How to Photograph Your Dog for a Custom Portrait

A custom portrait is only as good as the photos it starts from. The good news is that you do not need a camera, a studio or a dog who sits still. You need a phone, daylight and about 10 minutes. Here is what we look for when a set of photos arrives, and how to take them.

The 2 photos we need

Every L'Atelier canvas starts from at least 2 photos, and you can send up to 5.

1. The face. Head and shoulders, eyes open, taken at your dog's eye level. This is the photo that carries the expression: the eyebrows, the ear that folds, the look they give you at dinner.
2. The whole dog. Standing or lying down, the full body in frame, ideally from the side or at a slight angle. This tells us their build, their proportions and how their coat sits.

Extra photos help with markings on the other side, a tail that curls, or a particular way of sitting. If something about your dog matters to you, send a photo that shows it.

Light: daylight, no flash

Turn the flash off. Flash flattens a face, turns eyes green or white, and hides texture in dark coats. Instead, stand your dog near a window or take them outside on a bright, overcast day. Soft daylight from the side shows the shape of the face better than light from straight ahead.

Avoid harsh midday sun. It throws hard shadows under the brow and blows out light coats.

Get down to their level

Most dog photos are taken from above, standing up, looking down. That makes the head look large and the legs short. Crouch or sit on the floor so the lens is at the height of their eyes. A treat held just above the phone gets their attention and keeps their eyes on the camera.

Dark coats, white coats, long coats

• Black and dark brown dogs (Labradors, Frenchies, Newfoundlands): photograph in bright, indirect daylight and avoid backlight. A dark coat in a dim room loses all its detail.
• White and cream dogs (Bichons, Westies, Samoyeds): avoid direct sun, which turns white fur into a flat bright patch. Shade on a sunny day is ideal.
• Long or curly coats (Doodles, Yorkies, Spaniels): send 1 photo where the face is clearly visible through the fur. If the eyes are hidden, brush the fringe back for the photo.
• Merle, brindle and spotted coats: send photos of both sides. Markings are not symmetrical, and we follow yours.

Phone settings that help

• Use the main camera, not the wide angle lens, which stretches faces.
• Turn off portrait mode filters and beauty effects.
• Tap on the eyes to focus before you take the photo.
• Send the original file, not a screenshot or a photo that has been through a messaging app, which shrinks it. JPG, PNG and HEIC all work.

Photos of a dog who has passed

If your dog has died, you will be working with the photos you already have, and that is fine. Look for:

• the clearest photo of the face, even if it is old or small;
• any photo that shows the whole body, even in the background of another picture;
• photos that show their markings from both sides.

Old printed photos can be photographed with your phone: lay the print flat near a window, hold the phone directly above it, and avoid reflections. We work with whatever you have, and anything that needs adjusting is fixed on the proof.

What happens next

Once your photos are in, we place your dog into the scene you chose and send you a proof within 24 to 48 hours. You can ask for changes, to the markings, the ears, the expression, as many times as you need.

Ready to choose a scene? See every custom dog portrait on canvas in L'Atelier, or design your own with Le Sur-Mesure.