Are you a slave to your reference photo?

I was emailing with an accomplished pastel artist the other day who remarked that he has trouble distancing himself from what he sees in his reference photo.  I suggested changing the reference photo with Photoshop Elements to reflect the vision of the scene he sees in his mind. My example here is a photo my husband took for me while walking the dog.

Left, original. Middle, composition adjustment, Right, color adjustment. 

Playing with the clone tool.

Dog Walk, pastel, 7 x 5 inches

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