Estes, Peterson, Flack, and Close often worked from photographic stills to create paintings that appeared to be photographs. Chuck Close and Denis Peterson are praised for their skill and ability to transform their vision into an astounding piece of art. Both painters utilized advanced airbrushing techniques to achieve a smooth and precise photographic surface quality.

While Close's monumental paintings forced an uncomfortable intimacy upon the viewer, Peterson's work conveys a sense of inwardness and refective self-consciousness. It differs from the idealizing, more deadpan aspect of figures in Photorealism which appear either fetishistic or as mere individuals in the urban scene.