Advantage and Disadvantage of using a photograph for your reference

Do you ever feel anxious about these things? "Isn't it cheating to draw from a photo?" "Won't relying too much on photos make it impossible to draw from imagination?"

In this article, I will explain the benefits and precautions of using photos, as well as strategic practice methods.

Three Benefits of Drawing While Looking at Photos

1. Improved Efficiency By drawing from a photo, you can shorten the time it takes to create a drawing. When not using photos, for example, if you're painting a landscape outdoors, you need to go to that location. Additionally, if the weather is bad, you won't be able to paint. On a day when the weather is bad, you won't make much progress. When drawing indoors, if you don't use a photo and want to paint still life, you need to keep the subject in place and have the same lighting until the drawing is complete. It’s fine if you have enough space or studio, but that's not always the case. If space is limited, you’ll have to clean up, and before you can start drawing again, you'll need to set everything up again. This results in extra time spent.

   Also, items like fruits and flowers are perishable, and they change over time. By using photos, you can focus on the drawing without worrying about those changes.
   

   

   
   

   When drawing people without using photos, you need to hire a model. This can be costly, and as you take time to work on your drawing, the model’s hairstyle, facial expression, and other features might change gradually.

   I also did life-drawing /life-sculpting from a model when I was in college. We took frequent breaks (once in 20 mins) while doing it. Of course, the breaks were for the model, not for us students who were drawing.

   When using a photo, the break time is entirely up to the person doing the drawing. Even if you want to add details months or years later, there will be no changes in the photo.
   

   

   Moreover, a photo is two-dimensional, and most drawings are also two-dimensional. Since you’re transferring from one two-dimensional source to another, if you want to achieve a quick and realistic representation, using a photo can be effective.

   However, there are some downsides to relying on photos, so it's important to avoid just copying photos all the time.
   

2. Pre-Simulation is Possible

   When taking a photo, it’s usually handled as a digital file using a smartphone or digital camera. If you’re using an analog film camera, consider that the image is likely scanned and converted into a digital format.

   Using image editing software or apps, you can adjust the highlights to make them stronger or weaker, alter the colors to be more red or green, transform the whole image by adjusting the perspective, and make various other changes. When it's normal

   

   when it's lightened

   

   
   

   When it's darkened

   

   
   

   etc... By modifying the photo reference before starting to draw, you can simulate and check out ideas and compositions in practice.

   Doing the same with a physical drawing takes more time, and if you don’t like the result, you have to redo it, which can be mentally taxing.
   

3. Easier Optical Perspective When sketching a landscape outdoors or drawing still life indoors in bright daylight, the light changes throughout the day.

   In the morning and evening, the direction of the light is different, and consequently, the direction of shadows changes as well.

   If you close the blackout curtains and only use indoor lighting, there won’t be any changes, but this doesn’t allow you to draw outdoor scenes, and it’s actually not ideal for your eyes, according to some opinions.

   With photos, there is no change in the light over time, so you can focus on studying the laws of light and shadow in detail.

   Additionally, combining this with <2. Simulation>, you can adjust highlights to make them stronger or weaker. You can emphasize the changes in light and dark that are difficult to discern with the naked eye, and check them more easily through image editing.
   

Precautions and Pitfalls When Drawing from Photos

1. Avoid Unconscious Copying! ALWAYS Try to Understand the Form and Structure While Drawing If you simply copy a photo without understanding the shapes or structure, it becomes difficult to express three-dimentionality. To be able to perceive and express space effectively, you need to be aware of what the structure is like, all while drawing with a three-dimensional mindset.
   

   When drawing a person, don't just trace the outline. Instead, understand the three-dimensional flow of the bone and muscle structure, and then translate that into two dimensions. This is how you improve.
   

   

   If you rely only on photos, you’ll stop thinking in three dimensions. Strive for a balance between drawing from real-life objects and photos.
   

2. Relying 100% on Photos Weakens Your Imagination in Drawing If you only draw by copying photos, you’ll often reach a point where you feel "I can't draw without a photo." To avoid this, you need to balance practicing with photos and practicing drawing from imagination.
   

   

3. Find Ways to Add Originality Using photos is great, but simply copying them won’t allow you to create your own unique expression.

   One way to add originality is to change the composition or add some distortion (stylization).

   Art is about personal expression. If you’re drawing exactly like the photo, someone might ask, "Why bother making a drawing? The photo does the job just fine." When aiming for realistic representation, you’ll inevitably hit this wall. This is why the balance of imperfection is important for art.

   Another approach could be to pursue even more detailed precision than the photo itself, but ultimately, it’s about expressing your own uniqueness, something photos can't offer.
   

4. Photos and the Image Seen by the Naked Eye Are Different Some may find this contradictory to the ideas of distortion or originality mentioned above.

   When aiming for greater realism and detail in your artwork, you’ll notice that photos differ from what we see with our eyes.

   With the naked eye, light passes through the cornea (which acts as a lens), forming an image on the retina. This image is then sent to the brain through the optic nerve and recognized as an image.

   In contrast, a camera forms an image through a lens onto film or a sensor.

   The retina is curved, and the brain combines two different images—one from each eye—into a single image. Cameras typically only have one lens, and the film or sensor is flat.
   

   

   This results in distortion at the edges of the photo, although this may not be noticeable in the center. If you want to emphasize or create deliberate distortion, that's fine, but if you want to draw exactly what you see, photos may not be the best.

   In such cases, it's better to draw from life to add more realism and dynamic and use photos as a supplementary tool.
   

5. Copyright Infringement If you search online, you’ll find almost any photo you’re looking for. While free-to-use images are fine, using someone else’s photo without permission for your drawing could be a violation of copyright.

   As long as you only use the photo for practice and don’t show it to a wide audience (e.g., on selling online or at exhibitions), you generally won’t be infringing on copyright.

   However, if you plan to post it on social media, exhibit it, or sell it, make sure to use royalty-free photos or ones that you’ve taken yourself, or change the overall design and use it as a partial reference.

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Summary

Benefits of Using Photos:

• Improved efficiency

• Pre-simulation for ideas and composition

• Better understanding of optical perspective

Precautions to Keep in Mind:

• Draw with an understanding of form and structure

• Balance between drawing from imagination and photos

• Add your own originality

• Understand the differences between photos and what you see with your eyes

• Be cautious of copyright infringement