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Question 1: How do I pay?

Short Answer:
Very easily - By dropping a cheque in the post, or by bank transfer.

Long Answer:
Because the portraits we create for you are tangible goods, (ie, not something you download to get) and also because they take a few days to create, there is no need for an immediate online payment. Instead, you can pay using the simple traditional methods of either posting a cheque, or making a bank transfer. These methods are just as safe as anything else, and being traditional artists, we work on trust, so we will start the work as soon as you confirm your order anyway, without waiting for your payment to arrive. This works well, and has the added comfort for you that there are no risks of online fraud or electronic identity thefts or lost orders commonly associated with online web-based 'shopping cart' transactions. Web-based shopping carts sometimes fail because of software glitches or problems with authorization or compatibility of payment/credit cards, and when they fail, your order may not even have been placed even if you think it has. But at PhotoAltering you will be interfacing with a human who will start creating your portrait immediately and worry about payment methods later. This helps ensure your portrait is completed speedily.

 

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Question 4: (IMPORTANT) How will my portrait be delivered?

Answer:
Large sizes require a signature from the recipient on delivery, smaller sizes do not.

Here are the details. Take note:
20 inch paper sizes are sent by post. They do NOT require a signature on delivery, but will arrive in a fat, stiff mailing tube too wide to fit through most people’s letter boxes. You should therefore give a thought to where you want it delivered – Many clients decide on delivery to their place of work.
Larger than 20 inch paper sizes, and all canvas versions, whether rolled or stretch-framed, are dispatched by courier or recorded delivery post and DO require that someone is present to sign for them. Again, many clients find the best solution is to have it delivered to their place of work. Courier companies often cover themselves by stating that the customer received the goods in good condition. Unless you can unwrap the package and check it before signing for it, (and the unwrapping should not be rushed because careless unwrapping can damage the product) please sign the package but either cross out the part of the form that says 'received in good condition' or sign it and write 'not checked' against your signature. The courier company does not deliver on Saturdays.
If you are not around when the delivery person calls, they will leave a card to say they called and will attempt delivery the following day. (If this is a Friday, the second delivery attempt will be the following Monday). Please contact the number on the card to arrange a re-delivery. Please note, the delivery company will make two attempts to deliver and then will return the goods to the shipper. You may incur extra charges if they have to send the order out to you again.

 

Question 5: I haven’t chosen a photograph to ‘pop art’ yet – Will any photo do?

Answer:
Any photo will do, but not all give the best results. Basically, photos must be Big enough, Bright enough, Sharp enough and Simple enough. To clarify:
Big enough: Photos at passport size or smaller are generally too small. Photos taken with cheaper or older mobile phones are generally too small. Group photos where only one person from the group is to be cut out and used are generally too small. If you are sending a photo taken with a digital camera, then your camera should be on at least its medium or medium-to-high quality setting, or higher. Low quality or small-size setting does not usually give big enough or sharp enough pictures. The photo should be of just head and shoulders of the one person (or two people) to be in the portrait. If it’s a full-length shot of the person, the head will be too small to use.
If you are scanning an old photo or negative to send to us, you should ideally scan it at not less than 180 dpi. Unless you are an expert scanner, do not worry about adjusting tone and contrast etc when you scan. We will do all that for you. If in doubt, just scan it on the ‘automatic’ setting. Try to avoid scanning the whole scanning area (ie a small photograph on a big white background). Only select the photo itself as your scanning area. Try to avoid saving scans as .pdf files. Save them as JPEG (preferably) or BMP. If emailing us more than two photos , please attach each to a separate email.
Bright enough: dark photos, or dull photos taken without flash, or photos taken outside where shadows fall across the face (such as the shadows of a tree branch or the shadow of a person standing nearby) are no good. Andy Warhol photographed his portrait subjects specially for the purpose with a simple camera, using flash and the person standing looking head-on in front of a white background. Sounds boring, but in fact this gives the very best result. If possible, photograph the person specially for their pop art portrait using the same method – Flash, white or light background, and the person looking straight at camera. Don’t worry about ‘redeye’ – We fix that.
Sharp enough: Photos out of focus, blurry or grainy are no good. Very old photos are also often no good. Camera technology has increased tremendously in the past twenty years, and especially since the digital boom at the start of this millennium – A cheap camera today can produce pictures almost as good as an expensive professional camera, especially in the right hands, whereas most pictures taken with a cheap old ‘instamatic’ style point-and-shoot camera from the 1980’s or earlier are generally not of clear enough quality to be able to produce an effective pop art portrait from. Even expertly-taken photos can fade and blur with age if they haven’t been looked after. Therefore, the sharper, clearer, and newer your photo is, the better.
Simple enough: ‘Candid’ shots, that is to say, pictures of people laughing and looning around at parties and picnics are not really suitable. Three reasons for this: a) They’re often not in focus, because of the carefree activity of the moment. b) They’re often taken with mobile phones, which as we’ve said do not always provide big enough resolutions to be sharp enough when enlarged to the necessary size for a pop art portrait, and c) Andy Warhol almost never did a smiling portrait. Ninety-nine percent of his portraits have closed, pouty lips and serious faces. It’s true that many of the portraits in our own website gallery are smiling, but this is only because smiling photos are all the clients had. But for genuine Warhol authenticity, portraits should be calmly and officially posed and unsmiling. Check out his work and you’ll see it’s true. Passport photos are ideal, but as we’ve said, these are generally too small, however when having an official passport photo taken (by a photographer or in one of those automated photo-booths) you can opt to have a large version printed as well. This is the one we need. For a couple of quid you can pop out right now and get it done in a photo booth at ‘yer local bus station, and it will be perfect, far better than a laughing candid taken at a party. Colour or black-and-white? Doesn’t matter.

