Frequently Asked Questions
The Topic...The Painting
Q.
Some of our youth don’t dress like the person in the painting, can you put in their whole body dressed like they would normally dress?
A.
The elements and composition of this painting are all part of the artist's vision. It is his primary intent to provide the youth of the church with an opportunity to have a painting of themselves with the Savior. Although certain elements are designed to be changed, like the body type, the face of the subject and the temple, the desire of the artist is that at a glance, the picture will be recognizable and consistent. The foreground and background are intended to convey a feeling rather than to represent reality.
Q.
We have a youth who is confined to a wheel chair, can they be sitting in their wheel chair in the painting?
A.
Regretfully this option is not available in this painting. Perhaps if there is enough interest it will become possible.
Q.
There are no mountains behind our temple; can the mountains be removed?
A.
The foreground and background are intended to convey a feeling rather than to represent reality. The mountains are representative of the words of the prophet is Isaiah 2:3.
Q.
The body type in your painting is not like one or more of our youth, can you put a picture of our youth's entire body?
A.
It is not possible to paint the entire body of each subject. A variety of body types, sizes and skin tone have been created by the artist as shown below, which are consistent with the painting’s intended presentation, and an appropriate one will be used for each subject.
The Topic...Your Prints
Q.
How much will it cost to have a painting done of each of our youth?
A.
We do not charge anything to create the personalized paintings of "Lift Up My Soul" for each of your youth, but when you receive the digital files of these images you will be responsible for the cost of printing them.
Q.
So there are no shipping or printing charges?
A.
There are no charges for shipping. The cost of printing your images are determined by you.
Q.
How long will it take to get our pictures?
A.
All Stake and Ward youth are done on a ‘first-come first-served’ basis. When your order is placed and your photographs are received, you will be given an estimate of how long you must wait for your pictures. Because the central elements of the painting for each youth are individually created by an artist, some time to process each order is unavoidable.
Q.
How are you able to provide these custom pictures at no cost to us?
A.
The "Lift Up My Soul" project was introduced online in December of 2008. At present all the images are being done by one artist, D.O.Christensen, the artist who designed the painting. He contributes only an hour and a half per day, when his situation allows, to creating each image. This allows him to create approximately twenty to thirty images per week. Efforts are being made to create a non-profit foundation which can secure enough funding from private individuals and LDS owned businesses to make it possible to hire a staff of artists who will make it possible to greatly increase the number of images created each week.
Q.
Are there any limits to our use of the paintings we receive of our youth?
A.
"Lift Up My Soul" is a copyrighted image created by D.O.Christensen. Because you will be receiving a digital copy of the image, our ability to restrict its use is understandably limited. We simply request that the images not be modified in any way, nor used for any commercial purpose without our written permission.
Q.
Can we print copies of the paintings to give to relatives?
A.
Yes. You may make copies for any kind of non-commercial use such as church program covers, book markers for each youth or things of that nature. You may also make multiple copies to give to the families of the youth.
The Topic...Temples
Q.
Can we have any of the Church's temples in our pictures?
A.
Yes.
Q.
Must all of our youth be pictured with the same temple?
A.
No. Each youth may have the temple of their choice
The Topic...Placing the Order
Q.
Who is able to place an order for a portrait for each of the youth in a ward or stake.
A.
All orders for the youth within a Stake must be authorized by the Stake President, and all orders for the youth within a Ward must be authorized by the Bishop of that ward. The order can be placed by anyone authorized under these two leaders.
Q.
What if our Stake president or Bishop does not want our youth to have your print but I want this picture with my child in it, can I still have one done?
A.
Yes. Anyone can take advantage of this service, but only for a member of their immediate or extended family.
The Topic...The Photographs
Q.
What are the photographs like that we need to provide you?
A.
A detail explanation of the photos required and the process of taking them is explained in the instructions which can be downloaded from the web site.
Q.
Do we need special lights or cameras to take our pictures?
A.
No.
Q.
What if we can’t get a picture of one of our youth?
A.
This is often a problem for any number of reasons but without a photograph we are not able to produce a personalized painting.
Q.
How will we get the pictures to you?
A.
You will send them to us by email. A detailed explanation of how this is done is contained in the instructions. An FTP server will be made available if there is sufficient demand.
Q.
How will we get the digital images from you so we can print them?
A.
When we have completed all of your paintings the digital files will be uploaded to a special location on our web site. You will receive a user name and password which will allow you to download them.
If you have any questions which are not answered to your satisfaction please click here and send us your questions.