Custom portraits are some of my favorite pieces to create. They can capture a moment in time in such an interesting way. Whether it’s done in chalk, paint, pen & ink, or just a pencil sketch, portraits are really rewarding to create and can be sort of magical to look at.

Unless the reference photo sucks.

Working from crappy photos is brutal and it really takes the joy out of the project. There are a number of ways in which a reference photo can be good or bad and I’m here to give you the skinny on how to choose a good reference photo for an artist’s recreation.

1. Choose a photo that is clear and has a high resolution.

   • You know how when you enlarge a photograph on a computer and it gets all blurry? Yeah, that’s a resolution thing. Unless you’re creating a piece that is true to size, you’ll want a high resolution image that will still look clear when it’s blown up.

   • As a general rule, photos taken with a phone aren’t great unless you have a phone that utilizes the “portrait” mode and the photo was taken pretty close up.

2. Lighting is super-important

   • People’s facial features are best recognized when you can distinguish the lines and shadows of the face. Coincidentally, these features are what make a good portrait interesting to look at and FAR more interesting to recreate. A photo with a good amount of contrast is a real dream to work on.

3. Don’t use a group photo

   • Because cropping down a group photo to look at just one face will make that image blurry more often than not.

4. Professional photos are a safe bet

   • If you’re struggling to find a good photo, try digging out some photos that were taken professionally. They tend to have good lighting, good composition, and a high resolution.

5. If you’re having a hard time deciding on a final photo, send them all to the artist.

   • Sometimes, we creators find ourselves inspired by a certain image that may not necessarily be your first choice. What I can tell you is that when we’re inspired, our best work will come out.

As you consider custom portraits, keep these things in mind and you’re sure to end up with a final piece that you can cherish for a lifetime.