Your Journey to a Masterpiece: The KGS Studios Portrait Commission Process
The Legacy Design and Discovery Consultation
Every great portrait begins with a conversation rather than a camera. The journey starts with a personal consultation, offered at no cost or obligation. Whether held in the San Antonio studio or by phone, this is a dedicated session to explore the patron’s vision and define the work’s narrative intent. This is a foundational discovery meeting designed to demystify the process and determine if the KGS Studios approach aligns with the family’s legacy goals.
The Pre-Session Immersion
Your portrait session begins long before you stand in front of the camera. The Pre-Session Immersion involves a comfortable tour of the atelier and a discussion of the intended artwork. Artist Kevin G. Saunders uses this time to observe the nuances of the subjects’ personalities and relationship dynamics, building the trust required to reveal their emotional signatures. This deliberate phase is grounded in a specific philosophy of observation, aimed at dispelling preconceived notions from past photographic experiences. Read more in The Art of Seeing: How to Look at a Fine Art Portrait.
The Collaborative Creation
The Collaborative Synthesis The KGS Studios session is a collaborative partnership that removes the traditional barriers of photography. The studio is designed to leverage Optical Physics, placing the subject at a working distance of 23-28 feet. This distance is a requirement to eliminate the perspective distortion common in standard photography, achieving the life-size accuracy and painterly proportions found in the works of masters like John Singer Sargent.
Saunders utilizes a custom Arca-Swiss M Monolith view camera. Unlike standard DSLRs that create a visual barrier, this rig allows the artist to stand beside the camera rather than behind it, maintaining a direct human connection. Using a Phase One IQ4-150 sensor and specialized Rodenstock or Schneider Digital Optics, the system captures 150 megapixels of raw physical data, nearly three times the resolution of professional-grade cameras.
The process is iterative and transparent. One image is created at a time and reviewed immediately on a 50-inch tethered monitor. This allows the artist and patron to collaboratively select the “decisive moments” that capture unfiltered character. Because the view camera’s mechanical shutter is instantaneous, Saunders can intuitively seize the exact micro-expression that reveals the subject’s true essence.
This iterative process builds a unique kinesthetic awareness, a connection between “this is what it feels like, and this is what it looks like.”
Read the complete case study in A Master’s Journey from Karsh’s Light to the Modern ‘MadameTex’.
The Projection & Sizing Session
Once the winning images are selected, the focus shifts to the scale of the final work. In the projection section of the atelier, portraits are unveiled at life-size, ranging from intimate dimensions to breathtaking 96×60-inch masterworks. This is an essential experience that allows the patron to understand the work’s physical presence and confidently visualize the portrait dimensions that will best anchor their home.
The Master’s Artistry & Framing
The selected image then enters the Hand-Guided Artistic Synthesis stage. Here, Saunders works not as a photographer but as a painter, manually refining every detail to create a final masterpiece. This artistry is informed by over 45 years of anatomical and psychological study and strictly avoids AI simulations.
The commitment to permanence extends to the physical construction. Masterworks are printed in-house on a 60″ 12-color archival printer. For larger commissions, artist Toni Saunders can add hand-brushed embellishments to the canvas, creating a painterly texture as an option. Every portrait is mounted on a durable archival panel and set in a museum-grade, closed-corner frame. The backs are hand-finished in black, ensuring that every part of the heirloom, seen or unseen, is a permanent part of the family legacy.
The White-Glove Installation
The final step of our journey together is the placement of your masterpiece. To ensure a perfect conclusion, we offer a complimentary white-glove delivery and installation service for all commissions 24×30 inches and larger within the San Antonio area, and for commissions 50 inches and larger throughout Texas.
For international patrons, the heirloom is entrusted to fine art specialists for secure, insured shipping and worldwide installation.
The Lasting Impact: Beyond the Wall
The KGS Studios Portrait Process culminates in a museum-grade work of art, but its actual impact begins the day it is installed. Clients often report a desire to ‘live up to the portrait,’ finding it serves as a permanent anchor for their values and a benchmark for their future endeavors.
Ready to Begin Your Own Journey?
The Legacy Design & Consultation is the first step in this process. It is a 90-minute strategic session designed to build the blueprint for your masterpiece.
