Photo-realism

One thing I've been wondering about lately is why I do i draw what i see? I use reference images for the my illustrations i tend to reproduce what i see... with montage pretty much being the only process I use to change what is actually there. While it works for me right now, I think I'm holding back a little and perhaps being a little "safe" as i am still getting the grips for the software, and a whole load of other excuses but the point is I should really push this forward.

One thing I have stated is that i never really wanted make my illustrations too literal and that is partly my own fault. I do a lot of work in monochrome or at least with very minimal colours, with huge areas of black to cover detail I don't want to show (and also being a general aesthetic quality I like) , and I've been thinking that I could really use this as an advantage. With so much black space and area, I could quite easily manipulate one illustration blending into another. Why should I illustration a whole person when I could quite easily draw the top half of that person to get the same message across? I've mentioned I like pattern and shape and they are all elements I could incorporate into my illustrations to make them that much more interesting and unique but still within reason and of course being appropriate.