What makes a good reference photo for a painted portrait

What a good reference photo has

• Soft, natural light on the face, without harsh shadows
• Sharp focus on the eyes
• Eye-level angle, not looking up or down steeply
• A catchlight in the eyes, the small reflection that makes a portrait feel alive
• The whole subject in frame, with nothing important cropped off

Is a phone photo good enough?

Usually, yes. Modern phones take photos a painter can work from. As a rule of thumb, a photo of about 1,500 pixels or more on the long edge is comfortable for a 24 × 30 in painting. Larger paintings benefit from more. Send the original file rather than a screenshot or a photo forwarded through a messaging app, which often shrinks it.

Photos we'll ask you to replace

• Backlit faces, where the subject is dark against a bright window or sky
• Motion blur, from a moving subject or a moving hand
• Hidden eyes, behind sunglasses, a hat brim or deep shadow
• Tiny faces in a wide group shot
• Heavy filters or beauty modes, which smooth away the features a painter needs

What a painter can fix, and what they can't

A painter can brighten a dark photo, correct a slightly awkward angle and rebuild moderately soft detail. What they can't do is recover what isn't there: eyes that can't be seen, teeth hidden behind a hand, or jewelry and text too small to read. If something matters to you, make sure it's visible in the photo.

How to take a better photo

1. Stand facing a window in daylight, with the light falling on the face.
2. Hold the camera at eye level.
3. Turn off beauty mode and filters.
4. Take several shots and send the two or three best.

For pets, get down to their eye level and take the photo when they're calm and looking toward you.