Children’s Portrait Tips, Part II
Sunday, April 12th, 2009
As we learned in Children’s Portrait Tips, Part I, foolish couples are attempting to immortalize their children by hiring online charlatans to turn their beloved photos into cheesy, Photoshopped pseudo-paintings. Don’t make this mistake. Do go the traditional route, but do be aware of certain pitfalls. When commissioning a portrait in oils or charcoal, follow these additional dos and donts:
1. DON’T encourage quite this much eye contact.

Though this baby is already a successful hypnotist, that's no reason to capture him while he's plying his trade. A 3/4-view might have been more charming and less confrontational.
2. DO depict your baby lying on an exotic planet, maybe Saturn.

Even an attractive child like this can benefit from an exotic backdrop such as zebra stripes or the colorfully gassy atmosphere of an uninhabitable planet (above).
1. DON’T overdo a “Jailhouse Rock” motif.

Even if your child has recently been sent to County Prison, resist the urge to style her bangs to match her little convict shirt before she sits for her portrait.
Related Posts
• Children’s Portrait Tips, Part I
• When did genius kids get “hot”
• What only children look like in 2009