by Jim Boettger

For artists looking to achieve realism in their work, having photo references is crucial. The eye wants to see light and shadow handled properly. This was an especially difficult challenge when trying to capture photo reference for a welder painting. The shots would need to be taken while the welder creates flashes of blinding light. I asked a friend and photographer Andrea Bodah to help me take the shots I wanted. First step was to set up for the shoot. A black cloth was used as a backdrop to make the photo editing easier. Andrea set her camera up on a tripod. To take the photos Andrea says she needed to do a few things differently from the norm. She used a slow shutter speed to exaggerate the trail made by spatter. She also had to turn the ISO setting up because there is not a lot of light in the studio. After a few shots we were taking photos that I could use in my next painting.

Photo by Andrea Bodah. Her work can be seen on Instagram: Earthsprite