pet portraits - a unique reminder of a friend

I do the bulk of my pet portraits from photos, and the quality of the photo is fundamental to the quality of the pet portrait that I can produce, here are some tips for getting the best results:

General

Photos taken in daylight give a purer representation of coat colour, eye colour and reduce any misleading shadows. This is particularly true of black animals.

The sharper the photo and the plainer the background the better.

Don’t get in too close because you can get a ‘fish eye lens’ effect.

Try to take the photo from near the animal’s level so he is looking straight at you rather than up at you

Think about your animal’s current appearance. If he is a stately old gentleman and you provide a photo from when he was a year old, there will be a big difference. How do you want to remember your friend?

Dogs

For shorter muzzled dogs, profiles generally don't work so well, try to provide a full or three quarter face view *.

For longer muzzled dogs, profiles, full or three quarter face can all work equally well.

Cats

Profiles don't work so well for cats; try to provide full or three-quarter face.*

Horses

Because of the long, narrow skull, full face doesn't always work so well; try to provide profile or three-quarter face* view.

Other animals

As a general rule, for shorter-muzzled animals, profiles don't work too well.

* A three quarter face view is shown in the horse picture at the top of this page.  The animal is turning from the side very slightly to face you.

a special note on dogs …

I would generally prefer to draw dogs with their mouth closed or only slightly open.

Dogs have beautiful, expressive eyes and they should be the focal point of any pet portrait.A wide open mouth creates a great big, shiny, pink patch in the middle of the picture which can take the emphasis away from the eyes. Wide opening of the mouth can also change the structure of the face, wrinkling the skin and causing the eyes to squint.

Ultimately, however, your personal preference will drive the pet portrait, and there are cases such as in portraits of gun dogs or greyhounds for instance where the owner may specifically request the mouth to be open to reflect the dog at work. This is, of course, absolutely fine!

Below are a couple of examples of photos which I have worked from which are excellent source material for pet portraits (the portraits arising from these photos can be seen in my gallery).

Ultimately, I will make every effort to provide you with a high quality pet portrait from the photos provided.   If I feel I am simply unable to work from the photos you provide, I will let you know, and where possible, I may be able to arrange to come to you take some of my own photos.

People

The simple rule with photos for human portraits is that they must be as clear as possible with true lighting which does not distort the colour of the eyes and hair. A professional portrait such as a school photo is usually sufficient.