Me and My Cat Christmas Portrait

A cat and owner portrait in this style puts you and your cat side by side against plain white, both wearing red Santa hats, drawn in clean flat colour with your two names set above in simple capitals.

It is the only style in the collection that includes a person. Both of you are rendered in the same graphic treatment — no background, no props, nothing else in the frame — which is what stops it looking like two photographs stuck together and makes it read as one piece.

What a cat and owner portrait actually needs from you

A cat and owner portrait needs two photographs: one of you and one of your cat, each taken separately. You do not need to be photographed together, and the results are usually better when you are not, because you can pick the best picture of each rather than the one moment where both of you happened to cooperate.

For your own photo, a straightforward head-and-shoulders shot facing the camera works best — good light, no sunglasses, nothing covering the hairline, since the hat sits on top of it. For your cat, the same rules as always: eye level, light on the face, both eyes visible. The photo guide covers the pet side in detail.

How your cat and owner portrait is made

Both photographs are generated in this style and then individually reviewed and refined by a person before anything prints. Your cat’s markings and eye colour are matched to her photo. Your own likeness is checked too — hair, skin tone and the shape of the face — and the two of you are scaled and positioned so it reads as one portrait rather than a collage. Both names come from what you enter at checkout, so send the exact spellings in the order you want them.

You see a proof, usually within one to three working days, and nothing prints until you approve it. Revisions are free and unlimited, which matters more here than anywhere else in the range — people are far fussier about their own face than their cat’s, and that is entirely reasonable. If either photo will not work we say so before any work begins.

Sizes, framing and finish

Framed, canvas or digital download. Framed prints use 200gsm matte paper in a real pine frame with shatterproof plexiglass and a hanging kit, ready to hang, four to six days after approval. Canvas is a slim 2cm stretched cotton-polyester blend, five to six days. Black framing suits the plain white ground and is the usual choice.

Sizes are 8×12, 12×18, 16×24 and 24×36 inches. With two subjects sharing the frame, 12×18 is a sensible minimum. Free tracked shipping on every order. Pet-only styles are in the Christmas and Holidays collection if you would rather not be in it.

Questions about this portrait

Can more than one person be in a cat and owner portrait?
Ask in your order notes before ordering. The composition here is built for one person and one cat, and we will tell you honestly what is possible rather than guess.

What if I do not like how I look in the proof?
Say so plainly and it is redone. Revisions are free and there is no limit on them.

For a cat and owner portrait, do the two photos need matching lighting?
No. Matching the two together — lighting, angle and relative scale — is part of the refinement step before you see anything. Send the best photo of each and leave the matching to us.

Can the Santa hats be left off?
The hats are part of this style. Mention it in your order notes and we will tell you what can be done.

A share of every month’s orders goes back to rescued animals.