A sleeping pet, a street corner from a holiday, or a pair of boots beside the door can all make useful drawing subjects. You may already have photographs of them. The next step is choosing a picture that gives you something clear and interesting to draw.
Your phone can do the job. If you already use a dedicated camera, TufiTech’s DSLR and mirrorless comparison explains how those two camera types work. For this project, start with whichever camera you find comfortable.
Here’s how to take a photo from your camera roll, or shoot a new one, and prepare it for a drawing.
Decide What You Want to Study
Give the reference a specific job before you begin. Are you interested in the folds of a jacket, the shape of a houseplant, or the way light falls across a face? That choice helps you decide which photograph to use and which details deserve attention.
If you’re unsure of a subject, browse Things to Draw for an idea, then look for your own version at home or nearby. A cup, a bicycle, or a patch of mushrooms can give you plenty to work with.
Look closely at the part you want to study in an existing photo. A favourite holiday snapshot may have wonderful atmosphere while leaving the building you like too small to draw in detail. You could use it for a loose composition or a colour idea, then choose another reference for the windows and stonework. Different photographs can answer different questions. Keep a short note beside each one explaining what you want to borrow from it.
For your first attempt, choose one main subject with edges you can see clearly. You can tackle the crowded market scene once you feel like taking on more decisions.
Look for Light That Shows the Form
For a new photo, place a small object near a window and look at it from different positions. Notice where the light ends and the shadow begins. Rotate the object until its shape is easy to understand.
A mug photographed with light coming from one side may give you a clear bright area, a darker side, and a shadow on the table. Those changes are useful when you want to practise shading.
Adobe’s guide to taking photos with your phone covers lighting, focus, and exposure. For a drawing reference, pay particular attention to whether the photo retains the details you want to study.
If a bright patch has lost all its detail, try changing your position or adjusting the exposure before taking another shot.
Take a Whole View and a Detail View
Photograph the complete subject first, with a little space around it. Then take a closer view of the part that interests you. A third angle can help if you’re unsure how something fits together.
For a shoe, you might want the overall profile, the laces, and a view showing the heel. For a plant, capture the whole arrangement and one leaf where its structure is easy to see.
Keep the wider photo even if you expect to draw a close-up. It gives you context when a small detail becomes confusing. Check that the important area is in focus before putting the subject away.
Choose the Crop Before You Start Drawing
Open your chosen photo and try a few crops. A wide street scene might become a study of one doorway. A portrait could concentrate on the head and shoulders. A close crop of a flower might give you a page full of overlapping shapes.
Look at the space around the subject as well as the subject itself. Does the picture feel cramped? Is something distracting sitting near the edge? Would a taller or wider format suit it better?
Getty’s Framing the Landscape activity explores how horizontal and vertical compositions change a drawing. Try both orientations before settling on your page layout.
Save the crop as a separate copy so you can still return to the full photograph. Make the drawing area the same proportions as your chosen crop.
Make a Working Copy That’s Easy to Read
Keep the original and make an edited version for drawing. Straighten it if necessary, crop away distractions, and make modest brightness adjustments where they help you see the subject.
A black-and-white copy can be useful for pencil work. Compare the light, middle, and dark areas without worrying about matching colours. Keep the colour version nearby, too, especially if you plan to use coloured pencils or paint.
TufiTech’s earlier iPhone app roundup includes photo-editing tools such as Snapseed. Your existing editor may already have everything you need for these simple adjustments.
Check your edited copy against the original. Heavy changes to contrast can hide gentle transitions that you might want to draw.
Map the Big Shapes First
Before working on texture, mark the top, bottom, and sides of the subject on your paper. Keep these marks light while you decide how much of the page the drawing should occupy.
Compare a few large relationships. How wide is the cup compared with its height? Where does the handle meet the body? How much space sits between two leaves?
If proportions keep wandering, place a simple grid over a copy of the photo and draw a matching grid lightly on your paper. Use it to locate important edges, then continue comparing the shapes within those spaces.
Step back occasionally. A misplaced large shape is easier to change before you’ve spent half an hour drawing its texture.
Choose Which Details Belong in the Drawing
A photograph records plenty of things you may have no interest in drawing: a loose cable, a distracting label, or the corner of a chair behind your subject. Decide which details help the picture you want to make.
You could keep the plant and simplify the pot, leave the background mostly empty, or suggest a patterned shirt with a few marks. Choose one area where you’ll spend more time, then give the surrounding parts enough attention to support it.
If you’re aiming for a close study, keep checking the reference. If you’re using it as a starting point for something imagined, make a few small sketches to try your changes before committing to a larger drawing.
Keep a Small Reference Collection You’ll Use
Create a folder or album for drawing references and put a few selected pictures in it. Organise them in whatever way makes sense to you: plants, buildings, hands, fabric, or subjects you want to try next.
Keep useful alternate views together. Add a short note if there’s something particular you want to remember, such as the shadow under a roof or the folds in a sleeve.
After drawing from a photo, look at it again. Was the lighting clear? Did you wish you’d captured another angle? Those observations can help you take a more useful reference next time.
For a first exercise, choose one object, take a whole view and a detail view, and make a small sketch from your favourite crop. You’ll soon notice which information helps and what you’d photograph differently.
Keep the photo with the finished sketch. Together, they give you a record of the choices you made between seeing the subject and putting it on paper.
