How to take the perfect photo to upload

A personalised print is only ever as good as the photo behind it — and the good news is that the phone in your pocket is more than enough. A few small tricks turn an ordinary snap into a portrait worth keeping. Here's how.

Wait for good light

Shoot near a big window, or outside on a bright-but-cloudy day — soft, even light is the most flattering there is. Skip harsh midday sun and the flash; both are unkind to a good face.

Get down to their level

Crouch or kneel so the camera sits at their eye level. It instantly reads as a proper portrait rather than a photo of a dog waiting for its dinner — and it catches the expression in their eyes, which is the whole point.

Get in close, and keep it sharp

Fill the frame with their head and shoulders, moving closer rather than zooming (zoom just adds grain). Tap the screen to focus on their eyes, and a treat or a daft noise above the camera gets that alert, ears-up look. A crisp still beats a blurry action shot every time.

Keep the background simple

A plain wall, some grass, a neutral blanket — anything uncluttered makes your dog the star. It matters even more if you'd like the background removed on the print: a clean, contrasting backdrop gives the tidiest cut-out.

Send the original, full size

Send the photo straight from your camera roll — not a screenshot, and not a copy pulled from a group chat or social media. Those come out soft and pixelated once they're printed large.

Ready when you are?

The best photo is simply the one that makes you smile — the head tilt, the side-eye, the daft grin they pull when they've stolen something. Once you've got it, choose "upload your own photo" on the product, and pop it in. And if your dog is simply not a model, a hand-illustrated watercolour of their breed works just as beautifully.