In my classes I always tell my students to not attempt to create a 1 to 1 replica of what it is that they are looking at in a photo. We have computers and copy machines for that and doing so is not art. What we should be more interested in as far as artistic ability is actually our own flaws in technique and how these little mistakes are actually what make our work unique. Everyone is going to function a bit differently with their brush strokes and how they see an image and when we just let ourselves go and stop trying to do everything exactly as it appears in a photo, that is where we start to truly shine.
This photo of a dock or fishing area is something that I think is a good case and point. The original photograph which was chosen at random looks almost nothing like the eventual artwork and at least from my point of view, it looks a lot better in the watercolor. Notice how the birds are very childlike and lack any sort of realism. That was done intentionally and if you look at the original picture, there isn't much going on in the way of wildlife anyway.
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I was happy that the optional stuff was put in there by the student and that they deviated from what is actually contained in the picture. It's much more fun and original when someone lets loose with their own idea about what a scene would look like rather than just copying what they see one to one.
As always I encouraged the students to first draw and outline with a pencil while marking lightly, then we go through and paint a bit while erasing the pencil along the way. The finishing touches are put on the picture by using a felt-tip pen and while it probably would seem more artsy and authentic if this was done with paint, the idea here isn't to create something for the local museum, but rather to get the creative juices flowing in the mind of the potential artist.
The kids seem to enjoy this process and that is kind of the entire point. We want them to enjoy this and it isn't supposed to be work. While I am sure that a lot of the parents are using us as free babysitting the kids are pretty well-behaved and most of them seem genuinely happy to be here.
I would say to any aspiring artist out there that one of the main things that you should focus on at the beginning is becoming unique and embracing how your hands recreate images on paper or canvas. You will find your own unique style by using this approach, and it will be what you perceive as your own weaknesses that actually become your strengths later as you progress.
