"The Better the Photo, the Better your Portrait will be"

I find myself saying the same thing to most of my clients.  
"The better the photo is, the better your portrait will be."
I cannot stress this statement enough. Pet portraits from Imagine Art are mirror images of your photo.  While I wish I could, I cannot envision what your pet looks like in the detail necessary for a portrait. Therefore, it is very important that you provide a photo that follows these guidelines:

Guidelines for Portrait Photos

1.  Your photo must be one that uses either A. natural light or B. was taken in a photography studio.  
Natural light means that the photo was either taken outside in the sunlight, or it was taken indoors next to a window where the sunlight came in. If you have access to a friend with a photography studio, or studio lamps, that is also acceptable. 

2. The photo must show details such as hair texture, and eye color.  This means the photo must be:

• Close enough to see these details clearly
  
• Clear, and large. Clear meaning that there is no blur due to camera shake, and large, meaning a large file size.  A photo taken with a flip phone is too small of a file.  If you have a newer model smartphone, sometimes those images are okay.

A good rule of thumb is that if I cannot see that tiny white catch light in their eyes, the photo was taken too far away. Typically, I recommend photos that are from the chest  - up. This ensures that it is close enough to see all of these fine details. Without these sharp focus details, I cannot create a portrait that is as stunning as it could be.

3. The photo must not have been taken with a Flash. No exceptions.

To be explain what all of this means, take a look at these images.

Blurriness

This image was taken outside in natural sunlight, which is good. It was also taken very close to the dog's face, which is also good.  However, the image overall is blurry, and therefore is not the best for a portrait.

Camera Flash

This photo was taken outside, which was great.  It had potentially great scene in the background as well.  However, there was not enough daylight here, and therefore the automatic flash went off.  Flash gives false detail and flattens the texture.  It also dulls the colors and makes for an overall unappealing portrait.

Indoor Lighting with a Camera Phone

Indoor lighting has many downfalls. While this photo doesn't use a flash, the indoor light was very warm, and therefore distorted the colors of the hair.  Also, low light will render a blurry image.  This photo is also grainy - due to the low resolution of a camera phone.

To help you better understand what an appropriate reference photo might look like, here are some examples.

Close with lots of detail!

Perfect view of Eye to Eye

Indoor photo with Natural Light