Caricatures Caricature by Bernie of Couple drinking beer and wine
by Bernie Tennis

Guidelines for reference photos.

Please send several photos of each person.

Prints – The face in the photo should be fairly large, at least 1.5 to 3 inches high, depending on film speed. (For 400 speed film it should be 3 inches, for 100 speed 1.5 inches is OK). And larger dimensions are always good.

Digital images – If the image is high resolution (taken with the highest camera image resolution in good light) then an image that includes a full figure is probably OK. At lower resolutions I will need an image taken of only the head, or head/upper body. To check for sufficient resolution view the photo on your computer zooming in on the face. If the face holds a sharp resolution when viewed at the size of your screen then it’s probably OK for me to work from. (If the file size is very large and the photo contains lots of other elements, then it would be helpful if you would crop to the head/upper body. Please keep some space around the person so I can see the edges well. Don’t resize to a smaller file size.)

BUT - Though focusing on the face, photos should not be taken TOO closeup (as one might do by taking a picture of oneself by holding the camera at arms-length). This distorts the image. A distance of 5-6 feet, and including upper torso in the image, is probably ideal.

Drawings of multiple people - If several persons are to be in the drawing, I can put them together, so individual photos are OK.

Subjects - Make sure the photos of each person have natural and characteristic expressions with typical hair style, so that to you the photos look very much like the persons to be drawn. Since I won’t see the actual people, the photos are all I have to go on. If the photos aren’t accurate the drawing won’t be either. Snapshots are fine, as long as the face is large, and sometimes can be better than formal portraits because they're not posed.

Eye and Hair Color - It can be hard to determine the eye color from a photo. This is especially an issue with digital photos, where the color presented is affected by the camera, software, and display/printer. Also the tint of the hair is very dependent on the lighting and photo display. So let me know the eye and hair color fairly precisely (eg: eyes light blueish green, hair dark side of blonde with a slight reddish tint).  If one of the photos is accurate regarding hair color, let me know that too.

 

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