Wow. Thanks for the link. Your are right Karin, I have to slow down (and let my subject slow down as well) ;) In most of these portraits there is a suggestion of 'free & playful' just by being outdoors (as well as just by being children) I don't have a photo of what I had in mind, just an idea in my head. I'm sure I am making this harder than it needs to be. Thanks again for your input and suggestions, I will try again & post my results before choosing.

BTW I am happy for this new section. It will certainly help those of us who struggle with 'what to paint' as much or more than 'how to paint'.

For me, the setting up of "what to paint" is oftentimes harder than doing the actual painting!

FORGET THE IDEA THAT YOU CAN JUST PICK UP YOUR CAMERA AND "GET LUCKY!"

I do many idea sketches...before the shoot.

I look at as many of the Old Masters (and anyone else I can find) to see how they handled the same subject matter.

I scout out possible backgrounds.

I assemble props.

For every hour I spend behind the camera, I have probably put in ten hours of research and set up time!

Even in the case of a simple still life, I often let the objects sit around for days and fiddle with it endlessly before I ever pick up a camera. Even though this is extremely simple, here's one that took nearly as long to set up as it did to paint.

Scotch tape, toothpicks and rubber cement are holding it all together.

Everything you say makes a lot of sense. It looks as though I need to do my homework before scheduling another session with Sydney. I like many of the protraits in the link you sent. I will study them (as well as others) and try to come up with something suitable.
Thanks again for your time and interest Karin, it is valubale information.

It is not easy to get a resource photograph....see below...

This little girl insisted on being painted in her mommy's clothing. What you cannot see is the clothespins and rubberbands behind her holding the clothing in place.

The bow in Jessie's hair is from an old Christmas present and stuffed with tissue paper so it is "puffy"...her hair ribbons were very small and uninteresting to paint.

The beloved "Bunny" was an important part of this portrait. I bought the yellow ribbon just for him in order to make this unattractive "lovey" look better in the portrait. I also planned in advance that "Bunny" would be partially covered by her hands or part of her clothing. During the shoot, I had to be careful not to insult "Bunny" by suggesting that he be hidden a bit :)

After a tough day at school, Jessie had ridden with her mom about 4 hours by car to get to my studio for this shoot. She was exhausted and "did not want to cooperate." This shot was the only decent one in about 10 rolls of film....and I nearly lost my sanity. (I think that a kazoo would have come in handy - I just didn't think of it, dang).

My rule of thumb is to expect that if something can go wrong during a shoot, it will.

But the days of planning time and aggravation during the shoot is well worth the effort. Without it, your chances of getting a "lucky shot" are about as good as winning a lottery.

My Gosh! I would never have guessed so much goes into the photography. I guess that is part of why your paintings looks so amazing. I imagined that if I "set-up" the photo it would look like the stuff you get done at Walmart or Penny's. Thank you for pointing out that you can manipulate the setting without looking contrived.

BTW "Jessie and Bunny" is one of my favorites. The raggedy little guy adds charm to the picture.

Dear Sandy,

Please be thrilled with your photo before you start painting. I just painted one from an unsatisfactory photo and it's amazing how much frustration one painting can bring.
It's just not worth it.

Demand the best from the client and yourself and you'll get it. Sargeant was very demanding. I apologize that I have to have another shoot and the people are amazingly cooperative. Blame it on yourself.

Good luck,
Mary Short

Rest assured Mary, I will not be using this photo or any other that doesn't meet the criteria. It is just my lack of experience and understanding that rears it's ugly head. ;)

I will say I am at a stalemate momentarily. I have a great desire to paint, but alas, not a suitable pose. I guess it is back to painting dogs until I find the photograpic skills that (I hope) lurks beneath somewhere.

While you're working on getting a good source photo, you could start a copy of an old master -- all the source decisions have been made and you can focus on painting:)

And in the Tampa area I'm sure you have several "live model" study groups to chose from.

Good luck!

For Consideration
 

NO!!!! By all means do take your photos, take more as needed until you find that acceptable pose. And, paint...these are your learning moments. We can tell you and show you how to swim. But, you will not learn until you get in the water!!! Use that what you find in these fora. Take what you can use and leave the rest behind. DO NOT LET THESE COMMENTS STEAL YOUR DREAM !!! Take photos, paint and blunder on.