Aisha

I find drawing from a photo reference gets me in a very meditative state. However, when it comes to drawing from life, it gets you in this fast mode action & fun you get to use all your senses it really develops the muscle memory & makes you faster. I never tried drawing a moving bird I find it quiet difficult cause they are very active, birds would fly in a second, which makes it hard to capture. On the other hand I'm familiar with figure drawing, you get the chance to capture a human movement, cause humans tend to take their time waiting for their coffee or texting on their phones it would be easier to capture the gesture than a flying bird or other creatures. When it comes to color it is more accurate from life for sure, than a photograph, but the lights & shadows will keep on changing, which I think why photos would be easier if you want to make an accurate painting with shadows & lights. Drawing from life would be great for developing your gesture drawing skills, building your observation muscles & remembrance maybe. I think painting or drawing for nature journaling would be easier on still objects but the challenge would be the accuracy of the lights & shadows & the feeling, which will change depending on the time of the day, weather, how fast the object moves & how long you take on the painting. when it comes to anatomy you can always go back & study from a reference photo and redraw what you've already drawn on your nature journal.