 

Question 6: How good are your pop art portraits? Your prices are competitive, but it’s still a serious amount of money - Are they really close to the authentic Andy Warhol style?

Answer:
Absolutely. We’ve been doing this for nearly five years and following Warhol’s work for a lot longer than that. Whenever a Warhol exhibition comes to town, you’ll find us in the gallery with our noses two inches from the canvases figuring out how he did it. We don’t just make pop art portraits – For us, it’s not just about making some wacky hokey jokey picture with bright colours – It’s about carrying on Warhol’s work and filling the aching void he left behind when he died*. We don’t claim equality of talent with Warhol, and we don’t have the technique perfect yet – But we’re close. Very close. And it’s because we care so much about attention to detail and recreating the technique, that our portraits have a ‘depth’ and sensitivity and quality that you won’t find elsewhere. To some people, pop art portraits are just a craze, this year’s fashion in home decoration, a passing bandwagon to jump on and exploit. But to us, it’s much more than that – We don’t follow fashion, we follow Warhol - It’s a lifetime passion, a mission, if you will, to try to recreate what can never be created again by the original guy, and to give 21st century people a chance to own something closely resembling 20th century art, from the golden age of pop art, when Andy Warhol was king and walked the streets of Manhattan, and the glittering discos were filled with beauty and fame that thought it would live forever. And on Andy’s canvases, it did. Owning a Warhol-style portrait made by PhotoAltering is like owning a little piece of that exotic past. And it’s worth every cent.

 

Question 7: Can I see a proof (preview) of the picture before you send it?

Answer:
Yes, certainly. In fact it's our standard practice.
Our price includes a proofing/preview service. That is to say, we won't print and send you the final picture until you are happy with it, so as soon as the initial design work is done, we email you a miniature proof/preview to approve before you commit to printing. After you've seen the proof/preview, you'll have the opportunity to ask for colour changes or minor changes in detail, we'll then make all possible changes and then email you another final miniature proof/preview.
Note, however, that we do not produce free trial versions of work 'on approval' at no charge (that's a different matter from proofing - 'Trials' and 'Proofs' are not the same thing, and are not be confused with each other). We don't do trials, but we always send you a proof. See more about this below in questions 8 to 16, which deal with our proofing preview policy.

 

Question 8: Can I ask for changes in the picture after seeing the preview?

Answer:
Certainly, Yes. The design is dictated by your photograph, so is not completely flexible, but we can change colours and minor details and are happy to do so. That is the purpose of the proof/preview. Then we send you a second preview to check before final printing. Although the final look of the picture is at the creative discretion of the artist (it is after all what you're paying us for), we do encourage you to have choice and creative input.

 

Question 10: How many times at most can I ask for the proof/preview to be changed until you get it 'right'?

Short answer:
Normally twice, but three times maximum, please.

