As a visual artist I also became a photographer out of necessity. Whether I’m painting urban landscapes or people having a reference point is great. I used to use photos from Google for most of my work but at the end of the day it’s someone else’s property. It’s much better to take your own photos to have more creative control anyway. 

Taking photos for painting involves capturing a composition that is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. I take a lot of photos (especially when traveling.) and only a fraction of them become iPad Paintings. The reason being I paint on location for the most part. With more detailed pieces I tend to work from photos. Below are some of the iPhone photos I took that would later become paintings.