Premium Steel Porcelain Portraits
A real photograph of your loved one, fired into double coated porcelain enamel on steel and mounted flush into the granite. Full color or black and white, made in America, guaranteed for life.
A Photograph That Lives Outdoors
Hibiscus Memorial in Bahama Blue Granite.
The Work Behind the Picture
Bring Us Any Photo
A framed print, a wallet photo, a picture on your phone, a scan someone emailed you. If it is the one you love, start there and we will tell you honestly whether it will work.
Cropping and Color Correction
Our artists handle the cropping, the color balance, and removing whatever is in the background you do not want. There is no extra charge for it.
Photo Restoration
Creases, tears, water stains, faded 1940s tones, a stranger’s shoulder in the frame. Old and damaged photographs get fully restored before the portrait is made.
Set Into the Stone by Us
We mount the portrait into the granite flush with the surface, so there is nothing standing proud of the stone to catch a mower or a curious hand. It is guaranteed for life once it is in.
Paris Theme Headstone in Tropical Green Granite. A rectangular portrait sized to the panel it sits in, with the whole design built around it.
A Heart, an Oval, a Rectangle
The oval is the traditional choice and still the one we set most often. It reads as a portrait from across the lawn and it sits well on almost any stone, upright or flat.
Hearts come up most for a young person, for a wife or a mother, and for the Garden Memorials people keep at home. Rectangles give you the most face for the space and work well when two people share one portrait, or when the photograph is a wide one you do not want to crop down.
Rounds are the quiet one people forget about. They look right on a Slant Memorial and on the smaller companion stones.
From Your Photograph to the Stone
Bring Us the Photo
Come by the Chino showroom, email it, or text it. If the only copy is in a frame on your wall, bring the frame. We will scan it while you wait and hand it straight back to you.
A photo where the face fills a good part of the frame will always beat a group shot taken from thirty feet away.
You Approve the Proof
Our artists crop it, correct the color, repair any damage, and set the background. Then we lay the portrait into a drawing of your actual stone so you can see the size against the lettering.
Nothing goes to the kiln until you have signed off. Change the crop, go up a size, switch to black and white, try a different background. This is the stage to be picky, and families should be.
Firing and Delivery
Figure 3 to 4 weeks from the day you approve the proof. When it arrives we set it into the granite flush with the surface and install the memorial at the cemetery.
The clock starts at proof approval, not at the order date. Getting us the photo early is the single best thing you can do to keep a memorial on schedule.
Checked by Hand, Guaranteed for Life
Every portrait is made in America and every one is picked up and looked at before it ships. Color against the proof, edges, the surface under a raking light. A portrait with a flaw in the glaze does not leave the bench, and it never reaches your stone.
Then it is guaranteed for life. If anything ever happens to it, for any reason, we replace it. Nothing to register, no receipt to keep, no fine print to read.
What Families Ask Us
Can you use a photo from my phone?
Yes, and most people do now. Send the original file rather than a screenshot of it, and do not send it through a service that compresses pictures if you can avoid it. If what you have is a screenshot, bring it anyway and we will look at it before you go hunting for something better.
The only picture we have is damaged. Is it usable?
Usually. Tears, creases, water damage, fading, and missing corners are all repairable, and the restoration is included. We have worked from photographs older than the cemetery the stone was going into. Bring it in and we will tell you straight whether it will hold up at the size you want.
Will it fade in the sun?
No. The color is ceramic pigment fired into porcelain, not ink printed on a surface, so there is nothing in it for ultraviolet light to break down. This is the difference between a fired porcelain portrait and the printed panels sold online.
Can we add a portrait to a memorial that is already set?
Often yes, though it depends on the stone and on the cemetery. Some cemeteries have rules about portraits, particularly on Flat Markers in the newer sections. Tell us which cemetery and which section and we will check before you commit to anything.
Can two people share one portrait?
Yes. Couples on a companion stone are common, either as one wider rectangle holding both or as two matched ovals set side by side. We will show you both in the proof so you can see which one you prefer on your stone.
What sizes and shapes do they come in?
Sizes run from about 2 inches at the smallest up to 10 by 22 inches, with plenty in between. Most families choose 3 by 4 inches, which sits comfortably on a standard adult Flat Marker without crowding the name. Shapes include ovals both flat and domed, rectangles, hearts, rounds, and custom outlines cut to order. Tell us the stone and we will tell you what size looks right on it, which is not always the largest size that fits.
What does it cost?
It depends on the size and the shape, so call us at (909) 902-9000 and we will price it against your stone in a couple of minutes. There is no charge for the cropping, the color work, or the restoration.