Pet Portrait Photo Guide
I create bespoke fine art portraits of humans and animals using a variety of materials. Artistic mediums include acrylic paint, soft pastels, and digital drawing techniques. All artwork is created with care and finished on the finest quality archival papers and canvas.
Pet portraits are created from your favorite photos of your beloved pet, and many long hours are spent ensuring that your portrait captures a physical likeness and unique personality. Sourcing high-quality photos of your pet is essential for me to provide you with the highest details possible. Please refer to this guide for picking your pet photos.
To summarize, the best photos will be:
Sharp
Focused
high resolution
have soft lighting
They will display details such as coat direction, catchlight in the eyes, nose texture and accurate coat color. These essential details are often lost with lower resolution images.
QUALITY
DSLR cameras take the best photos, but if you don’t have access to one, many modern phone cameras are capable of taking high quality photos as well. I use a Canon DSLR camera for most of my photos, but I’ve found that portrait mode on my iPhone also provides a decent photo.
Whatever device you use, ensure the camera resolution is set to high and the lens is clean and unscratched, this is especially important when using mobile devices.
LIGHTING
Natural light is always best, so either go outside (overcast days are better than sunny days, which can cast hash shadows) or stand next to a bright window or open door. Position yourself with the light source (sunshine or bright window) behind you and have your pet facing towards the light, this allows you to catch wonderful light reflections in their eyes.
AVOID FLASH
Using a flash can create bright flares and red-eye effects in the animal’s eyes as well as harsh shadows. It can also make white or black pet coats appear dull and lifeless. It’s best to avoid using flash for your pet photographs.
SUBJECT
Consider whether you wish to include a collar/halter/bridle/harness in your portrait or opt for a natural effect without one. Collars/halters/etc. can add character and personality to your pet, but they can also draw attention away from the face if they’re too complex. If you need a collar or leash on while photographing your pet but would rather it be off in the portrait please reach out to me and I can see if it’s possible to exclude it from the final composition.
TREATS
Eyes are the window to the soul so do whatever you can to get your pet to look at you. Treats, funny noises…etc. My dog, Maisy, refuses to look at the camera unless there’s treats in it for her. Then, she becomes the perfect model.
ANGLE
The best portraits tend to view the animal at eye level. Get down to your pets eye level by crouching down so that you are holding the camera level with the animals eyes. Alternatively, try raising your pet up onto a table or sofa to achieve the same result.
POSITION
Get close to your pet and fill the view finder with the head and chest of your pet without using the zoom function if possible. Long distance shots generally don’t make great portraits, as they lose detail when magnified. Do avoid getting in TOO close though, otherwise your lens may distort the image and the resulting photo may not have a natural perspective, unless you are after a quirky novelty effect, which can be really fun.
CHARACTER
It helps to consider what sort of portrait you want on your wall. Eyes to camera shots and side angle poses work well, as do quirky unusual poses that reflect your pets character. Ultimately you want to choose a pose that best represents their personality and unique character.
SELECTION
Take plenty of pics and choose the best, sending over a selection in the highest resolution so I can get an idea of their character and colouring. I’m always happy to advise and make suggestions on the available options based on your images.
