I had the absolute pleasure of capturing Stan & Dan. A kind photographer, Jamie at Forever Photogenic, went and took some stunning photographs of them for me to use for the portrait.
Having high quality photographs does make such a difference. They do not have to be taken by professionals, most cameras now have excellent cameras and capture the level of detail needed for the portraits.
Photography tip: 1# What angle should I avoid?
If you are taking photographs of your pet in the view of having a portrait done there are a few things to remember. There are some instances where certain poses may not be best suited. For instance, if you stand up and take the photo of the pet much higher than they are the camera focuses on the nose and muzzle area and can make this area look out of proportion. Sometimes this may work well but majority of the time it isn’t ideal.
An instance where the angle is focusing more on the nose but in this instance the photo would work for a portrait. It captures the personality of the dog (my Maisey) and the detail such as fur direction (explained in the tips below).
This is more where I would say it may not be the best angle for a portrait. The detail is still there but the perspective isn’t ideal. Her nose is far more larger than her eyes and is making the composition feel unbalanced.
2# What lighting is best?
Outside, natural light is normally the ideal. Alternatively, having the pet next to a natural light source such as a window is usually suitable. Outside, natural lighting is certainly the best for black fur. This can be rather difficult to capture but the daylight reflects nicely capturing all kinds of colours that make up black fur. Black fur is one of my favourite things to paint/draw.
3# Can I use multiple photos?
I can work from multiple photographs. If there is a photograph where you like the general pose but there is something you wanted to change please don’t hesitate to let me know. That may be you want something added or taken away etc. There has been an instance where I have actually used the ears of a Spaniel from one photo and used them on the head of the photograph that the client preferred.
Now this does mean that both the photographs are taken in a similar angle but even then I can use my photo editor to change the perspective.
Changes like this I always do a mock up and send back to the client for them to ok it before I start on the portrait. It’s much easier to change anything on the computer during the layout stage than it is on the portrait.
4# What quality photo do I need?
Having drawn so many dogs and through experience I can use lower quality photographs. In these instances I can make the portrait far more realistic than the photograph. There have been many occasions when I am required to add far more detail to the fur, eyes etc than what I can see.
I always say to my clients, the ideal photograph would be one that shows the very best level of detail. What I mean by that is things such as fur direction. If I can see that then I can usually work with the photo. Like I say, if that is lacking in the photograph still send them across because I may be able to work with it.
Please feel free to send across to me any photographs you have in mind. There is no fixed rule in what is the ‘best photo’. In some cases where sadly the pet has passed away there may only be a small selection of photographs. I will always try to make it work and there has only been a couple of occasions where I haven’t been able to create something I feel would be adequate. I always want to capture the pet not just a Staffie, or a Labrador. I want people who know the pet to say ‘that’s Maisey’. If I feel I cannot achieve it because the photographs just are not of a good enough quality I will be honest in that. Like I say, this is a very rare occurrence and 99% of the time even if photos are limited I can improve and enhance the photo capturing your much loved pet and their personality in a special drawing or painting.