How to Take the Perfect Photo for Your Custom Pet Portrait
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So you've decided to immortalise your pet as a regal monarch sitting on the throne. Excellent taste. Impeccable decision-making. Your family will be proud.
There's just one thing standing between you and a masterpiece: the photo. A blurry snap of your dog's left ear mid-sneeze is not going to cut it — and your pet, gorgeous as they are, has the attention span of a mayfly at a disco. So here's exactly how to get the perfect shot, the first time.
1. Natural Light Is Your Best Friend
Put the flash away. A flash turns your perfectly photogenic Labrador into a demon-eyed goblin, and nobody wants a goblin portrait on their wall (unless they do, in which case, no judgement).
Instead, take your photo near a window during daylight. Overcast days are actually ideal — soft, even light with no harsh shadows. Morning or late afternoon light adds a lovely warmth. Avoid shooting into direct sunlight or you'll just get a very backlit silhouette and a very confused pet.
2. Get Down to Their Level
A photo taken from above makes your pet look like a potato. A potato you love deeply, but still — a potato. Get down on the floor. Get weird about it. Lie on your stomach if you have to. The goal is a straight-on or slightly upward angle that makes them look like the royalty they clearly believe themselves to be.
3. Get Those Eyes Sharp
The eyes are everything. If the eyes are blurry, the portrait will look off, no matter how good everything else is. Tap on your pet's eyes in your phone's camera before taking the shot to lock the focus there. If your dog has a lot of fur around their face (hello, Old English Sheepdogs), make sure at least one eye is clearly visible and in focus.
4. Use the "Sound Trick" to Get Their Attention
Make a weird noise. Crinkle a treat wrapper. Say the word "walk" in a suspicious whisper. Whatever your pet's weakness is, exploit it — right before you take the photo. This gives you that perfect alert, ears-up, "what did you just say?" expression that translates beautifully into portrait art.
You have approximately one second between the noise and the total loss of interest. Be ready.
5. Avoid Mid-Yawn, Mid-Blink and Mid-Zoomies
You will take forty photos. Thirty-eight of them will be: a blur, a nostril, mid-yawn showing every tooth, eyes closed, or the back of their head as they wander off. This is normal. Take lots of photos in burst mode and pick the best one. Patience is not required — burst mode is.
6. Keep the Background Simple
A clean, uncluttered background makes your pet the star of the show. A white wall, a plain sofa, a grassy garden — all great. A pile of your laundry, last night's pizza box, and a confused flatmate — less great. The background won't dominate the final portrait, but keeping it simple makes the whole image cleaner and easier to work with.
7. A Clear, Front-Facing Shot Works Best
A full face shot looking roughly toward the camera is the gold standard. Profiles and three-quarter angles can work, but face-on is what really lets the personality come through. And personality is what makes a great portrait — the little quirk in the way they hold their head, the glint in their eye, the expression that says "I own this house and you know it."
Now, What to Do With That Perfect Photo
Once you've got the shot, the only sensible next step is to turn it into a custom Toilet Wags portrait — your pet, depicted in glorious detail, sitting on the throne like the monarch they've always known themselves to be.
We offer digital downloads from $9.99, unframed prints, and framed posters in three sizes — there's an option for every wall and every budget. The hardest part, genuinely, is taking the photo. We handle the rest.