Good Portrait Photos


What makes for a good photo for you to work from? Do you have any guidelines?


General Guidelines

Child taking a photograph


• Please provide a selection of photographs of your animal (about five or six photos is a good number).

• Whether you choose to order online or via the post, photos can be emailed or posted. (I always return any photo's that are sent to me).

• You may wish to suggest a preferred photograph for me to work from, or which photo best reflects the subjects eyes or coat colouring. (This information can be written in the "Additional information" box when ordering via the post, or email to me if ordering online).

• If your pet has died and you only have poor photos please read this FAQ for more information.



How to Take Good Photos

Following these tips will give the best possible portrait result:


Example of a good pet photo


• photograph outside (avoid indoor flash). If it's a sunny day, make sure the sun is behind you to the left or right.

• your pet should fill the photo

• try to get down at the animals level

• avoid getting too close

• photos should be in focus and in colour



Poor Examples

Poor example of a photo for a portrait


Here the dog is not filling the photo, making it difficult to see the detail in the coat and eyes etc.



Poor photo example


This overhead shot causes the portrait to have a "contorted" feel. Both these photos are also "grainy" - their resolution is too poor to work from.


(Credits: first photo by Andrés Salas on Unsplash)