How it works

From a photograph
to something framed.

Three steps, and the free one comes first. You see the finished portrait on screen — full size, in the style you chose — before there is any mention of price. Everything below explains what happens at each stage, what it costs, and what we do with your photograph afterwards.

A photograph being chosen on a phone screen

Upload a photograph

Pick one photograph and drop it in. There is no account to create, no email to hand over and no payment details at this stage — the upload box on every page is the whole of it.

A photo taken on a phone is completely fine, and so is a scan of an old print. What matters is that the face is visible and reasonably sharp; what does not matter is megapixels, background, or whether anyone was posing. If you are unsure which of four photos is the right one, the photo guide walks through what separates a good source image from a difficult one.

An oil-style portrait appearing on a screen beside a framed canvas

See it painted, free

The portrait comes back in a minute or two. You see it full size, in the style you picked, before anyone asks you for anything. Six styles are available and switching between them is free, so trying them all is a reasonable way to spend the first few minutes.

If something is off — the light is too cold, the background too busy, the expression not quite theirs — say so in plain words and it is reworked. Editing is free, and the ceiling on it is set high enough that ordinary use never reaches it. Most people land on the version they want within two or three passes.

A framed canvas portrait wrapped for delivery

Choose how to keep it

Only once the portrait on screen is right does a price appear. Keep it as a high-resolution download, a fine art print on archival paper, a gallery canvas, or a canvas already set into a real wood frame and ready to hang.

Physical pieces are made to order at the studio closest to your address and delivered free, anywhere. Downloads arrive by email within moments of payment. Nothing is printed until you have seen and approved exactly what will be printed.

What free means here

The limits, stated plainly

Making a portrait costs us real compute every time, so the free tier has a shape rather than being unlimited. It is a generous shape, and we would rather print it here than let you discover it halfway through.

Four new portraits every 24 hours: Each new portrait you start uses one of four free slots. The allowance is a rolling window rather than a daily reset, so slots come back one at a time exactly 24 hours after each one was used. If you use all four in an evening, the first is available again the following evening — and the page tells you when, using the real clock rather than a rounded estimate.
Edits do not count: Refining a portrait you already have — different light, calmer background, a softer expression, a different style — is free and does not touch the allowance. There is a ceiling per portrait to stop runaway loops, but it sits far above what anyone reaches in practice. Reworking until it looks right is the intended way to use this.
Previews are deleted after 72 hours: Your uploaded photograph and any unpurchased previews are removed automatically three days after they are made. Nothing to request, no setting to find. If you order, the finished artwork is kept so it can be reprinted or reordered later; the original photograph still goes.
No account, no card: Nothing before the preview requires a sign-up, an email address or payment details. We ask for an address only when there is something physical to send, and for an email only when there is a file to deliver.

Step three, in detail

Four ways to keep it

The same portrait can be delivered as a file or as an object. Sizes run from 12 × 16 inches up to 24 × 32, and the materials page covers what each one is made of.

Digital download: A high-resolution file, sent to your email as soon as payment clears. Large enough to print yourself later, and the obvious choice when a gift is needed tonight.
Fine art print: Archival pigment inks on heavy art paper, shipped flat or rolled depending on size. Unframed, so you can choose a moulding that suits the room.
Gallery canvas: 300–350 gsm cotton-blend canvas stretched over solid wooden bars, with the image wrapping the edges. Arrives ready to hang on its own.
Framed canvas: The same canvas set into a real wood floater frame in poplar or pine, with the hanging kit included. The version most people choose when it is going above a fireplace.

Timing

How long each part takes

The slow part is not the portrait — it is the printing and the post. A preview takes about a minute. Deciding takes as long as you want, because nothing expires except the preview itself. Production begins only after an order is placed.

Framed canvases reach addresses in the United States in roughly eight to ten days from the moment you order, including the time spent making them. Plain canvases and prints take twelve to fifteen. Orders outside the United States are produced at whichever studio is nearest, so the figures are broadly similar rather than doubled. Digital downloads arrive immediately. Full detail, and what happens when a delivery goes wrong, is on the delivery page.

If a gift has a date attached to it, order the framed canvas two weeks ahead and the plain canvas three. When that window has already closed, the digital download is the answer — it can be bought, printed locally and framed in an afternoon.

Start with one photograph

The preview is free and the decision comes later. Four portraits a day, no account, no card.

Upload a photo Read the photo guide

From a photographto something framed.