The KGS Commission Process: Optimized FAQ
Every great portrait begins not with a camera, but with a conversation. The journey starts with a complimentary, no-obligation Discovery Consultation. This is a personal, dedicated time, either in our San Antonio studio or over the phone, to explore your vision and for us to understand the story you want to tell. It is a foundational session to demystify the process and determine if our approach is the right fit for your legacy.
The portrait session begins long before you stand in front of the camera. We start with a Pre-Session Immersion, a relaxed conversation to establish a foundation of trust. Unlike photographers who start shooting immediately, Kevin G. Saunders uses this time to understand you and find your personality, your best angles, and the dynamics of your relationships. This entire approach is grounded in a specific philosophy of observation, allowing us to capture your true essence.
Our process is a Collaborative Creation, fundamentally different from a typical photo shoot. Saunders does not hide behind the camera; he stands next to it, maintaining a direct, human connection, even though the camera is over 20 feet from the subject. We create one image at a time and then review it together on a 50-inch monitor. This iterative process allows us to collaboratively shape the portrait in real-time, seizing the “decisive moment” that reveals your character. This method is explored in detail in our case study, “A Master’s Journey from Karsh’s Light to the Modern ‘Madame Tex’”.
Standard cameras create a physical barrier between the artist and the subject. By using a custom Arca Swiss M Monolith view camera, Kevin G. Saunders can stand beside the rig, maintaining a direct emotional connection. This setup, paired with a 150-megapixel Phase One sensor, ensures forensic accuracy while allowing for a more human, less intimidating session.
This is a requirement of optical physics. To replicate the “Painterly Perspective” of natural human vision and create an up-to-life-size portrait without the distortion of standard lenses, Kevin G. Saunders must work at a distance of 23 to 28 feet. This ensures the subject’s proportions are rendered with the same grace and authority found in historical masterworks.
The decision on size is made with confidence during our Projection & Sizing Session. In our atelier’s projection section, we will unveil your portraits by projecting them at life-size, from an intimate 8 x 10 to a breathtaking, wall-spanning 60 x 120 inches. Seeing the work at scale is a powerful and essential experience that removes all guesswork from choosing the perfect dimensions for your home.
The selected image enters the final and most crucial stage: Master’s Artistry. This is where the work is transformed from a masterful capture into a permanent, physical heirloom, with every detail optimized for its final destination on your wall.
The process begins with digital artistry, where Kevin G. Saunders works more as a painter than a photographer. Just as Michelangelo deliberately elongated figures on the Sistine Chapel ceiling so they would appear perfect to a viewer on the floor 60 feet below. Saunders meticulously refines and optimizes the proportions and details of your portrait for its intended viewing distance. The goal is to ensure that, whether viewed from across the room or up close, the portrait commands its space with perfect presence and character.
Once the artistry is complete, the physical creation begins, guided by an uncompromising commitment to archival permanence:
For commissions 24×30 and larger: Your portrait is mounted on a museum-grade aluminum composite panel known for its supreme rigidity and longevity.
For smaller prints: We use archival hardboard to ensure stability and a lifetime of quality.
Every portrait is then set in a museum-grade, closed-corner frame, meticulously hand-finished on both the front and back, because every part of your heirloom, seen or unseen, is part of your legacy.
This entire process, from the artistry to the printing and framing, is performed either by Saunders personally or under his direct, hands-on supervision. As a final touch, for commissions 24×30 and larger, artist Toni Saunders offers optional, complimentary brushstroke embellishment to add a unique, painterly texture to your masterwork. We also provide museum-grade nameplates and custom-calibrated portrait lights to complete the presentation.
Absolutely not. KGS Studios rejects automated AI simulations. The artistry is a manual, human-directed process in which Kevin G. Saunders guides modern tools by hand in real time. This ensures that every interpretation is grounded in artistic intent and a deep understanding of human anatomy, rather than algorithmic guessing.
The final step is our complimentary White-Glove Installation. To ensure a perfect conclusion to our journey, we provide this service for all commissions 24×30 and larger within the San Antonio area, and for commissions 50 inches and larger throughout Texas. For all other commissions, we entrust your heirloom to fine art specialists for secure, insured shipping worldwide.
The process culminates in a museum-grade work of art, but its actual impact begins the day it is installed on your wall. Clients often report a desire to “live up to the portrait,” finding it serves as a permanent anchor for their family’s values and a benchmark for their future endeavors.
