Please keep in mind that I can only accept reference photos that show a good representation of your pet. In the case that you’d like a pet portrait embroidery and you’re unable to take new photos or just have old polaroids, I completely understand and will do my best to accurately capture your pet but I can only do so much. The more clear your photos are the more realistic your pet portrait will be. If a good reference photo cannot be supplied I reserve the right to cancel the commission.

Lighting

Lighting can really make or break a photo! While I can easily correct white balance and the exposure,  I find it really hard to accurately capture the pet’s fur color and other details when I have to do a lot of extra editing.

The first photo is nice, but the yellow indoor lighting will require some editing. The second photo is completely washed out. The third photo is also a nice one however it’s way too dark to accurately see or edit correctly. Try not to take your photos in direct sunlight because it creates harsh shadows that are hard to work around.

Filters

Avoid filters at all costs. These kinds of references can be really hard to work with, especially if the reference photo is a multi-colored pet with a heavy filter. If I didn’t know what color these dogs were already, I might accidentally embroider them to look way different!

Angles

Angles are really important when it comes to picking a good reference photo! Do you want an embroidery of your pet’s profile? Send a profile shot. Maybe a 3/4 view or a straight on shot would be nice, too! However, there are some angles that don’t make the best portrait references. It helps to take the photo at the pet’s eye level while they’re sitting up.

Ears & Grooming

Ear poses are something you might not have thought about! In the first photo below, Pip does not have confident ears and they don’t accurately reflect the happy floppy ears that she is normally sporting. If your pet normally has floppy ears that are sticking up in some of the photos you send, I wouldn’t know which one is more ‘them’. This is important if you want a good representation of your pet!

For grooming, if you mostly remember your pet with a specific length of hair please send in a photo that shows that. Lottie looks really different depending on how long her fur is and where she went to get groomed.

Facial Expressions

Facial expressions are my favorite part! This is the most important part of capturing your pet’s true essence. The first photo isn’t Pip’s best shot. She does make those kinds of faces a lot, but it’s just not the pose that best represents her. The second photo might look a little weird, but Tibbers makes that face 90% of the time and it definitely is his best angle (although the quality of the photo isn’t great). The third photo is a bit tricky! I love stitching happy expressions and floppy tongues, but if your pets mouth is open I cannot edit it so that it’s closed.

Tiny and Grainy photos

Your photos do NOT need to look super professional or be taken with an expensive digital camera, but it’s really hard to see what your pet looks like when the reference photo is tiny. Sometimes I can fill in the gaps, but when you only have a small photo that’s taken from a distance you might accidentally end up with a sketch of a calico cat and not your tabby. I can only embroider what I see, so please let me see the details.

Examples of good references

These are some pretty good references! Your photos don’t have to be taken with a DSLR or anything fancy, almost all of these were taken with my cell phone.

Additional Photos

Sometimes the photo you’d like to use as the reference pose for your pet portrait isn’t quite 100% there. I’ve had customers ask me to work off a specific photo of their pet (it’s their favorite one!) but then send extra photos so I can see the details in their eye color or some unique freckles on their nose. This is great and super helpful! That being said, please send photos over that you feel are an accurate representation of your pet. Does your pup smile a lot? Does your cat always have huge pupils? While you may not have ONE photo that is perfect, a few photos together can help portray your pet in the way you want.

In Conclusion

Please take these tips with a grain of salt. This is just a guide on my personal ‘ideal’ pet photos. These photo tips will help you choose a reference photo that is easy for me to work from. All of these little things added together help me create the best portrait of your pet. I don’t want to create generic-looking pet portraits, I want to create portraits of YOUR specific pet. Let your pet’s little quirks and their personalities shine through in their photos!

I hope this helped you choose the best photos of your pets to use for a reference. If you have photos of your pet and aren’t sure if they’re what I’m looking for, please feel free to email me!