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Christmas will be here before you know it, start your portrait now before the holiday rush.
Childhood is fleeting,
Bas Relief is forever.
Portraits that can be touched, cherished and passed on for generations.
What is Bas-Relief?
Bas-relief (pronounced bah-ree-leef) is French for slightly raised sculpture. It is the most enduring of art forms. Once reserved only for the nobility and aristocrats due to the expense. We have now given bas-relief a modern economical refresh. Your portrait is handmade in our studio out of finely ground marble bound with resin. The life-size portrait is then mounted on a 11 x14 inch birchwood panel with your child's name handcarved in the 19th century cursive your grandmother wrote in. Comes framed and completely ready to hang for only $195.
HOW IT WORKS
1. EMAIL US YOUR PICTURE.
WE WILL REPLY RIGHT BACK TO CONFIRM IT WILL WORK.
2. WE EMAIL YOU BACK A SKETCH FOR YOUR APPROVAL.
3. PORTRAIT ARRIVES IN 4 WEEKS FRAMED AND READY TO HANG.
STEP 1: TAKE PICTURE - DO'S AND DON'TS
too much front
too much back
too high
too low
TOO CLOSE
This is the most common problem. When shot too close up the smartphone's small lens distorts the face way too much. This photo was shot at about a 1.5 feet away with an iPhone. Notice how big his ear appears and how the front of the face curves away. Now you know why you look fatter in smartphone photos. Visit our FAQ for more photo tips.
JUST RIGHT
GOOD
If shooting with a smartphone, and most parents do, just make sure you take the photo from about 4 to 6 feet away to minimize distortion. Send in with the extra background, it tells us you weren't too close up. Plus our artist will compensate for the slight amount of distortion inevitable even at this distance with smartphone photos.
Neutral or very slight smile.
85MM LENS
Photo taken with an 85mm lens.
Your family photographer should have a bigger lens like this. So at your next family portrait session ask your photographer to take a quick straight on profile shot of your child. This will result in the most accurate photo possible. Let us know it was shot on a big lens in your email. That way we'll know we don't have to compensate for any distortion.
STEP 2: EMAIL PICTURE TO: photos@basreliefportraits.com
- Write in subject line: the First Name of the child (or names if sending photos of more than one child)
- Attach photo(s) to email at actual size or scaled to Large, (don't scale them down to a medium or small size) - more email questions? visit our FAQ
- We will reply to your email within 24 hours to let you know if your photo will work. If you followed the above guide it most likely will.
STEP 3: PURCHASE
- Once we reply back to you that your picture will work, purchase your portrait package.
- You can expect to receive a pencil sketch of your child's portrait emailed back to you for your approval 3-4 days after purchase.
- If you are worried the portrait won't make it in time for Christmas, Mother's Day or a Birthday, or if you are Grandparent and need your children to take the reference pictures of your grandchildren, just purchase a Gift Certificate, which we will mail to the recipient of your choice in a gift box.
STEP 4: APPROVE SKETCH
- After 3-4 business days we will email you back a pencil sketch of your child's portrait.
- If you approve, just reply "Proceed" to the email. If you have minor requests for changes feel free to make them and we'll adjust.
- Once we receive your approval by email you can expect your portrait to arrive in 3 weeks.
- But if, for whatever reason you've changed your mind, just reply "Nevermind, I've changed my mind" and we will refund 100% of your purchase and the sketch will be complimentary.
STEP 5: AWAIT YOUR PORTRAIT
- Unbox your portrait. It comes completely ready to hang, nail included : )
- For best results hang or place where light comes across it from above or at an angle.
- Even better, hang where it is hit by shifting sunlight and it will change every time you look at it as the daylight changes. No worries about direct sunlight fading it, because long after the photos fade, the paintings tear and the digital disappears, your Bas-Relief Portrait will endure for generations.
- Just imagine if you had bas-relief portrait of your grandmother or great-grandmother as a little girl....
Still not ready?
- One of our lead sculptor's biggest regrets is not having a good side profile photo of his two oldest children to make a portrait from.
So if you are reading this, please, please just take a side profile photo of your child today, for yourself to keep, you won't regret it.
- What's so special about a profile picture? Our favorite view of child is a side profile, like when you are holding them and looking at their sweet face as they look straight ahead in wonder, at the first snowfall they've ever seen, for example. That view is where their pure innocence and simple joy beams through. That is what we are trying to preserve.
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