How to Choose the Best Photo for a Custom Portrait
The finished portrait can only be as good as the photo it’s drawn from. Before you place an order, it helps to know exactly what makes the best photo for a custom portrait — a few small choices at this stage save a lot of back-and-forth later, and make a real difference in how much detail our artists can capture.
Start With Resolution and Clarity
A sharp, high-resolution photo gives an artist the most to work with. Zoom in on the photo before you send it — if the face blurs or breaks into pixels, the artist will be guessing at details rather than drawing them. Most modern phone cameras handle this well, but a photo that’s been resized, screenshotted, or pulled off social media has often lost the resolution it started with.
If you’re working from an old or printed photo, a flat, well-lit scan almost always beats a photo of a photo, since scanning avoids the glare and warped angles that come from photographing a print.
Good Lighting Makes a Better Portrait
Even, natural light — a face turned toward a window — shows the true shape of a face, the color of the eyes, and the small details that make a portrait look like the actual person. Harsh overhead light or on-camera flash tends to flatten features and cast shadows under the eyes and nose, which can throw off proportions in the finished piece. Outdoor shade or a bright room in daylight hours is usually the easiest way to get this right without any special equipment.
Single Subject vs. Group Photos
A single, forward- or slightly angled-facing photo is the simplest starting point, and it’s what most people send. Group and family photos work too, but they’re easiest to translate well when each face is reasonably clear and not too small in the frame — a wide shot of a family at a distance leaves very little for the artist to draw from for anyone but the people closest to the camera. If you’re picturing a piece with a few people in it, our family portrait guide goes into more detail on choosing photos that combine well.
Framing and Composition
Think about how the final piece will be composed. A close, shoulders-up crop reads well as a focused portrait. A photo where the subject is small in a wide scene can still work, but it’s worth flagging to us so we can decide together whether to crop in tighter or keep more of the background.
A Few Things to Avoid
Sunglasses, hats that shade the eyes, and heavy filters all hide the details that make a portrait feel personal. Side profiles can work beautifully for some subjects, but if this is your first custom piece, a mostly front-facing photo is the safer, more forgiving choice.
Quick Questions
Q: What if I don’t have a high-resolution photo?
A: Send us what you have — we’ll look it over and let you know honestly whether it’ll work, or suggest a different shot that might give a better result.
Q: Can I send more than one photo?
A: Yes — if you’re deciding between a couple of options, sending both lets us pick the one that will translate best into a portrait.
Not sure if your photo is the right one? Send it our way before you order — we’re happy to take a look. You can browse the kind of detail we’re able to capture in our full collection, or get in touch for a second opinion on your photo first.