Saturday delivery

[Patricia Joyce]

This commission is being delivered Saturday morning. It was a toughie. After the suggestions made by Mischa and Steven I did take off the hair with a kneaded erasure and started over! Thank you for your help, it was enlightening. Frankly, I am relieved she is done and am pretty happy with it considering the photo ref I had to go on.

Next up, a scheduled appointment with a gentleman and his daughter for a photo shoot of his little girl.This commission is a result of one of the two auctions I participated in. I am looking forward to working off of my own photographs again, but a bit nervous as this will be the first time a "stranger" will come to my studio for a photo shoot.

Thank you for looking

Patty

[David Draime]

Patricia, I this you did a fantastic job with this one. It has such a light, delicate and sensitive feel about it. Very graceful. Congratulations!

David

[Patricia Joyce]

Thank you , David. It is encouraging to hear that you find it light and delicate. The pic I used was of her on the railing of a boat with people all around her, a very crowded snapshot!

[Terri Ficenec]

Oh Pat, this turned out beautifully. I love the little hand -- so soft, very well done!

Good luck with your photo session. (It helps to pre-set as many of your camera settings to where you'll want them ahead of time ) Good Luck!

[Patricia Joyce]

Thank you, Terri. Yes, I am going to use my daughter-in-law and new granddaughter this weekend, take bunches of pictures to decide a couple of good setups. I think the greatest challenge will be engaging the five year old, hoping that she responds to my grandmotherliness (is that a word??!) I don't have the greatest camera, but I am going to borrow my sister's and use both of them so that I can take a couple hundred shots!!! I've reread every thread on the forum about photo references which is such a great aid.

[Sharon Knettell]

Nicely done.

When the client is there try to breathe slowly. Also move and talk more slowly than you normally would. Rushing around and talking fast gives away a lack of confidence.

[Patricia Joyce]

Thank you, Sharon. I will do just that, I would not have thought about it. Interestingly, I have held that Cleveland, Ohio is a poor city for portraiture. When I spoke to the gentleman yesterday he said his wife can't understand why he would even want a portrait done! He had no idea what the procedure is (even though I attached a description of the process of creating a portrait) and actually sounded nervous talking to me. This actually boosts my confidence a bit. He may have an image of me wearing a beret and white smock with really puffy sleeves!!

And as far as his wife is concerned, I reassured him that she would understand his desire for a portrait of their precious daughter when she sees the finished product. And I told him, "this will be fun"! I sure hope so...

[Sharon Knettell]

Do wear the beret and smock and add a Daliesque moustache. That'll convince him.

[Terri Ficenec]

I bet you look cute in a beret Pat

A little trick that I sometimes use with the kids is to play 'mirror' with them-- asking them to move/hold their head the same way that I move mine, like a mirror, then tilt angle my head different ways and make different expressions. . . it can help if they're stiff (they're thinking about what you're doing rather than getting their picture taken). . . and for a little while, anyway, they seem to think that's fun. . . it helps to get some variety in angles/poses, too. Another trick is to get them settled, tell them to relax that you're just adjusting some camera settings, and talk to them while you 'pretend' to futz with the camera (really you're taking pictures) -- sometimes you can get some really nice relaxed shots this way. . . anyhow, just some things to keep in your back pocket. . . It sounds like you're gonna be ready for them.

[Alexandra Tyng]

Pat, this looks great. You are going to turn Cleveland around and bring it into the forefront of the portrait world singlehandedly!