This is why I encourage my students to work from life as much as possible, even if it might seem a l

This is why I encourage my students to work from life as much as possible, even if it might seem a little inconvenient at the time. If you look at the following two reference photos I took (one exposed for the light and the other for the shadow), you’ll be able to see that the pictures in no way captured the lighting and color I saw that day, which are accurately represented in my study. 

Of course you can have better photo reference but it’ll never compare to the observations your eye can make, which is well worth the effort. Even if it means having to walk back and forth from your desk to the stairs to constantly make observations and corrections :)