More model photographs, more looking
This is the same marked-up photograph from the newsletter Learning to look, but I've added a few more lines to help break down what's important in getting good placement on the canvas. (For the model photo without marks, see the original newsletter.) Feel free to use the photo for your own personal study.
Knowing where the horizontal and vertical centers are can be helpful for checking measurements and spaces. What we want to do is to be able to see how the overall shapes - head, chest, sleeves, arms, and hands (emphasis on the word SHAPES) - fit within the canvas space. Since the composition in the photograph seems to work well, one could keep the same general placement on the canvas even if you wanted to add more canvas space above the head or extra width. I added the horizontal arrows to call attention to the variation in spacing on either side of the figure. Seeing negative space is an excellent drawing tool. (When working from life, a viewfinder is helpful.)
The rectangular red lines around the head show how to visualize the shape of the head/hair. You can see how some marks (dependent on light and shadow or darker value) can help place the oval of the face within the overall shape. Make as few marks as necessary, including marks for location of eyes, nose, and mouth. Pay attention to the SPACES and any recognizable SHAPES - e.g. the shape of the forehead, the triangle shape of light on the left side of the face, eyebrow to eye space, etc.. Learning to see spaces and shapes instead of "things" is an easier way to draw.
In order to show what happens when emphasis is placed on different types of information, such as line versus value pattern, I used a phone app called Photo Sketch. The following images are examples of how some information can be visually misleading.
The image on the left doesn't have the same "look" as the original photo. There are too many lines and not enough of a value pattern to reflect what we see in the photo. Also, the lines are too evenly weighted, and everything has equal importance. The image on the right has better variation in line width. But now we end up with a dress top and hand that seems more important than anything else, including the head.
This third image is close to reflecting what we are seeing in the original photo. Yes, there is an addition of warmer-cooler color (it was the app's choice, not mine), but there is, more importantly, a more evenly distributed use of line and a better value pattern which unifies the "whole". But there is also too much unnecessary information and not enough simplification.
Now would be a good time to remind ourselves of that great quote by Art Markman that I used in Event boundaries, beginnings, and creativity.
"If you want to change the way you approach a creative problem, then you need to change what you are thinking about. You need to describe the situation in a new way. A key strategy for changing what you think about is to find the essence of the creative problem you're trying to solve. Remember that your creative output depends critically on where you start."
This last app-modified photo has more nuanced line, a good value pattern, and is a better example of what we are seeing in the original photograph. There is a better use of lost-and-found edges, and one shape is allowed to turn into another. We can see how the art language of line, shape, and value works together to create an interesting whole and is a better representation of visual information. It has maximum possibility for further interpretation.
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If you're like me and prefer to print reference material and articles, you might like an app I use on Google Chrome called Print Friendly. It's also available for Safari. This allows me a range of options when printing web pages. I can eliminate or resize photos, eliminate blocks of type, and it automatically removes ads and unnecessary material.