Custom Photo T-Shirts
Print a favourite photo exactly as it is, or turn a photo of your pet, baby or child into a watercolour, stitched-look, line art or cartoon portrait in about 30 seconds. Design it online, order one or a hundred, printed in Canada.
Free shipping over $250 in Canada
Priced in Canadian dollars, no duty or brokerage
Questions about a photo? Email Us
See What a Photo Becomes
Real photos, real results from our studio. Tap a look to switch, then make your own.
Jack Russell puppy
Little girl
Tuxedo cat
Two Ways to Put a Photo on a Shirt
Print the photo exactly as it is, or let the studio turn it into a portrait first. Both start in the same place.
As It Is
Upload any photo and print it exactly as taken: a team shot, a holiday snap, a family photo. Remove or keep the background, crop it and size it in the studio.
Upload a Photo
As Art
Turn a photo of a pet, baby or child into a watercolour, stitched look, line drawing or cartoon. The background is removed for you, so it sits cleanly on any shirt.
Create a PortraitPick a Look
Four styles, each made for printing. Not sure? Make one in each look and keep your favourite.
Watercolour
Soft painted washes and true-to-life colours, with edges that fade like paper.
Full colour. Looks best on white, natural and light shirts.
Try Watercolour →Stitched Look
Every detail drawn as satin and fill stitches, like a sewn patch. It is printed in full colour, not embroidered.
Full colour. Great on light and mid tones.
Try Stitched Look →Line Art
A black pen drawing, with solid black for dark fur or hair. One ink, with the background already removed.
One ink. Prints on any light or mid colour, and you can change the ink colour.
Try Line Art →Cartoon
Bold outlines and flat colours, like a sticker. Fun for kids, birthdays and gifts.
Full colour. Pops on any light colour.
Try Cartoon →How to Make Your Portrait
Four steps in our online studio, on your phone or computer. No design skills and no account needed to try.
Open the Portrait tab
Use any button on this page and the studio opens on the Portrait tab. Already designing? Open AI Art and choose Portrait.
Add your photo
Tap Choose a photo, or drop one in. One face, close up, in good light. iPhone photos are fine.
Pick a look and tap Create
Watercolour, stitched look, line art or cartoon. Your portrait is ready in about 30 seconds.
Place it and order
It lands on the shirt with the background removed. Drag to move, pull a corner to resize, pick sizes and check out.
Tap the i buttons in the studio for photo tips and help with each look
Photo Tips for the Best Portrait
The portrait can only be as good as the photo. A few seconds of choosing pays off.
Works best
- One face per photo, close up
- Good, even light
- Eyes in focus, looking towards the camera
- The whole head in the frame, ears included
- JPG, PNG or HEIC (iPhone) up to 8 MB
Avoid
- Tiny, blurry or zoomed-in screenshots
- Group shots (crop to one face first)
- Heavy filters, stickers or text on the photo
- Faces in deep shadow or behind glass
- Photos you don't have permission to use
Put Your Photo On
Starting prices in Canadian dollars. Every one works with the Portrait tool.
What Our Customers Say
Have ordered twice now, both times were excellent. Lots of apparel to choose from, and good tools to help with designing your own.
Very happy with my shirt! Great quality, can't wait to wear it.
I decided to give T-Shirt Elephant a try because I’m considering using them for a project I’m working on, and I have to say, they exceeded my expectations. What impressed me most was the range of choices. Whether you’re working within a budget or looking for a higher-quality product, there are plenty of options to fit the needs of your project.
The website was easy to use, the ordering process was straightforward, and the quality of the finished product was excellent. Very happy with my experience and I’ll definitely be using them again.
The quality of apparel and print are top notch - the graphics look amazing, will use again for future purchases!
We recently ordered zip-up hoodies for our team of four from T-shirt Elephant, and we couldn't be happier with the experience! The quality of the hoodies is great, and the service was wonderful from start to finish. A special shout-out to Jason, who confirmed our order promptly and went above and beyond to ensure everything arrived on time despite our tight deadline. Highly recommended! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was our second order and the quality is always the best. The team is very reactive and accommodating.
Fantastic. Quality is great. Price is very reasonable. Took 2-3 weeks to get, but I'm in no rush. Website is easy to use. Would definitely recommend over other companies I've attempted to try.
Great quality print company and CANADIAN! Was looking to get two shirts printed fast and they delivered. I even accidentally clicked the wrong shipping option and emailed them asking to pay for upgraded delivery time. They did it at no charge! Very happy I was able to get the shirts in time!
