" and the other called "Keep Normal Photo". I put them Both On, and I took a Photo with the 'Photo' Choice called "Original'. I photographed the picture of the Tree that was on my floor. I Thought it came out great (well..... later i put a white dot on it in PhotoShop..... not great.... but probably useable).

Anyway, I Thought it came out great. So I grabbed a Black/White Caricature that was nearby, and I tried to Photograph that one too. With the Same parameters. The white of the paper looked a little grayer than the white of the paper of the picture of the tree.

So I held the picture Vertically and took a photo. Not good at all oh. Ahah ~ I just learned like of course ~ if the light is coming from above, it will shine onto the top surface of an item. And that includes a sheet of paper! If I hold it vertically, the light from above is going to shine on the top of the paper (which is just the thickness of the paper). And the picture itself will be in shadow.

So I laid it down on my desk and photographed it again. Horizontally. But it came out Blue.

Disappointed, I photographed it again. And this time I gave it a little more effort. I discovered that if I took a few moments to change the distance between the Camera and the Picture, I could get a better Photo. But oh again, Blue.

Why Why Blue?? Ahah ~ Now I feel like I'm on a better Path. Perhaps it has to do with What's Around it. Perhaps I will continue studying this.....

These pictures were drawn on White Paper. But it doesn't look like White Paper when photographed with my new iphone ~ which is so sensitive it picks up the ambient lighting in the room. Good thing I'm Not a photographer ~ I just give the Original Caricatures to my Clients ~ so I'm not held to professional standards for the Photography. Notice the White Dot in the corner of each picture for gauging the color of the paper.

The first one was done with the Portrait Option called Natural.

The 2nd one was done with the Portrait Option also. It might have used the option called Studio Light. Or else Contour.

The 3rd one was done with the Portrait Option. It might have used the option called Contour. Or else Studio Light.

The 4th one was done with the Portrait Option called Stage Light Mono ~ I did it at a Far Distance to keep the picture only in the Circle.

The 5th one was done with the Portrait Option called Stage Light Mono ~ I did it with a Close Distance more like I could quickly do at an Event.

The 6th one was done with the Portrait Option called Stage Light.

The 7th one was done with the regular Photo Option called Original. But this time I held it up with my little Gig Light behind it.

The 8th one was done with the regular Photo Option called Original. But this time I held it up with my bright desk light behind it (like I would have such a light available during a Party?)

Maybe I'm learning something. Or maybe I'm just getting it out of my system. Maybe I should next apply the PhotoShop Adjustments to see which one is best affected by the PhotoShop Adjustments.....

I thought I had my Supplies all thought out ~ Many Years Ago. But tonight I noticed that I was uncomfortably not admitting to myself that something uncomfortable comes up when I try to Color a Large Area.

Clients love that I come with Heavy Paper. I have Thousands of sheets already prepared to start the upcoming year. But tonight's Drawing Exercise made me question whether or not that's really such a good choice. Because.... well.... this is what happened.

Tempted to pick up my Supplies even though I didn't have anything specific to draw, I decided to fully Shade a Ball. Basic stuff ~ but I decided to do it more fully than the quick indication that I usually use at Parties and Events.

Oh ick ~ that wasn't looking good. Using the Color Stick on its side ~ the way I usually do at Parties and Events. So I tried making another one using the tip of the Color Stick. That felt too fussy to use at a gig ~ and it didn't look much better anyway.

So I tried it again. And again. Contour lines. Straight lines. Overlapping in different directions. Nothing. Nothing felt good enough. I didn't have a Colorless Blender here (like I would have time to use That at a job!), so I tried to affect the texture by going over it with a white Candle. Ick Ew Ew Uuuugly. I don't like That.

So I decided that strong pressure is the way to go with these Color Sticks. Can't imagine having the Time or enough Supplies with me at gigs for this ~ but I had to try it. I'm on a path. It came out ~ eh. Not looking or feeling Professional.

So I switched to Plain Cheap Computer Paper (oooooh ~ I feel glad that I'm writing here. I just thought of perhaps buying a heaview Computer Paper), and I Shaded a Blue Cucumber (just to be reminded that there's no erasing with these supplies any more than there is smudging). But anyway, I felt aaaahhhh ~ the Blue Cucumber is Shading real nicely and smoothly. I might seriously be better off to ignore the Thousands of sheets of Paper that I already stocked up on to start this year ~ and use Plain Paper Instead.

Happy with the Blue Cucumber, I started shading a Cone-with-a-Hole. Still just basic stuff. And I felt surprised that I had trouble with this. Again, the Shading was not looking smooth. Something I hope I'll look into again later. Later. Some day. But meanwhile..... Look at the Great Shading on these Eyes! Simply done. On the Smooth Paper.

and btw ~ I was drawing on White Paper. As usual, my Fancy Camera-Phone picked up the Yellow Lighting in the Room. And made my pictures look dirty. Oh.