What makes a good reference photo
The single biggest factor in how closely a custom sculpture matches your reference — and how to get it right the first time.
Why the photo matters more than the camera
Front-facing, evenly lit, and in focus: those three things matter more than camera quality. A clear phone photo taken in daylight will usually outperform a dim, artistically angled, professionally shot portrait for sculpting purposes, because our artisans need to see the features plainly, not lit for mood. If you can see the eyes, nose, and mouth clearly yourself on a phone screen, that's a strong reference.
What tends to cause problems
Heavy shadow across half the face, a strong three-quarter angle, sunglasses or a hat covering key features, and group photos where the one person you actually want is small in the frame — all of these make a reference harder to work from, not impossible, just slower and less exact. Heavily filtered or retouched photos are also worth avoiding, since a filter can subtly change proportions in ways that carry through to the final piece.
For pets and children
Reference photos of pets and young children are almost never perfectly posed, and that's fine — send a few from different angles rather than searching for one perfect shot. Movement and personality often come through more honestly in a slightly imperfect photo than a posed one.
What happens after you send it
Your reference goes through precision 3D scanning and printing first, then to an in-house artisan for hand-finishing — the step where likeness is actually refined and confirmed against your photo before the piece is considered complete. For memorial commissions specifically, every reference photograph is treated as irreplaceable, with an explicit return or deletion policy and a dedicated consultation before production begins.