Quick Tip – Guest Post: From The Mind Of Helen Yancy
Helen Yancy and I have been friends for so many years. She’s one of the most recognized photographers in the industry, having been recognized not only for her work as an artist, but her support of professional photography. She’s a past PPA president and one of the original founders of PPA Charities, just to name two of her many accomplishments. When I was on the PPA Board as Industry Advisor, I got to work with her directly for several years and that’s where the friendship started.
At WPPI four years ago she presented me with this water color print of me and my grandson, Zachary. It’s one of my most favorite prints and is hanging in my office as I write this blog. Meet Helen Yancy, fine art photographer, industry activist and a great instructor!
The first step in creating the painting was to make her hand smaller. Once that was done, her face and eyes were enhanced in Photoshop. Then the image was opened in Corel Painter 11 where rich strokes of oil variants were used to paint the garment and the hair. The red folds were added to create the fabric in the background to add interest and depth. I decided to paint the face and hands last on a layer above and then collapsed the layers for the final step before printing the painting as a Giclee canvas.
It would be an understatement to just say the crew at Corel has changed my life. My clients are simply blown away by the look and feel of the finished portrait. I’m able to make my work look different from other portrait photographers and that’s what my clients are paying for – a unique presentation. One great tip in selling fine art portraits like this: you need big framed prints in your studio. It’s not enough to describe the effect or even to show it on a smaller scale – you need to have examples of the finished work right there and framed exactly as it might look in their home!
Interested in learning more on applying Helen’s techniques to your own work? Visit Helen’s website - she’s got some great workshops coming up and her tutorials are on DVD. This isn’t a technique for every client, but nothing you do should be for every client, except great quality and service. If you can learn to read each client and determine the infinite combination of tastes and styles you’ll be able to match their needs with different aspects of your skill set.
