Combined Portrait Image Guidelines
Bring Your Favourite People Together in One Beautiful Portrait
Sometimes the perfect photograph doesn’t exist — because the people you want in the portrait were never photographed together.
At Paint and Frame, we can bring separate photographs together to create a meaningful combined portrait featuring family members, couples, friends, children, pets, or loved ones.
For the best result, follow these simple guidelines when selecting your photos.
At Paint and Frame, we transform those meaningful places into artistic portraits that let you keep the memory close forever
For the best result, follow these simple guidelines when selecting your photos.
1. Choose Clear Photos of Everyone
Upload the clearest photographs you have for each person or pet you want included.
Best choices:
- High-resolution photographs
- Sharp and recognizable faces
- Good lighting
- Clearly visible facial features
- Minimal blur
- Natural expressions
Each individual photo can be different — they don't have to be taken on the same day.
2. Keep Faces Clearly Visible
Clear facial features are especially important when combining people from different photographs.
Try to avoid images where the face is:
- Heavily blurred
- Covered by objects
- Hidden by hands
- Extremely dark
- Very small in the frame
- Severely cropped
The clearer the face, the easier it is to create a natural-looking final portrait.
3. Multiple People Are Welcome
You can create a combined portrait featuring:
- Parents and children
- Grandparents and grandchildren
- Couples
- Brothers and sisters
- Friends
- Extended family
- Multiple generations
- Loved ones who couldn't be photographed together
- People and their pets
Choose photographs that represent each person in the way you'd like them remembered.
4. Pets Can Be Included
Your combined portrait doesn't have to include people only.
You can bring together:
- Family members and pets
- Multiple pets
- A person and a beloved pet
- People and pets from separate photographs
For pets, choose images where their face, fur, markings, and eyes are clearly visible.
5. Photos Don't Need to Match
Don't worry if your photographs have different:
- Backgrounds
- Lighting
- Clothing
- Camera angles
- Photo quality
- Locations
- Years or time periods
However, photographs with similar angles and lighting can make the final composition more natural.
6. Choose Your Main Reference Photo
If you're uploading several images, select one photograph as the main reference.
This helps us understand:
- Preferred composition
- Overall pose
- Facial positioning
- Clothing style
- Background direction
- Artistic mood
Use additional photographs as supporting references for individual faces and details.
7. Think About the Final Arrangement
Before uploading your photos, consider how you'd like everyone positioned.
For example:
- Parents in the center with children beside them
- Couple standing together
- Grandparents seated with family around them
- Family arranged in multiple rows
- Person standing alongside their pet
- Memorial-style arrangement with loved ones together
If you have a specific arrangement in mind, include your instructions with the order.
8. Clothing and Appearance
If the people come from different photographs, their clothing may naturally be different.
That's completely fine.
If you'd like a coordinated appearance, mention your preference before placing the order. You can also provide reference photographs showing the clothing style or colors you'd like represented.
9. Choose a Background Style
A combined portrait can be created with a variety of backgrounds.
You may prefer:
- A simple studio background
- A soft artistic background
- A natural outdoor setting
- A meaningful location
- A classic painted backdrop
- A home or family setting
- A subtle neutral background
If you'd like everyone placed in a particular location, provide a suitable background reference image when possible.
10. Don't Worry About Imperfect Photos
We understand that some of your most valuable photographs may be old or imperfect.
Photos with:
Slight fading
Small scratches
Different lighting
Minor background distractions
Older image quality may still be useful.
A meaningful photograph is often worth more than a technically perfect one.
For heavily damaged or very low-quality images, additional reference photographs may improve the final result.
Our Golden Rule
Choose the photos that best represent the people you want together.
They don't need to match perfectly. What matters is having clear references and meaningful photographs that allow us to bring everyone together into one harmonious piece of artwork.
At Paint and Frame, we don't simply recreate a location — we help turn the memories connected to that place into artwork you can display, gift, and treasure for years.