How to pick a photo(that actually paints well)
The portrait can only be as good as the photo you give it.
There's really only one rule.
Pick the photo that looks most like them.
Not the most flattering one. Not the sharpest one. The one where their expression is theirs — the look their people would recognise across a room.
Everything else? We'll handle it.
Things that used to matter (and don't anymore)
Three years ago, you needed a high-res, well-lit, professional photo.
Not anymore.
A cluttered background.
Gone. The painting keeps the person. Loses the mess.
Ordinary lighting.
Kitchen light. A flash. Overcast afternoon.
All fine.
A small or old photo.
We enlarge it before painting.
Even a scanned wallet photo works. Softer, but real.
Creases, scratches, yellowing, a stain.
All gone. Damaged photographs are often the best ones we see, because they are the ones somebody kept.
Glasses, hats, a favourite worn-out shirt.
They stay. They are part of the person.
A photo from your phone.
Fine.
If your browser can't preview it (some iPhones), just export as JPG and try again.
The few things we actually can't do
Short list, and worth knowing before you're disappointed.
We can't paint eyes we can't see.
Sunglasses. Deep shadows. Someone turned away.
The eyes carry the likeness. If we can't see them, we can't paint them.
We can't find a face that isn't there.
If someone's a tiny speck at the far end of a wedding photo, we can't help you.
Crop in first. Or pick a different photo.
Get close. Head and shoulders, not head to toe.
A full-length shot puts their face in a small corner of the frame, and their features aren't really in the photo at all. What isn't in the photo gets invented — the painter fills it in whichever way it likes.
You get a lovely portrait of someone who isn't quite them.
(Close enough to see the colour of their eyes is close enough.)
Up to six people. Not a crowd.
Five faces paint beautifully. A group of twenty doesn't.
We can't undo heavy blur.
Softness is fine. Motion smear is not.
If you're not sure
Try it.
Making portraits is free. After five we'll ask for your email.
Upload two or three photos and see which one paints best.
(It's usually not the one you expect.)
And don't worry — we delete your photo the moment your portrait is done.
