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Carol,
Most of my clients are too busy to sit for me, so like many other portrait painters I have had to develop a way of working from photos. Obviously my clients know I use photographic references, so it does not bother them in the least if I show them what I call a photo montage to give them an idea of the composition. Some clients even like to play with the pieces, or move them around, because it brings them into the creative process a little bit. Of course I explain that the finished product will not look exactly like the photos, but no one has been troubled by this so far. I guess they have faith in my process and my ability to produce work of a certain quality.
I wish I could show you the photo-pastiche I did for the Hon. Norma Shapiro, but the Eastern District Historica Society made me sign an agreement not to show any of the reference photos! I will post another example when I dig one up.
On the other hand, I do paint color studies for my own reference, when clients are willing to give me approximately an hour of their time. During the hour I don't tell them to stay still. I watch them while they talk, and get a feeling for their expressions and gestures. The results don't look much like them, but these studies are invaluable for me because the true color gets imprinted in my memory, so I have both a mental and a physical record of the color. Here's an example of a color study and photo reference of an artist friend. I also sketch people and make a lot of notes. Most people like to see the studies and sketches.
I guess my point is that clients, no matter how rich and famous, like to be brought into the creative process. They like to feel they have a hand in the result, so any way you can accomplish this will be beneficial. People expect artists to be a little eccentric, or at least different, so you don't need to show anything polished if that just isn't your style.
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