Portrait Painting Blog

Taking Pictures of a House

ryan — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 15:39:40 +0000

We can turn almost any picture into a painted portrait. In a previous post, I talked about how a custom home portrait makes a great gift if you are a real estate agent.

Actually, a custom home portrait makes a great gift for many different occasions. Below, I’ve compiled some tips on photographing a home. Most of the tips are for real estate agents, but these tips do still apply to anyone taking a picture of a home and having it turned into a portrait painting.

6 home-photo tips to draw buyers - MSN Real Estate
Taking Home Photos That Will Draw Buyers - Wall Street Journal
Making Every Pixel Count - NY Times
The pix that get the clicks - LA Times
Tips for Taking Pictures of Your Home for Sale - Associated Content
Keys for Taking Beautiful Real Estate Photographs - SW Orange County Real Estate
Taking Good Real Estate Photos - Real Estate Blog
6 Essential Tips for Taking Professional Photos

Tips on Taking Pet Photos

ryan — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 14:47:13 +0000

Photographing pets can be very difficult, but it can also be very rewarding. Below, I’ve compiled some links to websites that will help you take that perfect shot.

After you’ve taken that perfect shot, consider having it turned into a painted portrait.

Photographing Pets - PhotographyTips.com
9 Pet Photography Tips - Digital Photography School
Pet Photography Tips - Photography.com
Getting the Most Out of Your Pet Pictures
Cat and Dog Photography Tips - Associated Content

There are few videos on YouTube that cover pet photography:
How to Photograph Pets
Pet Photography Depth of Field Tips
Pet Photography Locations

Tips on Taking Great Photos

ryan — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 14:40:43 +0000

Most people visiting our website already have a photo in mind they want turned into a painting, but for some people, they don’t a good photo.

I’ve decided to compile a list of websites that offer tips on taking spectacular photos.

PhotographyTips.com
Digital Photography School
Digital Photography Tips
Digital Photography Tips and Lessons
Photography Tips - DPhotoJournal

Top Ten Digital Photography Tips - MacDevCenter

Digital Cameras Help and Tips - Malek Tips

Zoila’s Self Portrait from Flipping Out

ryan — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 23:11:14 +0000

I’m a big fan of Flipping Out on Bravo. On last night’s episode, Jeff Lewis, the neurotic and obsessive compulsive home flipper, gave his housekeeper a painted portrait for her birthday. Unfortunately, the painting didn’t really reflect Zoila’s personality. The painting portrayed her as a mean, ruthless housekeeper.

The portrait was done by a local artist in California. With our service, you’ll never be dissatisfied with the painting we create. You will see the painting before it’s ever shipped to you. After you view a proof of the painting, you can request changes. We’ll make the changes requested and show you what it looks like after the changes are made.

Hand-Painted Oil Paintings from Photos Make Memorable Summer Wedding Additions (PRESS RELEASE)

ryan — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 23:20:07 +0000

Summer is a busy nuptial season, and this year brides, grooms, and even guests can make the wedding more memorable by having wedding or engagement photos turned into hand-painted oil paintings by the artists at Portrait Painting.

Omaha, Nebraska – June 3, 2008 – A new service launched earlier this year by Portrait Painting is allowing brides and grooms everywhere to add a bit of old fashioned class to their wedding by showcasing a hand-painted oil painting of the happy couple. The paintings are all completed by experienced oil painting artists and are based on existing photographs, letting the couple avoid posing for lengthy sittings.

“Unlike similar services, our artists don’t use projections, transfers, or any computer-aided techniques,” says Ryan Renner of Portrait Painting. “Everything is completely done by hand, by artists who specialize in creating lifelike oil paintings from photographs. Higher quality photography today allows us to better capture details that would have otherwise been lost in the past.”

Oil paintings can be created based on any favorite photo of the couple or a loved one. A couple may decide to have their favorite wedding photo turned into a painting to feature in their home, or they may prefer to have an oil painting created from their engagement photo, having it displayed during the wedding ceremony or reception. Friends and family members can even have their favorite photo of the happy couple turned into a hand-painted oil painting as a wedding gift.

