Being a techie, I have always used a digital device for my photo references when painting. I can manipulate the image, zoom in, and quickly snap photos of my work-in-progress for comparison.
Here’s what I do before starting any painting.
Creating a reference folder on iPad/iPhone
STEP 1:
From your main iPad or iPhone screen, click on the Photos Icon to open Photos.
STEP 2:
At the top left of your screen, click on the “+” sign.
Then select New Album.
STEP 3:
Type in the name of your new album (whatever you want) and then select Save.
STEP 4:
Scroll and find your reference photo.
Select it, then click Done.
STEP 5:
That’s it! You’re done. There is the new folder with your image inside.
Next, let’s crop it.
Cropping your reference
STEP 1:
Inside your new folder, you will see your image.
Click on it to open it.
STEP 2:
Select Edit at the top right of the screen.
STEP 3:
See the 3 icons at the left of the screen? Click the bottom one that looks like this:
Drag the four corners of the box until you are happy with its placement.
Then select Done at the top right of the screen.
STEP 1:
Back in your folder, select your (newly cropped) image.
See that icon in the top right? Click on it.
STEP 2:
Select Duplicate.
STEP 3:
Now you have two!
Click on the second one to open it.
STEP 4:
Let’s make that one a B&W image.
First, click on the top left symbol that looks like a dial.
STEP 5:
Scroll it down to -100. You will see your image change as it removes all color information.
STEP 6:
