Commission a Pet Portrait:
No gift will be more cherished

Depending on the studio and the artist, pet portraits can be very expensive... sometimes running into the thousands of dollars, but through diligent online search, it is possible to find a high-quality professional company to create a striking pet portrait for the fraction of what you might spend if you commissioned the work locally.

Affordable Beauty

For less than one hundred dollars, you can have an artist create a gorgeous, classy pet portrait. Many portrait companies have created extensive networks of artists all over the world who specialize portraiture. Because the artists can be kept busy by doing a high volume of work, and although experienced, are not famous-name artists, these companies are able to offer extremely affordable options.

Because the artists get to practice artistic replication and portraiture, their work is generally of very high quality. Most reputable companies also offer a satisfaction guarantee. When the work is done, a proof is send to you to approve. If you are not completely satisfied, you can request touch-ups. Occasionally a different artist will be assigned to recreate the piece, or if no satisfactory image can be created, a cash refund may be possible too. Several factors affect the price of the work besides the studio you select to create it. Media and size are the two most obvious factors. When ordering a piece, you will have to decide on whether you would like your pet portrait created in watercolors, oil, acrylics, or charcoal, or more. There are also a number of sizes available. The smallest generally offered are about 8x10" a little smaller than a piece of notebook paper. Larger pieces can run several feet in either direction and cost up to several thousand dollars.

Additional extras to keep in mind: Although most companies can create a duplication of any photograph, some charge extra for including a background image (or making up a new one), including additional subjects such as multiple people or pets. Framing is sometimes included, but it might be more affordable to purchase a frame separately, so be sure to factor in that expense if you want to present a pet portrait that is ready for the wall.

Regardless of which company you choose to work with, almost all of them will require a high quality photograph to base the portrait off of. Some recommend getting a professional pet portrait taken by a photographer, but you can successfully take a high quality picture at home too, if you follow a few simple guidelines.

First, find out whether your photograph can be digital or printed. If you have a digital camera and the studio accepts digital pictures, getting on the ground with your pet and snapping away in a number of environments can be a great way to get started. With digital cameras, you needn't worry about the expense of wasting film. You can take a LOT of images and that is often the key to catching your dog with just the right pose or expression on his face. Just be sure that your camera is taking the highest quality pictures possible.

You want to capture a lot of details in the picture. You should be able to see the eye color of the subject and which direction the fur/hair is brushed.

Also consider the composition of the piece. Keep an eye on the lighting and the elevation of your camera. Since pets are generally smaller than us, it might be easier to get a great shot if you are on the same level as the pet. Pose your dog up on a table or else get down on the ground with him. Lighting is also an important detail to keep an eye on. Bright sunlight can often cast harsh shadows. Inside shots can often be dim when taken without a flash, or create a red-eye effect when the flash is used. Try for bright indirect lighting.

Overcast days are great for taking pictures outside. Indoors, turn on all the lights and open the windows so your pet is well-lighted in the photograph. Remember to get as close to the subject as possible. If you want a head shot, try to take a picture where your dog's head fills the frame. If you want the entire body to be included in the picture, that's fine. Pose your dog, and stay as near as possible with the camera, without cropping off anything in the view finder. Be sure to reward your dog afterward. Being a doggie model can be a lot of work! MyDogAndMe.com has some great ideas for getting a terrific photograph of your dog for his first pet portrait.

If you have an existing picture that you plan to use as a base, that might be even easier. Don't worry if it's not quite perfect, when it is re-created on canvas, the artist can edit the image to make it more pleasing to you.

Generally artists are open to special instructions and can include or ignore certain elements of the background. For example, if there is a picture of your dog with an ugly chewed up toy, the artist could just avoid painting the toy.

Similarly, artists can sometimes combine subjects successfully. If you want a picture of your dog and your cat, but your cat looks good in one picture, and your dog in another, the artist may be able to successfully combine the best of both images so you are left with a pleasing final product. When considering whether to combine subjects, remember that there is often an extra charge for including more than one or two subjects in the same portrait. Try to consider ahead of time whether you would be more pleased with individual portraits of each pet, or a piece in which the subjects are posed together. Both can be very attractive.

In the course of my research, I've uncovered several excellent studios offering reasonably priced pet portraits. For your convenience, these are listed below along with a few comments about their services. Additionally, the portraits on this page have all been generated by one of the following galleries. If you find a particular style you like, click on that picture to be taken to the studio that produced it.

1) Highest Recommendation: My DaVinci

Turnaround times are good... 2-3 weeks to create the work and 1-2 weeks for shipping it to you. They do have SUPER FAST 5-day turnaround options on some products. They also offer a wide variety of styles from classic, realistic genres to soft watercolors, or vivid "pop art." They offer something for every taste and budget. Take a look at some of their outstanding portraits!

2) EZ Portrait

Their prices are very competitive, starting at $200 for a small oil painting and $140 for a charcoal or pastel piece. They have a handy price calculator so you can easily tell how much "extras" like additional subjects, backgrounds, and size will cost. Definitely a great portrait site to seriously consider.

3) Cool Pet Stuff

A less expensive option from this site, starting at $149, is to request a pencil drawn canine portrait. These realistic drawings are on high-quality acid-free paper and sprayed with a fixative to eliminate smudging after the work is finished. These head/shoulder images are produced by a team of talented artists and the turn-around time is 3-4 weeks.

4) My Dog and Me