I have had a great experience ordering from T-Shirt Elephant. I ordered custom ball caps. Justin helped me with the colors, he also helped to ensure the order was submitted correctly. My order was shipped to me on the date that I was told it was going to ship and I received it a couple days later. We are grateful for the service and also the quality of the product. We are going to try the apparel next. I highly recommend T-Shirt Elephant, from the customer service support, the excellent variety of products they carry, the ease of use to create the custom ball caps and the delivery of the product.
Highly recommend. Very professional, responsive, and quick turnaround. Lots of selection and even provide design help and tips. Jason and team are great!
I ordered a hoodie with my business logo. It was ready really quick and the colour, quality and fit are great! I'd definitely order more!
Was a little hard to find, however service was good and my apparel looks great. Thank you!
Great shirt quality and very helpful customer service. Highly recommend!
I had a fantastic experience working with Jason and the team here. We needed 350 printed tote bags for a conference on a strict three-day turnaround, and they completely delivered. Jason was incredibly helpful in getting everything set up quickly and provided a very reasonable price. I’m thrilled with the final quality and look of the bags. I will definitely be back for future projects - highly recommend!
great quality and also delivered on time. Jason was helpful and direct, and I appreciate the quality of the sports fabric.
Shirt arrived right on time, great quality and exactly what I ordered. Website very easy to use with lots of options to create your own design.
Great quality and nice to support a Canadian company!
T-Shirt Elephant came through for us! We ordered custom aprons with our logo for an event and were working with a very tight deadline, placing our order just days before we needed them. We were not sure they would arrive in time, but the team at T-Shirt Elephant was responsive and assured us they would be delivered on schedule. They kept their word, and the aprons arrived right on time and looked great. We are very grateful to their team for making it happen and would happily order from them again.
Great transaction.
Very pleased with the t-shirt
Appreciate this Canadian retailer.
Ordering was straightforward with a quick turnaround time. The sweaters ordered are of a good quality. Looking forward to the next one!
Good quality t-shirt and my custom image came out great. Prices are reasonable for a custom 1-off shirt.
Design tool easy to use, shirt quality better than expected.
Communication is excellent so far. They do their very best to accommodate late order add-ins and answer questions about logo size & placement. The website is a bit cumbersome when you are trying to reorder previous designs that you've already ordered.
Easy online ordering platform
Excellent customization of AI artwork.
Quality long sleeve t shirts
Needed a quick turnaround and got it.
Communications were excellent- not that much.
Pricing commensurate with quality.
Everything You Need to Know About Custom Photo T-Shirts in Canada
Made in our online studio, printed in Canada
A photo shirt can be almost anything you have a picture of: the family at the cottage, a new puppy, a grandchild, a team after the final, a couple on their wedding day, or someone you miss.
Two ways to do it
Print the photo as it is, edges and all, or crop it and remove the background in the studio. Or turn it into a portrait: a watercolour, a stitched look, a line drawing or a cartoon, made by the studio from your photo in about 30 seconds.
Which one to choose
A full scene with several people, a place or a moment usually looks best printed as it is. One face, a pet or a child looks great either way, and a portrait often prints cleaner and reads better from across a room.
Both start in the same place: open the studio and add your photo.
Each look is made for printing on fabric, and each one keeps the face recognisable: the markings on a dog, the curls on a toddler, the eye colour.
Watercolour
Soft painted washes and true-to-life colours, with edges that fade like paper. The favourite for gifts and memorial shirts, and best on white and light shirts.
Stitched look
Drawn as satin and fill stitches, like a sewn patch. It is printed in full colour, so you get the embroidered look on any garment the studio carries.
Line art
A black pen drawing with the background already removed. One ink, so it prints on any light or mid colour, and you can change the ink colour.
Cartoon
Bold outlines and flat colours, like a sticker. Great for kids, birthdays and anything meant to make people smile.
The portrait can only be as good as the photo, so a few seconds of choosing pays off.
- One face per photo. For two pets or two kids, make two portraits and place them side by side.
- Close up. The head and shoulders should fill most of the picture. Crop a wide shot before you upload it.
- Good light. Daylight from a window is ideal. Deep shadows hide markings and features.
- Eyes in focus. The eyes carry the likeness. A slightly blurry background is fine.
- No filters. Stickers, text and heavy filters confuse the result.
Phone photos are perfect, including iPhone HEIC photos, up to 8 MB.
Every portrait comes out of the studio ready to print, so there is no artwork to prepare and no file to send.
Full-colour looks
Watercolour, stitched look and cartoon portraits are printed in full colour with a digital process that keeps soft shading, fine fur and hair, and the small details that make a face recognisable. The studio removes the white background first, so the portrait sits cleanly on the shirt.
