Painting your dog photo for pet portraits
Choosing the photo for your pet portrait
When choosing your photograph try and find a large photo to work from. I can’t paint a good pet portrait from a small photo so the larger the original photo the more detail I can see and thus paint a more detailed portrait.
Choosing the photo for your portrait can be daunting. Taking one is much easier if you know the rules for good portraiture.
The best scenario is a studio portrait or a photo taken by you in good lighting conditions. For a head shot, plan to stand about 3 feet away from your animal. Be sure to take the picture at eye level.
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If you are trying to take photos and they will not sit still, have someone hold them in position. If these pictures are taken for the portrait, then hands and arms in the frame do not matter and are easily removed as long as they do not cover too much of the animal.
The quality of the finished portrait will depend on your photographs. If the photos are blurred or the subject is a tiny figure in the background, I'll have less to work with and the final portrait will be part guesswork, which means it won't be as good a representation as it could be.
Once you've chosen the photograph you want, tell me what you want me to draw from it. Do you want one pet in the pet portrait, or several? Do you want just their face, or would you like their entire body as well? Without this information I cannot guarantee I will paint exactly what you want.
All photographs will be returned to you along with your completed work-of-art. My oil paintings take from 4 to 8 weeks to complete. My artwork takes 2 to 3 weeks, perfect for special gifts.
www.pet-painting.com
Custom animal, dog, cat & pet portraits by Lorri
Watercolor pet prints by Ron Krajewski
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