Oh Barney's artists can combine two or more dogs from separate photos into one portrait. They don't need to be in the same image. You provide the best individual photo of each dog, and the artist creates a composed piece.
The multi-dog photo problem
Most people with two or more dogs have the same experience: great individual photos of each dog, and terrible photos of them together. One's always looking away. One's blurry. They're both mid-leap or mid-wrestle. Getting a usable photo of two dogs simultaneously is hard, and the older or more energetic they are, the harder it gets.
The separate-photo approach removes that problem entirely.
How the process works
You provide the best available photo of each dog individually. When you order, you specify how you'd like them positioned: side by side, one slightly in front of the other, whatever makes sense for the composition you have in mind. The artist creates a single piece with both dogs.
It doesn't look like a cut-and-paste job. The artist creates the composition, handling the lighting, proportion and placement to make it look like a natural, unified portrait.
To commission a custom portrait of multiple dogs, start with the best individual photos of each dog.
What makes individual photos work well for combination portraits
The usual photo rules apply to each dog separately. See the full photo guide for details, but the short version:
· Each dog's face needs to be clearly visible in their individual photo
· Similar lighting between the two photos helps, though it isn't always essential
· Similar angle (both roughly at eye-level) makes the final composition cleaner
· The more clearly each dog's distinctive markings are visible, the better the artist can capture what makes them themselves
Sizing for multiple dogs
Two dogs work well in A3 landscape or larger because you need room for both faces. Three dogs are better served by A2 or wider. The size guide has multi-dog recommendations if you're not sure where to start.
What to expect
Send 2–3 photos of each dog if you have them. More reference options give the artist room to find the best version of each dog's face and markings, and to make the composition work better overall.
When this approach is most useful
· Dogs who are never still when they're together (which is most of them)
· A dog who has passed being included in a portrait alongside a current dog
· Dogs from the same litter photographed separately, combining siblings into one piece
Commission a custom portrait of multiple dogs at Oh Barney.
