If you wish to commission a painting from me then please supply me with as
many good, clear photographs as you can - preferably taken from the eye level of
the animal! The better the photographs, the better the results will be.
It would be helpful if you can identify the particular photograph(s) that you
would like me to use for the final picture as well as the ones that are the best colour match of the animal.
Photographs taken outside without a flash with as much detail as possible will
produce the best results.
Get in as close as possible for some of the photographs to get detailing of the
fur and eyes and ears etc. Also, for head studies you may wish to take
some photographs of just the head and shoulders. Morning and afternoon or
evening light can be softer than the glaring midday sunlight which may almost
produce too much contrast on your animal's coat. However it is really just a
case of experimenting to get the best shot.
Here is an example of a good photograph from which to create a pet portrait. This has been taken with the photographer crouched down (sorry if you have dodgy knees !) at the dog's eye level. However the dog or cat does not necessarily have to be looking directly at the camera for it to make a good pet portrait. In actual fact it can be quite difficult to get a dog to look directly at a camera while you are photographing it !
As I said before it is a good idea to take the photograph down at the level of the animal. There is no point in taking it from above as you will end up with a large head and small legs in the photograph and if you imagine this translated to a picture on your wall it wouldn't work. So have a think how you would like the animal to appear in your painting and try and get some shots of it in that position.
Certain colours such as all white and all black need extra attention to lighting and in fact any dog will benefit from you looking at the lighting. Daylight is usually the best for taking your picture. Not necessarily in full sunlight although this might be the effect you would like to see in the photograph.
If you have pictures taken with a digital camera then you can email them to me so I can have a look at them.
All photographs will be returned with the finished portrait. If you would be very worried about losing a particular photograph then it is probably best to take a copy before posting it. I will look after it with great care but I would hate a treasured photograph to get lost in the post or damaged in any way if it is the only copy.
© Jennifer Wilson 2006