At least half of my painting effort goes into shooting good reference photos. I “create” my composition in the viewfinder and shoot with as wide dynamic range as possible. Lately I have been using a drone to get shots that would have been impossible before.
In order to get the widest dynamic range, I shoot bracketed photos at different f-stops then process them on my computer with Photomatix.
I shoot thousands of photos, often visiting the same places at different times of day to find the best light. Even though I fill up my hard drives with photos, very few make it past my stringent select process. Hope you enjoy!
My gear for the last 5 years: REDOne, Red Epic, Red Dragon, Red Helium S35, Canon 5DM2, Canon EOS R, DJI Phantom 4 Pro.