Long Answer:
'Right' is a subjective concept when discussing art. Ordering a portrait created for you by an artist isn't like ordering curtains or carpet. At some point you have to just let go and trust the artist's judgement. Otherwise it wouldn't be art. The final look and use of colours in the picture is at the discretion of the artist. That's what makes it magical, and it's the definition of art - When you buy an original work of art such as one of our portraits, you're buying a piece of someone's mind and soul, the artist's. You're buying a viewpoint that's not your own, an interpretation, a different slant on life, a vision. Most clients understand this and delightedly accept the first proof we send them, but of course we're happy to make changes after the first proof if necessary and send a second proof. At the bargain prices we charge for this unique art however, three proofs is as much as we can reasonably provide. Limiting the number of revised proofs a client can have helps us keep both costs and turnaround times down for everybody's benefit, and also maintains the artistic integrity which you hired us for in the first place.

 

Question 12: Can I start by seeing multiple different versions of a portrait at the proof/preview stage to choose one favourite from?

Short Answer:
Sorry, No. The service we offer is wonderfully good value (see question 15 below) but we'd have to put our prices up to cover the increased chargeable labour time that would be involved if every client wanted to see four different versions of a portrait before deciding. Each different coloured version takes a few hours to make, it's not an automated process, so it also isn't fair to keep other clients waiting while we prepare extra versions that wouldn't be needed anyway.

Long Answer:
Truthfully, seeing multiple versions isn't necessary - You are probably better at choosing colours than you think you are - Just go with your instincts - We allow you to choose up to four or five different colours as ingredients in one picture anyway (see our colour-choice swatch here) - And besides, if the picture is a gift for someone else, you can't always be sure they wouldn't have liked the colours you rejected. If still in doubt, the most excellent solution is to order one of our 2Up, 4Up or 9Up versions, in which, just like Warhol, we can incorporate all the extra second-choice colours you want.

 

Question 13: If I still don't like the picture after seeing the preview, even after changes, can I cancel the order with nothing to pay?

Answer:
Sorry, No. A payment is due even if you reject the preview, however, we don't ask for the full order amount if you don't want us to go as far as actually printing the finished picture. For a rejected order we charge only whichever is the higher figure of the following: a) 30 percent of the undelivered (unprinted) price, or b) £25. But the good news is that you are in fact highly unlikely to be disappointed - We've never had an order turned down yet - Most people are absolutely delighted with the first or second proof and immediately instruct us to print and send the full-size version.

 

Question 14. (IMPORTANT) Does ordering a picture from you commit me to paying?

Answer:
Yes. A payment is due even if you reject the proof/preview, however, we don't ask for the full order amount if you don't want us to go as far as actually printing the finished picture. For an order rejected at the proofing stage we charge only whichever is the higher figure of the following: a) 30 percent of the undelivered (unprinted) price, or b) £25. But the good news is that you are in fact highly unlikely to be disappointed - We've never had an order turned down yet - Most people are absolutely delighted with the first or second proof and immediately instruct us to proceed to print and send the full size version.

 

Question 15: Why do you charge a small amount even if I reject the design after seeing the proof/preview?

Short Answer:
Because the proof/preview we send you is not some sort of a quick artificial mock-up, but is in fact a screenshot of the finished work, and that finished work will have taken a couple of days labour to produce.

Long Answer:
Our work is produced to a very high standard, and although it's an efficiently fast digital process, it is still produced 'by hand' (hand on mouse!) and takes several hours or sometimes days to produce. The proof/preview we send you is simply a miniature image of the full finished version. There is simply no other way to show you a proof of the finished version other than actually producing a finished version, because, logically, doing only half a job would not show you the full picture. Therefore, we think it's right that even if you never order a full sized print, the labour we have put into the design should be paid for, at least partially. We do it this way instead of making you pay a non-returnable deposit up front. It's more trusting. Commissioning original art is a commitment, and we encourage clients to honour this concept. We also reason that some clients who cancel the order after seeing the proof may be able to enlarge or otherwise reproduce the miniature proof themselves, in effect, stealing the work we've done for them at no charge. Therefore, in compensation, and to protect the honour of the artistic profession from a minority who might seek to defraud it, we believe it's reasonable, and actually necessary to ask this small percentage of the agreed price in the event of cancellation. We're happy for you to use and have fun with the miniature proof in whatever way you like, but we think you should pay for it if you decide not to go through with the final print. However, it's actually highly unlikely that you will cancel. We've never had an order cancelled yet - Most people are absolutely delighted with the first or second proof and immediately instruct us to proceed to print and send the full size version.

 

Question 16: Can you force me to pay for a rejected proof?