The wide variety of options and sizes means that a completely hand-painted oil portrait can fit into anyone’s budget. All paintings created by Portrait Painting’s artists feature the highest quality canvases and paints, and are based on each artist’s own techniques for creating lifelike oil portraits. Portrait Painting even offers a full money-back guarantee.

About Portrait Painting
Portrait Painting was launched in early 2008 in Omaha, Nebraska and offers hand-painted oil paintings from photographs. The company’s artists have over seventy years of combined experience in oil painting, and specialize in oil-based portraits. The lifelike oil paintings are completely handmade by each artist, using no computer-aided tools, transfers, projections, or other artificial methods of creating accurate oil paintings from photographs. Portrait Painting creates human portraits, pet portraits, and even landscape oil paintings from photos.

For more information about how Portrait Painting can turn wedding and other photographs into hand-painted oil paintings, please visit www.PortraitPainting.com or contact Ryan Renner at 800-403-0407. To view oil painting samples alongside their original photographs, please visit http://www.portraitpainting.com/samples.html.

Horse Portrait

ryan — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 20:12:22 +0000

Big Brown has a chance to become the first triple crown horse in 30 years. For some, horses are used for sport and for others, they are close companions. When Eight Belles was tragically euthanized at the Kentucky Derby, the emotional response by the nation showed how emotionally attached many people are to horses.

We’ve done many custom portraits for horse owners. These owners usually want to remember a horse that was part of their family for many years. Horses are majestic animals and some of the most beautiful paintings we do are of horses. If you are interested in a horse portrait, please visit the pet portrait page.

Custom Background

ryan — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 19:34:24 +0000

Do you have a photo you want painted but don’t like the background of the photo? Don’t worry, we can remove the background of almost any photo and replace it with a generic background. Or, there may be one distracting element you want removed - we can do that too.

A custom background can make a portrait look better in a room by complementing the wall color.

There is no additional charge for a custom background. Below, you will see an example of a portrait created with a cloudy white background.

If you want to take advantage of this free service, just. In the comments section of the order form, mention a custom background. If you need advice before you place an order, just send us a photo and we’d be happy to help.

Portrait at a Wedding Reception

ryan — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:23:56 +0000

We always love seeing pictures of our portraits submitted by our customers. Either a picture of our portrait hung proudly above a fireplace or a picture of a lucky person receiving the portrait as a gift. The photo below was taken at a wedding reception. Our customer ordered a custom portrait as an engagement gift for a friend getting married. The couple loved the portrait so much they decided to display it at their wedding reception.

Portrait of Comedian Stephen Colbert

ryan — Tue, 06 May 2008 21:31:11 +0000

Arguably, the most famous portrait created in the past few years, is the portrait of comedian Stephen Colbert. The portrait isn’t even painted, it’s a digital image on canvas. The portrait was on display at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. While the portrait was hung at the gallery, it significantly increased attendance at the gallery.

The You can view some more images of the portrait and pictures of visitors at the museum in front of the portrait at Flickr.

Colbert portrait hangs at Smithsonian - USA Today

Image by alykat

How Long Does It Take?

ryan — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 01:39:34 +0000

One of the most frequent questions we’re asked is… How long does it take to get a painted portrait? The answer – on average, about 4 weeks.

A lot of our customers are under a time crunch because they are giving the portrait as a gift. Most people don’t worry about gifts until a week or two before a special event. Unfortunately, we can’t speed up the process. Putting speed in front of quality is not something we are comfortable doing. You won’t be happy with the result and neither will the person receiving the gift.

So, how can this problem be solved? Well, you can be honest (sort of). You can tell the person receiving the painting that you are getting them something special, that is custom made but took longer than you thought it would. A hand painted portrait is something that is worth the wait. Two or three years from now when that painting is hanging in their living room, they won’t remember it was a few days late, but they will remember who gave it to them.