What makes a good photo for a wildlife commission painting?
- A digital camera photo will create a better and more defined image of wildlife.
- A digital camera will create a larger image file, for creating a large wildlife painting.
- A RAW photo, has more information and larger file than a JPEG image, shoot RAW if you can.
- A photo with the wildlife in focus.
Mobile phone photos and Facebook photos
Photos taken using a mobile phone camera or uploaded to Facebook are only small file images, at best they will print to a 8” x 6” size, with a loss of definition. Therefore, they are sadly not the best photos for creating a wildlife painting.
Taking Wildlife Photos
You stand more chance of taking wildlife photos at a nature reserve or wetlands centre. Also, the wildlife in nature tends to be more visible either early morning or later just before dusk. These are also the times when there are less distractions about to bother the wildlife. You’ll need a good DSLR camera with a good zoom, as wildlife aren’t keen to get close. Also, you need a lot of patience! Wildlife photographers get to know areas where certain wildlife are more likely to be located. Also, wildlife photographers may spend days trying to capture photos of wildlife.
Using an old print wildlife photograph for a wildlife commission
If you want a wildlife commission from an old print photograph, then you need to scan the photograph(s) and email them to me. Ideally, I need a scan of 300dpi resolution with either an AdobeRGB or sRGB colour space and then save as a .jpeg or tif file type. If you’re unsure, then I have the ability to scan your photograph, so please get in touch, if you would like me to do this.
Wildlife photo resources for a wildlife commission
I spend days out in the hills sketching, painting and photographing. Over the years I have built a database of various wildlife images. Get in touch, let me know what you’d like, and I’ll see how I can create your lovely wildlife commission.
I hope this information helps with taking and choosing photos for your wildlife commission. Please enquire if you have any more questions.