Short Answer:
Most probably not. Besides, we're based in Italy, so our reach doesn't extend very far. However, my father-in-law is Sicilian, so perhaps it's best not to test that theory. But we figure that if you're into ordering works of art, you're probably a basically very nice person with an artistic sensitivity, as opposed to a criminal cheapskate. And in fact, we've never had an order turned down yet - Most people are absolutely delighted with the first or second proof and immediately instruct us to proceed to print and send the full size version. So it's unlikely to ever get as far as us needing to send Luca Brasi over to persuade you that either your brains or your signature will be on the cheque. Trust us, and we'll trust you.

Long Answer:
As Spike Lee said, 'Do the right thing'. This is a classy product, and believe me, even our bad stuff is good, and worth your money. You're paying for originality, effort, time, inspiration, and heart. Also remember that Andy Warhol himself often charged up to twenty thousand pounds for a portrait - In comparison with Warhol's prices, ours are almost free. On an Excel pie chart showing Warhol's prices compared to ours, our prices wouldn't even show up. Modern technology allows us to print the pictures cheaper for you, and we wouldn't claim to match Warhol's talent, but the creative effort and attention to detail that goes into our work is the same as for any artist. You'll find the miniature proof incredibly fun and useful for printing on small things anyway. So be a sport and pay up… please.

 

Question 17: I’ve emailed you at least twice and you’ve never responded. Why not?

Answer:
Fortunately this happens only very occasionally – The reason is that some email servers in the world mistakenly filter out email from some domains as spam – We respond to everybody, but not everybody receives our email – It’s very embarrassing for us because it makes us look as if we don’t care, but we most certainly do. There are two ways to fix this – a) Try emailing us from another email address (ie, from a different ISP), and/or b) Be sure to white-list and/or add “ enquiries@photoaltering.co.uk” to your email address book. Try both methods

 

Question 18: What if my picture arrives damaged?

Answer:
If a package arrives irreparably or significantly damaged or inferior, you must inform us within 48 hours after receipt of the product. Please do not return the product, but inform us first. Products returned to us without prior written or verbal notification or authorization will not be accepted. If we are not notified within 48 hours, it will be assumed that the shipment arrived complete and undamaged and was deemed satisfactory. We assume no liability beyond 48 hours. If you therefore receive a damaged or defective shipment, please immediately contact customer.service@photoaltering.co.uk. All damaged packages shipped via special courier must be inspected by the courier themselves actually on your premises before a valid restitution claim can be made. After you contact us, we will notify the courier concerned and they will come to your location to inspect the damaged package. Please note that if:
a) the product is not retained in the original shipping carton, or
b) the package is shipped back to us or to any other destination before the courier concerned inspects the damage, eligibility for compensation is voided.

 

Question 19: What if I am not satisfied with the printed picture when it arrives? If I return it, can I get a full refund, or decide not to pay?

Short Answer:
Sorry, but No – The proof/preview process allows ample opportunity for clients to change something or cancel the order before we print. Although we do offer a reprint service for pictures arriving damaged, we do NOT make full refunds on the basis of dissatisfaction with the artwork itself, nor on the basis of differences between colour shades in the proof and the final print.

Long Answer:
The proof/preview is sufficiently representational of the final print. Even if final printed colour shades differ slightly from the preview, the overall effect of the final printed work is stunning, (especially after framing) and will generally be as seen in the proof/preview which you approved before we printed it. We have actually never had a dissatisfied customer wanting to return a print. More reasons for this are given in question 15. To recap, our service offers jaw-dropping value – We make original art closely replicating Andy Warhol’s actual technique, yet at a fraction of the price. In order to keep our prices down for you, we have to put some sensible limit on concessions such as refunds. A conventional portrait painter would charge at least five times our prices, and Warhol himself charged about three hundred times our prices. Compared to this, our work is well worth the relatively very modest charge we make for it.

 

Question 20: Anything else I should know?

Answer:
This FAQ serves as our Terms and Conditions to which you are implicitly bound by the action of ordering a picture from us, with particularly regard to our policy of payment and the proof/preview process. We trust it answers all your questions and sets out our procedures which are designed to be fair and reasonable to all parties. Any other questions, please email us.

 

So... let's GO for it… We’re looking forward to hearing from you

Click here for the colour swatch – Pick up to four or five fave colours, and just tell us the numbers or names of the ones that appeal to you. Choose a style and size, email us the photos, and we’ll get started…