Why a Blurry Photo Could Raise the Price of Your Pet Painting
When you send me a photo of your pet for a portrait, the quality of that photo can seriously affect the final piece. A high-resolution image lets me see all the little details—the shine in their eyes, the texture of their fur, those quirky markings that make them unique.
But when the photo is blurry or low-res, I have to guess or completely rebuild parts of your pet from scratch. That means filling in missing details, making assumptions about fur patterns, eye shape, even coloring. I’ll always do my best—but it’s never quite the same as working from a clear, detailed reference.
Think of it like trying to bake someone’s favorite cake without the full recipe. I might get close, but it won’t taste exactly like the original.
So let’s break this down…
What is the difference between high resolution vs low resolution?
I will break this down by showing you a couple photos of some pets.
Let’s start with the “low resolution” photo.
To the untrained eye, this photo is okay.
But even in 1x, I know this photo is too low light and is missing important details I’ll have to rebuild.
Let’s zoom in below.
Zooming in just a little... and already, the sharpness is fading.
The fur’s texture is soft and hard to read. I can’t tell where one marking ends and another begins.
Now let’s zoom in a little more…
At this point, the details I rely on—like eye reflections, whisker shape, or fur direction—are nearly gone.
I still see the general structure of the pet, but I’d have to guess where some of the details are. That means the final painting could feel less true to them.
This is what I see when I try to zoom in to paint from a blurry photo.
This is the size I am usually working with, and at this size, everything turns to mush—no lines, no texture, just blobs. It takes hours to rebuild these details by hand, and that’s why I sometimes have to charge a fee.
You can see as I zoom in how the details aren’t great.
2x: Details start to blur. Fur edges and markings lose definition.
4x: Important features like eyes, nose, and textures become unreadable.
10x: It’s all smudges and pixels. No usable detail left—I have to rebuild everything from scratch.
Now let’s do this again but with a high resolution photo.
What a Good Photo Looks Like (And Why It Helps So Much!)
Now this photo is MUCH better – let me show you why.
The lighting and color isn’t perfect, BUT the photo itself is crisp. Let me show you as we zoom in.
This is already giving me valuable info to paint from.
As I zoom in 2x, I can clearly see the fur texture, shape of the ears, and where light falls across the face. The fur is a LITTLE blurry, but I can see where the fur strands end.
Even zoomed in more, the details hold up beautifully.
I can see how the fur changes direction, the reflection in the eye, and those little whisker pads. Now the real telling sign of if this is a great photo…is seeing how it looks zoomed in 10x.
This level of detail is a dream for painting.
I don’t have to guess or improvise—I can translate exactly what I see into the final portrait. My own brush strokes will make it crisper.
Now that I broke down a low-res vs a high-res photo, let’s compare a low-res and high-res photo side by side—zooming in to show what I actually see as the artist.
From this view, both might look okay—but look closer.
Only one has the sharpness I need to paint from.
At 2x zoom, the low-res photo is already soft and grainy.
Meanwhile, the high-res version holds strong—clear eyes, fur, even subtle shadows. Can you tell which is which by now?
This is where the difference really shows.
Low-res: blurry blobs and guessing games.
High-res: visible light reflections, hair direction, natural texture.
This is what I really see when I use a reference to paint.
The low-res side becomes mush.
The high-res side still gives me enough to stay accurate and true to your pet.
In case you don’t believe me…here’s the difference between a poor reference photo and a good reference photo – both of which I used to paint
Artists aren’t wizards – we don’t build from nothing. Just like how architects need blueprints, an artist needs good reference photos.
A high-quality photo helps me capture your pet’s unique features, quirks, and essence. A low-res photo? I’m stuck guessing—and that means extra time, detail reconstruction, and a possible added fee.
💡 Tip: Natural lighting, clear focus, and no filters go a long way!
