I can’t overemphasise how important your choice of photo is – the more detailed the photo is, the better the portrait I can produce, and the more delighted you’ll be. It’s that simple. But don’t worry – I’m here to work with you and my advice is free. Here are some of my top tips…
My aim is to produce something that you will be absolutely delighted with for many years to come, and time spent working together to get the input right will be time well spent.
Pose and Composition
The best pencil portraits are those that capture a moment in time, and faithfully reflect a person or animal’s character. I tend to work from one of your favourite photographs so the first thing to check is that it’s a really good representation of the subject’s personality and mannerisms as well as physical appearance. Remember, you may know the subject intimately, but it can be hard for me to capture the personality of someone I haven’t met. I can only work with what I see in the photo so please feel free to send supplementary images, or even videos, if important features are missing from the main photo.
Eyes are critically important, I feel they show the real soul of the subject– are they open and catching the light (unless, of course they’re intentionally closed or looking away)?
It almost always pays to photograph subjects at their eye level which means, for pets and small children especially, getting down to their level – kneeling, or even lying down, to take the photo.
Image Quality
The resolution of the image is also vitally important – this is the amount of detail it contains, and the more I can see, the better quality your portrait will be. As a quick guide, check the image file size – the bigger (more Mb) the better – 3Mb upwards is recommended. Also check the following:
– Is it in focus?
– Is it well lit?
– Is there good contrast and a good range of shades between the light and dark areas?
When discussing a commission with you, I will always talk through the above with you so don’t worry that you have to remember it all!
If you have any questions at all, please call me, or drop me a line using the contact form – don’t worry, my advice is free and there’s no obligation!