The trick to painting hair

When turning photo portraits into paintings in Corel Painter, photographers frequently wonder how to paint hair. The trick is to keep in mind three traditional art concepts:

1. Simplify. The difference between a photo and a painting is that a painting has less detail. The natural tendency when you first start painting is to paint every strand of hair you see. Instead, simplify. The way to simplify brings us to the second art concept.

2. Paint areas of light and dark. Instead of painting each strand of hair, identify the areas with the highlights, midtones and shadows, and paint those.

3. Use the colors in your color scheme. Another difference between a painting and a photo is that a painting has a chosen color scheme. Paint hair using the colors in your color scheme instead of the colors that are in the photo.
Painting ©2005 Karen Sperling

bobby pins, hair spray, hair elastics, combs, brush, safety pins, mirror, tiny screw drivers, pocket knife, eyeglass repair kit, 2 large clamps, 2 small clamps, duct tape, Band-Aids, insect repellent, pens/pencil, water spray bottle, sewing kit, dishing line, Velcro, lip balm, scissors, first aid kit, AA batteries, super glue, lint brush, aspirin or other pain reliever, black Sharpies, baby wipes, black/white shoe polish, rubber bands, string or twine, lens cleaning solution, cable release, skin lotion, grey card, sunscreen, calamine lotion, bungie cord, hand lotion, water bottle, flashlight, small tissues, allen wrenches, plastic zipper bags, nail clippers, nail file, gloves, hand sanitizer, bubbles, squeaky toy, pliers, lens cleaning cloth, canned air, glue gun, cotton swabs, nail polish remover, shower cap, dog treats

Visit the New Ideas section of the Forums at OurPPA.com and tell us about your most session-saving Emergency Kit items.

By Joan T. Sherwood

When I first saw the Smoy PhotoCuffs, I thought, oh, moms and seniors would love these.

The PhotoCuff is a soft vinyl (leather looking) wide bracelet with laser-cut windows for photos. The windows are protected by clear acetate, and you just slip your photos between the two layers of vinyl. The window pocket is open on both edges, so it's easy to position and change photos; simple friction holds the photos in place.

By Stan Sholik

In the September issue of Professional Photographer, Stan Sholik took a look at portable flash power systems available from Balcar, Broncolor, Calumet, Elinchrom, Hensel and Profoto. Here he looks at alternative, economical options for photographers.

Technological advances have given photographers an increasingly wide selection of portable battery-powered high-output flash units. Those same advances have given us another option for location assignments--power systems designed to allow the use of AC-powered studio flash systems on location. Photographers have done this for years by bringing generators on location. But now there are battery-based power systems that are small, affordable, and produce the pure sine wave output that modern power packs need. Two of the most popular are the new Dyna-Lite XP 1100 and the Paul C. Buff Vagabond Portable Power System.

The Dynalite XP1100 (right) delivers 1100 watts
of AC power in a compact package.

In this full-color, easy-to-use book, award-winning designer and best-selling author Colin Smith teaches the fundamentals as well as the more advanced features of Photoshop. Smith shows how to use traditional drawing and painting tools ranging from pencils to airbrushes, how to add and manipulate text, retouch photos, create special effects, and more. A bonus "Behind the Scenes" gallery demonstrates the Photoshop techniques used by professional artists. Read more of Smith's Photoshop tips at www.photoshopCAFE.com.

"How to Do Everything with Photoshop CS2" by Colin Smith, publisher McGraw-Hill Osborne, ISBN: 0-07-226160-9, $29.99 USA

Read Chapter 9: Save time with automation.