Photo Guide – How to Take the Perfect Pet Photo

If you are worried about the quality of your pet photo, don’t worry – this guide will explain exactly what you need to find or take the perfect pet photo.

We have a team of pet artists that check all photos before they start working on your artwork, so if you aren’t sure just order your portrait! If we have problems with the photo, one of our experts will be in touch with you ASAP to help you find a better photo.

The 4 key elements to the perfect pet photo

1. Your pet is proudly sat up with their chest showing, looking slightly away from camera.
2. You get your pet to sit still, and your hand doesn’t shake so there is no blur in the photograph. You can check this by zooming in and clearly being able to see the features of the fur.
3. You shoot the photo in neutral light, without strong shadows caused by the sun or bright lights. The best way to do this is shooting in neutral daylight (outside on a cloudy day), or inside during the day.
4. You shoot the photo at eye level with your pet, about 1-4ft away from their face, making sure all of their ears, head, nose and eyes are clearly in shot.

Examples of Great Photos

Examples of Bad Photos

FAQ

What should I use to take a photo of my pet?

You don’t have to be a professional photographer to take a good quality photo of your pet. A modern camera phone (built after 2014) or digital camera is fine.

Can I use a screenshot, facebook photo or Instagram photo?

It’s not advised, as these platforms compress the photo to save space on their websites (which means they are much worse quality). It’s best to have the original file to upload directly from your phone or computer.

But don’t worry, you can still upload screenshots, facebook & Instagram photos, we can still create high quality artwork from them. It just means we will be able to squeeze an extra 5-10% of quality out of your final artwork.

How big should the photo file be?

There’s no rule here. In a perfect situation your file would be 2000pixels on the smallest size, and over 1mb; but don’t worry if it’s not! We can still create great artwork with small files (remember this will only make your artwork 5-10% better).

To check the file size and pixels of a photo on your computer – right click the photo and click “Properties”, then click on the “Details” tab.

To check the file size and pixels of a photo on your phone – open the image and tap the “Information” icon.