Photo guide

Daylight works best. A cloudy day outside, or indoors next to a large window, is ideal. Try to avoid strong midday sun, which casts harsh shadows. Early morning or late afternoon light gives lovely warm tones.

Switch off your flash. It flattens detail and causes glare and red eyes. If it's dark, move closer to a window instead.

Take the photo at the same height as your subject. For people and pets, that means eye level, so crouch down for a dog or a child. For a building, stand across the road and fit the whole front in. For food, shoot from above or at a slight angle, as if you're sitting at the table.

For portraits, a slight turn to one side while still looking at the camera often shows the most character.

Make sure your subject is sharp. For people and pets, the eyes matter most. Tap them on your phone screen to focus before you take the photo.

For portraits, a simple, uncluttered background works best. Check that nothing is in the way, such as hands, toys or other people.

Choose the photo that feels most like them. A natural expression matters more than a perfect shot. For a memorial piece, pick the photo that captures who they were, even if it isn't technically perfect.

For a Classic family or group portrait, one photo with everyone already together works best, taken from about the elbows up so every face is clear. If that's not possible, upload a separate photo of each person or of smaller groups. Please make sure each person appears in only one of your photos, or they may appear twice in your painting. Fewer photos usually give the best results.

Both start from just one photo. For Your Moment, choose a scene with a clear, open view, whether that's a beach, a city skyline or a sunset. Bright, colourful scenes look especially good in our Expressive style. For Your Place, take the photo from the front of the building and try to fit the whole thing in, standing across the road if you can. Crop out anything you'd rather leave out, like passers-by or parked cars.

Your Table paintings are one of our favourites. We have one 2m wide in our own dining room! We see them as large-format paintings, so uploading 3 to 5 photos with lots of different dishes works best.

Your photos could be your favourite food, a special meal you'll never forget, your dream menu or your "death row meal". Or simply your family sat around the table. However you choose to do it, it's something personal and just for you.

Lighting matters less for food than for portraits, so don't worry about getting it perfect. Your photos can show one dish or lots of them. Just crop out anything you don't want included.

Our table paintings are designed to look natural and a little messy, just like real life around the table. Your food will be reinterpreted in our style, so it won't be an exact copy of your photos.