Photography Tips
A good quality photo is crucial when commissioning a portrait. However, getting the perfect photograph for your portrait doesn’t have to be difficult. Here are some tips to help you along.
If you’re still unsure, get in touch and I will happily assist you in choosing a photo.
Image Quality
You don’t need an expensive camera or a studio
Technology has come a long way in recent years and most smart phones take fairly good quality images.
Obviously, a camera is preferable, but camera phones generally provide plenty of detail.
In the case where the subject of the portrait has passed away or you are unable to take additional photos feel free to send me your photos and I will tell you if they are of a useable quality.
Lower quality photos can sometimes be used, but the portrait may not be as detailed.
For physical copies of photos please scan them into your computer at the highest quality you are able and email me the scanned image. I do not accept photos in the post in order to avoid the loss of your precious images.
Lighting
Natural lighting is best
When taking photos for your portrait, you do not need your own studio. The great outdoors often provides the best photos of both people and their pets.
Often the quality of your photos can be vastly improved by simply moving from indoors to outside. It’s much harder to get a good quality photo indoors without professional lighting equipment.
Try to avoid taking photos under very bright sunlight as this can cause large cast shadows on the face and lots of squinty eyes. This often happens when photos are taken at midday.
The best time to take photos is usually the very early morning as this time of day gives a soft, diffused light. Taking a photo while it’s still light in the early evening can also produce excellent photos.
Overcast weather also can act as a great diffuser for sunlight so photos taken on light, cloudy days often contain a great level of detail.
The only thing to be aware of when outside is to make sure that for full-body portraits, paws of pets aren’t lost in the grass (a few blades isn’t a problem though).
If you are wanting to combine several photos of people or pets in the same portrait, try an make sure the photos are taken with similar lighting.
Photographing people
A natural smile goes a long way
It can be difficult to know exactly what feeling a client wishes to convey in a portrait, but in general I advise trying to capture a natural smile or relaxed moment, as awkwardly posed photos can lead to drawings that feel stiff.
If you would like your portrait drawn from a professionally taken photo, please contact the photographer to make sure your have permission for me to draw this photo. Often photographers retain the rights to the use of their images.
In the case of wedding photos, try to ask your photographer for the image files before they have been overly processed. Wedding photos are edited in a beautiful way, but this editing process can lose a lot of the detail I need to draw your portrait.
If taking the photo yourself, I recommend putting your camera on continuous mode (sometimes called burst mode) to avoid your photo being sabotaged by closed eyes.
Animal Photography
In most cases the person who best knows how your furry friend operates is you, but here are a few helpful tips and tricks for getting a great photograph for your pet’s portrait:
Photographing a subject who won’t stay still
Take as many photos as you can. The more photos you have to look at the more likely you are to see a perky, alert face looking back at you.
Treats and toys play a large part in pet photography and I would recommend plenty of both when photographing your furry friend.
I recommend placing your pets favourite toy or treat just above the lens of your camera or phone moments before taking your snap. (This is done at your own risk. Cats have been known to swipe at lenses, no matter how much they love you.)
Where a tennis ball can hold a dogs attention for hours, a feather wand or crinkly ball can work wonders for cats.
Try to arrange your photo session when your pet is in a good mood and keep it short so as to not tire them out. Sleepy, grumpy pets don’t make great models. Unless, of course, you want them drawn sleeping, which can have it’s own charm.
An ideal photo for a head and shoulders portrait this photo of a duck tolling retriever is taken at eye level in natural outdoor lighting without any heavy cast shadows.
The dog is alert, in focus and just within the edges of the photo.
Camera tips for capturing the important details
Get down to your pets eye level. This makes for a much more personable portrait and generally gives far better results than standing up photographing the top of your pets head.
Taking the photo as close as possible to your pet without any thing going out of frame. This will give you the best quality photo for your camera.
If possible I recommend putting your phone or camera on continuous mode (sometimes called burst mode). This can avoid you missing the perfect photo because your pet blinked.
I may be able to draw the tip of an ear or similar which has been unfortunately cropped out of the photo and I can remove collars in some cases, but generally speaking I can’t draw what’s not there. If you want paws, ears and collars in the drawing, please try and make sure they are in the photo.
Providing it’s not an unreasonable amount I can remove drool and small bits of dirt when drawing your pets portrait. A little bit of drool or dust in your photo doesn’t mean you photo is unuseable.
Some cameras have a portrait or skin smoothing setting. Try to make sure this is turned off as it can blur all of the detail in the fur.
For dogs, the best area to focus on is generally the eyes or nose. Normally a cats whole face can be focused on at the same time. (For those of your more well versed in photography, it’s ideal if the depth of field of the photo contains the whole head of the animal.)
Still unsure?
Feel free to contact me for help choosing a photo