How to take a photo we can actually paint from
5 min read · Photo guide
When a painted figurine comes out wrong, the cause is usually the photo, not the brush. Paint is a copy of what the painter can see — so a photo where the markings are invisible, or the colour is shifted by a lamp, gives a painter nothing to copy.
You do not need a camera. A recent phone in daylight is better than a professional setup at night. Here is what to aim for.
1. Daylight, but not direct sun
Put the animal near a window, indoors, on a bright but overcast day, or in open shade outside. Direct sunlight blows out the highlights on a white dog and turns a black cat into two black shapes with no detail. Indoors under a warm bulb, every colour shifts orange and the coat looks like something it is not.
If you have to shoot indoors at night, turn on every ceiling light in the room you can and take the photo from the side the light is coming from, not into it.
2. Face-on, at the animal's eye level
Get down to where the pet's head is. Photos taken from standing height show the top of the skull and shorten the muzzle; the result is a figurine with an oddly flat face. A face-on shot gives the painter the proportions they need.
3. Show the parts that make it yours
A generic ginger cat is not your cat. What makes a piece recognisable is usually one specific thing:
- the marking on one side of the muzzle, or a patch over one eye
- ear shape and whether one tips over
- eye colour in good light — not the glowing dots that a phone flash produces
- the way the coat changes tone down the legs and tail
- a collar you want included, or a favourite expression: tongue out, head tilt, one ear back
Two or three photos are usually enough: one clean face-on, one side profile, one close-up of any marking you care about. More is welcome if the animal is hard to photograph — a blurry photo of a marking beats no photo of it.
4. No filters, no beautify, no "portrait mode"
Filters change contrast, saturation and skin — or in this case fur — tone. Portrait mode blurs the background but also smears whiskers and ear edges. We paint what is in the file, so send the original, not the version you would post.
5. Photograph the animal you are ordering
One pet per figurine. If you send a photo of two dogs and order one piece, we have to guess which one you meant. If you want both, they are two pieces — and each one gets its own photos.
What we will do if the photo is not good enough
We will tell you before painting rather than paint something you will not want. If a photo is too dark, too far away, or does not show the marking you asked for, we ask for another one. The approval step after painting exists for the same reason: you see the finished piece before it ships, and you can ask for changes.
Photos we have to turn down
We will not paint a pet from a photo that has clearly been generated or heavily manipulated — the painting has to be of a real animal. We also cannot work from a photo where the animal is barely visible. Anything involving a costume, a hat or a pose that hides the face usually needs a second, plainer photo alongside it.