Taking a good photo of your pet is the most important aspect of the pre–drawing process. The better the photo you give me, the better your portrait will be! My aim is always to provide you with the best product I can, and hopefully a portrait you may treasure for years to come, to do this I need to know your pets face as well as you do!
Quality
The most important aspect of a photo is its quality. I need to be able to pic out of the details of your pets face. In a perfect photo I would be able to see each individual hair and the texture of your pets nose in the cases of dogs and cats. Please assure the photo is in focus and where possible use the best camera available to you! Once you have a good photo, I will often request you email it to me rather than send it over social-media as email will preserve the full quality of the photo.
Lighting
Good lighting is essential for capturing detail and your pets coat colours fully. Outside is best! A bright day in your garden is perfect, but some cloud cover is good to reduce shadows and to keep your pets expression neutral.
Multiple Dogs
It’s a common misconception that if you wish for a portrait with multiple pets you must find a photo of them together. This is not the case, in fact its often better if you send me photos of each pet individually and leave it to me to put them together on the portrait.
Pose
Take the photo on the same level as your pet. Photos looking down at your pet from human height distort the proportion of the face! This is the most common problem I encounter with photos I receive. To avoid this get down to your dogs level and hold the camera at their head height. It is often best to have your pet sitting or laying down and in the case of dogs use a treat or lure to get their attention.
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Exceptions
For pets that have sadly passed away or for a surprise gift for a family member or friend, it is obviously not possible to take more images of the pet. Please contact me in these cases and send me all the photos you have, I am more than happy to work with you in these circumstances and come to a solution together.
Please remember my advice is always free of charge! Their is no obligation to go forward with a commission during the discussion period and we only go forward once you are happy with the plan we have put in place!