Taking a photograph suitable for a pet portrait
You may already have a favourite photo of your pet that you wish to turn into a piece of art, and that is fine. Just send me that one…
Sadly, your pet may no longer be with us and you’re looking for a lasting reminder of them, but don’t have any really suitable photos.. If this is the case I will do the best that I can with the photos that you have. I have photo software that does allow me to sharpen up or lighten up images to a certain extent so I may be able to make some improvements on photos that aren’t quite right.
If however, you’re starting from scratch, then the following guidelines should give you a good idea of how to get the best photo’s of your pet to work with.
Focus
Make sure your pet’s eyes and nose are in focus. It doesn’t matter as much if the edges of your photo are slightly out of focus, as can happen in portrait mode on your camera, as this can give a soft look to your portrait. The eyes and nose are what bring out the personality in your pet, so it is really important that I can see all the detail clearly. If you can get a little bit of light shining in their eyes (a catchlight) then even better!
Eyes and nose in focus are a must, but the sections below are just guidelines. I realise that not everyone is a professional photographer and animals are not the easiest subjects to photograph!!! so just do your best, take as many as you can and then pick a few that you really like so we can narrow it down to the best one.
Size
Try to get as close to your pet as you can, while keeping them in focus.This will create the best detail for me to work with.
Photos of pets taken from far away or as very tiny photographs don’t usually have enough detail to work from.
Most modern phones have good cameras that will give enough detail if photographing your pet from a fairly close distance.
When emailing your images to me, you will need to send them in the highest resolution available.
Lighting
Lighting can make or break a photograph. If you have a strong light source like bright sunlight , make sure it is somewhere behind you, but lighting up your pet (so check your shadow is not falling over your pet).
Don’t take pictures with the light directly behind your pet as this will just put their whole front in shadow or even turn them into a silhouette.
Light coming from the side can also work e.g coming in from a side window but is best in a bright room without direct sunlight as this can be too harsh.
The best light to photograph your pet is either outside on a bright but overcast day or with low soft sun in early morning of late afternoon to avoid the harsh shadows of direct sunlight
or
Indoors in a room with lots of natural light coming through the windows
Artificial light can sometimes cause weird colours or a strobing effect so try to avoid it if you can.
Perspective
Try to get down to the same level of your pet and hold your camera/phone upright.
Photos taken at the wrong angle can make your pet look completely out of proportion such as having a huge head and a tiny body or distorting your pet’s face so it doesn’t look like them.
Finally
This is your pet portrait, so if you have a wacky photo taken at a wacky angle and you just love it, then as long as I can see the detail and the eyes are in focus, then that’s all good.
Only you know whether the photo you have, truly represents your pet and that is the most important thing.
