Choosing the Right Photo for Your Portrait

What makes a great reference photo

• Sharp focus on the face. The eyes especially should be crisp — that's where a portrait lives or dies.
• Good, even lighting. Soft daylight is ideal. Avoid harsh shadows across the face and strong backlight.
• High resolution. Bigger is better. A photo straight from a phone camera is usually great; a small social-media screenshot usually isn't.
• A natural expression. Choose the photo that actually looks like the person, not just the most posed one.
• The framing you want. Head-and-shoulders, half-body or full scene — send the crop that matches the portrait you imagine.

What to avoid

• Heavy beauty filters or AI “enhancements” that smooth away real features.
• Motion blur or out-of-focus faces.
• Very low light or heavy grain.
• Extreme angles where features are distorted.
• Tiny, compressed images saved from chat apps.

Using more than one photo

You can send more than one image — for example a sharp face shot plus a second photo showing the outfit or setting. If you do, tell us which is the main reference for likeness. For group and family pieces, a clear individual photo of each person often beats one distant group shot.

Combining people or changing the background

We can bring together people who were never photographed in the same frame, remove distractions, or place a subject into a new setting. The better each source face is, the more convincing the result. Add these notes in the special-instructions box when you order.

Not sure your photo is good enough?

Send it anyway. Our artist reviews every reference and will reach out if a better image would make a real difference before work begins. You can also see the kind of source-to-artwork results we get in the gallery. When you're ready, upload on the Create page.