Pet Portraits: Photo Guide

Rule of thumb: the better the photo is that you provide, the better your portrait will be!

A good quality reference photo is key to getting the most out of your pet portrait commission, but it isn't always easy to tell what makes a good photo for a portrait. I have put together this guide to help you to see both good and bad examples.

Natural Light

This doesn't mean the photo can only be taken outside. It can be a photo indoors next to a window! The difference between most artificial lighting photos and natural light, is natural light more accurately picks out your pets unique fur colors, as well as showing me their build. Artificial lighting + camera phone = blurry results, where heads disappear into necks which disappear into bodies!

Front Lighting

This means that the light is on the front of the pet's face, not behind it. If the light is behind the pet's face, that is backlit, and it makes features harder to decipher.

Eye Level

Or just above! Try to make sure you are as close as possible to your pet, to get those great up-close fur and eye details!

For my smaller commission sizes (6x6 inches - I'm looking at you!), I just need a head and shoulders image. Anything beyond that is usually surplus that I will crop out because you lose the character in the eyes the more of the body that I try to fit in a small space.

Trim those bangs

The eyes are the soul of a portrait. Make sure the eyes are visible, and if the color isn't clear in your best photo, send me an extra photo showing the color as best you can. A lot of dogs photograph with almost black eyes, but I want to see the beautiful oranges, chocolates and reds that make them so unique!

Say Cheese!

Okay, this one is tough. We all know pets HATE looking into the camera. But, annoyingly, the best shots are where they are looking straight at you, or just past you!

I recommend using their favorite treat to get their eyes where you want them, and then press and hold the button on your phone to take a "burst" of images. You'll end up with 30 or so. Feel free to send them all to me and I can figure out the best one - it's all part of the service! 

Hold Still

Another corker. Dogs in particular hate sitting still for a photo. If your dog (like my dog Puddle) is a total wriggle bottom, fear not. Just rinse and repeat the "Say Cheese!" instructions as best you can and send me the photos to sort through. We WILL get one where they don't look like they have their head out of a car window at 60mph, I promise.