Cat Photo Guidelines

These cat photo guidelines start with one fact: your photo is the biggest factor in how your gift turns out. A sharp, well-lit photo prints beautifully; a blurry or dark one can’t be fixed by editing. Use this checklist before you upload.

1. Focus and resolution

Zoom in on your cat’s eyes. If you can see individual whiskers and the texture of the fur around the nose, the photo is sharp enough. Upload the original file: screenshots and photos forwarded through messaging apps or downloaded from social media are compressed and lose detail.

You can upload JPG, PNG or WEBP photos up to 15 MB each, and up to 6 photos per item. Most phone cameras from the last few years take photos of 3,000 px or more, so an original photo straight from your phone is usually fine.

2. Light

Soft window light or open shade outdoors shows your cat’s true colors. Avoid yellow lamp light, which turns fur orange and grainy, and the camera flash, which flattens the fur and can make eyes glow. Black and dark cats especially need good daylight so their features don’t disappear. Our guide on how to photograph a black cat has more tips.

3. Framing for each product

• Mugs, tumblers, round ornaments, canvas and most shirts: a close photo of the head and chest, with a little space above the ears.
• Cut-out ornaments: the whole cat, including ears, paws and tail, with a clear outline against the background. Anything missing from the photo will be missing from the ornament.
• Socks and face-pattern designs: a front-facing photo with both eyes open and both ears visible, because the face is repeated at a small size.
• Designs built around a pose (a “loaf”, a cat in a box): choose a photo that already shows that pose.
• Two or more cats: our multi-cat designs fit two to five cats. Add a clear photo of each cat in the designer (up to 6 photos per item). Separate photos usually give a much cleaner result than one group photo.
• Designs with several poses (such as a photo-booth blanket): add a few different photos of your cat, and we’ll use the best ones.

4. Angle and background

Get down to your cat’s eye level. Photos taken from above make heads look large and bodies short. A treat or a toy held just above the camera helps get a forward look with ears up. A simple background makes it easier for our designers to cut out your cat cleanly. Busy backgrounds, other animals or people touching your cat make clean cutting harder.

5. Older photos and memorial gifts

If you’re ordering a memorial gift, you may only have older or imperfect photos, and that’s okay. Upload the best one you have and add any requests in the “Notes for our designer” box (for example, “please brighten the photo” or “keep the red collar”). If you only have a printed photo, photograph it in daylight, straight on and without glare, rather than scanning it at low resolution. We’ll tell you before printing if we think the result will disappoint you.

What we do and don’t edit

• We do: remove or simplify the background where the design needs it, refine the outline, straighten the photo and adjust brightness, contrast and color so the print looks like your cat.
• We don’t: invent missing ears, paws or tails, change your cat’s markings or eye color, or “repaint” a blurry photo. If a photo won’t print well, we’ll ask you for a different one.

Need a second opinion?

Email your photo to support@personalizedcatgifts.com before you order and we’ll tell you honestly whether it will work. For more examples, read the best photo for a custom cat gift and how to take great pictures of your cat.