Camera distortion?

[Chris Saper]

HI Kimberly,

Yes, yes, they are all correct! Until you get your new lens there are a couple of things you might try.

When you photograph your subject, get at least one image with , for example the hands, that shows the hands on roughly the same picture plane as the body. With that information you can make relative measurements about the size of the hands ( in this example) compared to the size of the head. Then you would just make an adjustment in that measurement when you paint the hands. This adjustment can be a good approximator but I think it's always best to be WAY back and zoom in.

The other thing you might play with if you have Photoshop skill, is to try using the spherize function. It's located under Filter - Distort- Spherize. I haven't personally used it , just know that it's there. I have Photoshop CS so I am not sure whether other versions offer Spherize.

Good luck, I just LOVE that first image!

[Kimberly Dow]

Allan, Marvin, Mike & Chris -

Thank you all - I truly appreciate the help!

So, it sounds as if my lens if good for portraits, but not whole body shots or ones with parts coming towards me. Going to order another lens asap!

This is really a lot of new things to learn with a new camera (and my small amount of patience) - but you all are making this much easier and faster than it would be otherwise. Seriously, I feel like I owe you all dinner.

Chris - when I have my imaginary discussions with you forum people I like to talk to your little photos - now you changed yours and it is too small !

[Sharon Knettell]

Kimberly,

In another life I did buckets of fashion illustrations. I had to learn to do easily readable figures that would withstand the ravages of newspaper reproduction. Chris suggested keeping a hand on the same plane as the figure for measurement, and until you get another lens, that would be a good rule for the rest of the body parts. Think almost in silhouette, or like an Egyptian. Often poses that look good in a photo do not translate well into painting. If you are doing seated figures for example it is always better to turn the knees away from the camera, unless you are at a very high angle, like Sargent's Mrs. Hammersly.

[Cindy Procious]

Arrgh! Thanks a lot, Sharon.

Now I'm going to have a stupid Bangles song playing incessantly in my poor overloaded brain all day while I paint!

Oh whey oh whey, oh whey oh oh..
Walk like an Egyptian.

[Sharon Knettell]

Aargh, thanks a lot Cindy, now I am going to have it in my brain all day too!

[Joan Breckwoldt]

Hi Kim,

I am searching the forum because I'm having the same problem you had back in 2004 when this thread was started. Problem with distortion. I have the Nikon D70S.

From looking at your recent beautiful work, you have obviously solved the problem of distortion, though maybe you are adjusting things by 'eye' with all your experience. I'm wondering, did you ever find a lens that solved your problem? Basically, I'm looking for the lens with the least amount of distortion. (Aren't we all?) I recently took some photos of a model, her shoulder was turned towards me, and just that small difference in her shoulder being closer to me than her head . . . well, it made her shoulder and that arm look much bigger than they really are.

Any info you can share will be much appreciated! Thank you,

Joan

[Kimberly Dow]

Joan,

I still here and there find I have to draw/paint something smaller than how it appears in the reference for exactly this reason - but less often than I used to.

I dont know about a particular lens, but the answer is basically to get farther away from the subject. I do have a Rebel now with a second lens that goes up to 200, but I seldom use it. When I do a shoot I take photos from where I think I want to, then I get closer and snap the same ones, and I also get much farther back and snap the same ones. The ones from farther back will not show the distortion and I can crop them on the computer.

I hope this helps!

[Cindy Procious]