Line art
Line art comes back as one black ink with the background already gone. It prints on white and any light or mid colour, and you can change the ink colour in the studio, for example navy on a sand shirt. One colour also means it suits screen printing when you order a larger batch.
Size and placement
Portraits are made at 2048 pixels, large enough for a full front print. Drag it into place, pull a corner to resize, and the studio shows exactly where it will print. Add a name, a date or a short message with Add Text.
Stitched look is printed
The stitched look is a printed picture of embroidery, not real thread. If you want actual stitching, email [email protected] with the portrait and we will tell you whether it can be embroidered.
Once your photo or portrait is on the shirt, the rest of the studio is yours.
Text
Add a name, a date, "Best Dog Dad", a team name or a birthday message with Add Text, then curve it, outline it or colour it to match.
Back and sleeves
Put the photo on the front and a date or a message on the back or sleeve. The studio shows the price of each side as you add it.
Everyone's name
Ordering for a group? Our Names & Numbers tool prints a different name on each shirt in one order.
Photo and portrait shirts are some of the most personal things we print.
- Birthdays: the birthday kid as a cartoon on everyone's shirt. See our birthday shirts.
- Family reunions and trips: the grandparents' photo, or a portrait of the family dog. See family reunion shirts.
- New babies: a portrait onesie for the baby and matching shirts for the family. See baby and kid portrait shirts.
- Pets: a watercolour of your dog or a line drawing of your cat. See pet portrait shirts.
- In memory: a soft watercolour with a name and dates, for a celebration of life or a pet you miss.
- Mother's Day and Father's Day: a portrait of the kids or the dog makes a gift that gets worn.
Making the portrait is free to try: you get 3 free portraits, and signed-in customers get 3 a day. You pay for the printed product, priced as you design.
No minimums
Order a single shirt for a gift, or one for everyone at the reunion. There is no minimum order, and the price per item drops as the quantity goes up.
Priced in Canadian dollars
Every price is in CAD, with no duty, brokerage or customs fees at the door for Canadian addresses.
Free shipping over $250
Orders over $250, after discounts, ship free anywhere in Canada. Portrait shirts ship together with anything else on the same order.
Printed in Canada
Your order is printed in our own facility in Canada and shipped to any address in the country.
More Ways to Make It Personal
Portrait shirts for every member of the family, and the pages that pair with them
Frequently Asked Questions About Custom Photo T-Shirts
Photos, looks, printing and shipping in Canada
Yes. Open the studio, tap Upload Art and add your photo. You can crop it, remove the background and size it, and the studio shows the price as you go.
Printing a photo puts the picture on the shirt as taken. A portrait is new artwork the studio makes from your photo, as a watercolour, stitched look, line drawing or cartoon, with the background removed. Portraits suit one face, like a pet or a child; full scenes suit printing as they are.
About 30 seconds. Tap Create and the studio shows its progress while it paints, then places the portrait on your shirt with the background already removed.
Yes. You get 3 free portraits to try, and when you are signed in you get 3 a day. You only pay for the shirts or other products you order.
A clear, close-up photo of one face, in good light, with the eyes in focus and the whole head in the frame. Phone photos are perfect, including iPhone HEIC photos. Avoid tiny screenshots, group shots and heavy filters.
Your photo is only used to make your portrait. We don't keep the photo itself. The finished portrait is saved to your Saved Art so you can place it again or reorder it later, and it is stored at a private address that only your account links to.
Yes. After your portrait lands on the shirt, use Add Text for a name, a date, a birthday message or anything else, in any of the studio's fonts and colours.
Yes. Change the colour with the colour swatches, or tap Change Product to put the same portrait on a hoodie, crewneck, onesie, toddler tee or tote. Light colours show watercolour and stitched portraits best.
No. The stitched look is printed in full colour to look like embroidery. If you need real thread, email [email protected] and we will tell you whether your portrait can be stitched.
No. You can order a single shirt, and the price per item drops as you order more.
Orders over $250 after discounts ship free anywhere in Canada. Prices are in Canadian dollars, with no duty or brokerage at the door for Canadian addresses.
Use photos you took or have permission to use, and make sure the people in them are happy to be on a shirt. We can't print photos owned by photographers, brands or celebrities without permission.
Yes. Make a portrait of each one, then place them side by side on the shirt. A photo of a group can also be printed as it is.
Portraits are made at 2048 pixels, which is plenty for a full front print. For photos printed as they are, the studio warns you if the image is too small for the size you set.
Still have a question?
Send us the photo and we'll tell you how it will turn out. We answer every business day.
