A portrait can only be as true as the photo it starts from. The good news is that it does not need a professional camera: most of the portraits on our customers' walls began as an ordinary phone photo. What matters is a handful of things you can check in a few seconds.
1. Start with the eyes
People recognise a face by its eyes first, and so do we. Choose a photo where both eyes are sharp, open and looking towards the camera or just past it. A small bright reflection in each eye, the catchlight, brings a portrait to life. If the eyes are soft or half closed, keep looking, even if everything else about the photo is perfect.
2. Look for soft, even light
The best light for a portrait is daylight from a window or an overcast sky. It shows the true colour of the coat and keeps the markings readable.
- Avoid the flash. It flattens the fur and turns the eyes green, blue or red.
- Avoid harsh midday sun. It throws hard shadows across the face and makes them squint.
- Avoid strong coloured light, like a sunset or a lamp, if you want their real colours in the portrait.
3. Get down to their level
Photos taken from standing height look down on a pet, which makes the head look large and the body small. Crouch so the phone is at the height of their eyes. It is the single change that makes the biggest difference, and it is how portrait painters have always seen their sitters.
4. Fill the frame, but keep the ears
Choose a photo where your companion fills most of the picture, with a little space around them. Make sure the ears, the chest and, for full-body styles, the paws are inside the photo: what the camera cut off cannot be brought back. Each style tells you on its page whether it shows the head and shoulders or the whole animal.
5. Keep it sharp
Movement is the most common reason a good photo cannot be used. In good light the phone takes a faster picture, so step towards the window first. Tap the screen on their eyes to focus there, hold the phone still, and take several photos in a row. Use the normal camera mode rather than portrait mode, which can blur the edges of the fur and the tips of the ears.
6. Send the original, not a copy
Messaging apps and social media shrink photos to save space. Whenever you can, upload the original file from your phone rather than a screenshot or a photo that has been forwarded. A photo that is sharp on your screen can still be too small for a large canvas. When you upload, we tell you straight away if a photo is on the small side for the size you have chosen.
7. Two or more companions
They do not need to be in the same photo. Upload one clear photo of each and they are brought together in one portrait, each in their best light. It is often easier, and the result is better, than waiting for two dogs to sit still at the same time.
Taking a new photo in five minutes
- Choose a quiet moment, after a walk or a meal, when they are relaxed.
- Find a spot near a window, with a plain wall or floor behind them if you can.
- Ask someone to hold a treat or a favourite toy just above the phone, so they look towards it.
- Crouch to their eye level, tap on their eyes and take twenty photos. Keep the best one.
When the only photo is an old one
For a companion who has passed, the photo you have is the photo you have, and that is fine. A printed photo can be photographed flat in daylight, without glare, or scanned. Older and softer photos work well for the small and medium sizes. You see the finished portrait before you pay, so nothing is wasted if a photo does not work as well as you hoped, and you can try another one at no cost.