Our lead artist, Arjun Mehta, can work magic, but his creations are ultimately inspired by the reference photos you supply. You don't need a professional DSLR camera to capture a portrait-worthy photo — a smartphone photo works perfectly, provided you follow a few basic guidelines.
1. Lighting is Everything
Avoid overhead fluorescent lights or direct, harsh sunlight. Instead, take your subject's photo near a window where soft, indirect light fills their features. This creates beautiful gradients of light and shadow, allowing our artist to capture realistic skin depth and highlights.
2. Focus on the Eyes
The eyes are the windows to the soul. Make sure your camera focus is sharply placed on the eyes. A slightly blurry shirt or hair is easy for our artist to work around, but blurry eyes mask character and expressions.
3. Capture Their True Expression
Forced, cheese-grinning poses look artificial. Capture your subjects when they are laughing naturally, listening intently, or looking away. Candid photos make for the most soulful, emotionally arresting paintings.