Good Places To Look For Reference

[anti-]

I'm trying to get back into the habit of doing "life drawing". Well, drawing from photo reference, that is. Problem is, I'm having a hard time finding good reference. Recently I've been browsing through the deviantART stock and photography galleries but really, it's hard to find anything worth while for all the crap there. There are some gems in there, though.

Where do you get your reference? I've been trying to focus on people drawings. Be it full body or portraits. But I've been keeping a good eye for interesting landscape shots or scenery, too. Is there some awesome place all the cool kids are using for their reference source I don't know about or what?

[Qitsune]

Have you tried the reference subforum here?

[Magic Man]

...I really am starting to wish people would at least spend a bit of time here before they posted these topics.

[anti-]

Have you tried the reference subforum here?
No. Thank you, I will now. I didn't notice there was a whole reference subforum here. I never really looked at the photography section here before, since photography really doesn't interest me all that much.

Honestly, though, now that I have spent a few minutes there, I'm finding it to be not as cool as I expected. With half the links and images there broken and not very fun to navigate.

...I really am starting to wish people would at least spend a bit of time here before they posted these topics.
You do realize you don't have to click and read every single thread here, right?


Still, if anyone has another good source of reference, I'd appreciate it if they shared it. Or if you're offended or annoyed by this topic as Magic Man here seems to be then I'm sorry and you can feel free to let it die.

[Chromium]

Women magazines tend to have a lot of people in them. Vogue is always a huge volume that has larger, zoomed in shots of faces and a few full body shots (though some of the images are a bit too out in left field). Coed has some issues that are filled with photos of younger, college aged kids.
I just recently cut up all my magazines that I've had lying around for the past few years and made a pseudo-scrapbook.

There is a problem with using magazines, and that is that most of the pictures have very soft lighting or are too dark to see any real form. Oh, and if your a guy, you get some weird looks setting down fashion and house magazines. Atleast Guns & Ammo is redeeming.

[_Mario]

You do realize you don't have to click and read every single thread here, right?
You don´t have to read each thread but at least try to read the names of the forums/sub forums. :rolleyes:

And for reference: try the subforum (as mentioned) and try some of the bigger stock photo companies (Corbis,...) some allow free browsing and just want money for the big, high quality pictures.
Or try taking pictures on your own (or just sit in a cafe and sketch there)