[Marina Dieul]

Thank you Marvin for pointing that photography is just a tool.

Personnaly, I like good paintings whether it's done from photo, life or imagination, and a bad work from life will always be inferior for me to a good work from photo...

The big problem with the use of photography comes from the lack of competence : people don't realise that if they want to use this tool, they have to master it : it means to have a PROFESSIONAL level in photography, not only in painting. It means spending hours and hours of practice... It' a huge amount of time and efforts to be able to reach a professional level in both jobs : painter and photographer. There is no shortcuts.

If you don't want to spend hours working on your photographic skills, it would then be better to work only from life.( and there's nothing wrong with this choice)