Custom Photo Engraving on Wood: Real Examples

Custom engraved cat memorial plaque with engraved photo of cat

Custom engraved dog memorial plaque, RIP Whiskey Boy with date and engraved dog photo

Custom engraved timber sign for scrapyard with burnt edges and engraved photos of 4WD

Pet memorial plaque with engraved photo and pawprint

Custom engraved dog memorial plaque with date, engraved dog photo and natural edges

Custom engraved timber memorial plaque with engraved pawprints, dates and dog photo

Custom engraved wood cat memorial plaque with engraved cat photo

Custom engraved pet memorial plaque with engraved kelpie photo with posts

Custom engraved Molly's Place memorial plaque with engraved photo of dog

From Your Photo to be Engraved and immortalised in Timber forever

Every image above started as an ordinary photo — a cat curled up on the couch, a much-loved dog mid-grin in the backyard. We turn that photo into a custom design, then engrave it straight into Australian hardwood, capturing the detail right down to individual strands of fur and the shape of an ear or a marking that makes that particular animal unmistakably theirs.

It's not a filter or a generic template — every photo engraving is worked up individually from the image you send through, which is why no two come out the same.

What Makes a Great Photo for Engraving?

Not every photo translates equally well once it's engraved, so a few quick tips before you send yours through:

Good lighting and contrast work best — a clear, well-lit photo gives more detail to work with than a dark or blurry one
A clean side profile or three-quarter angle (like Narla's portrait above) often engraves more clearly than a face-on shot, especially for animals with a lot of fur
Higher resolution is better — a photo straight from a phone camera is usually fine, but the bigger and sharper the original, the more detail comes through in the final engraving

If you're not sure whether your photo will work well, send it through and we'll let you know before you commit to anything — we'd rather tell you upfront than engrave something you're not happy with.

See size examples and prices in the wood memorial plaques page

Pets, Cars, People and Anything Else That Matters to You

Photo engraving works just as well for a beloved car as it does for a pet — we've engraved everything from family pets to a much-loved ute, each one personalised with names, dates or a short message alongside the image. It's also one of the most requested additions to our memorial plaques, where a photo engraving turns a simple plaque into something that genuinely looks like the pet or person it's for.

Photo engraving can be added to most signs and plaques as an option — head to our memorial plaque sign pricing guide to see it costed alongside real examples, or click through to design your own sign and just attach your photo when you send through your details, pr alternatively, you can send it to text or email.