One of the earliest ways of memorialising a person was a portrait. Portraits of the dead kings and queens were made on Egyptian tombs. Greeks and Romans used to make portraits as a part of their art and sculpture where each detail was painstakingly replicated, even if it was unflattering. Later, portrait artists were commissioned by rich noblemen to make their portraits. Professional portraits were expensive and only the richest could afford them. These were often done by renowned painters of their times who used the money from these portraits, professional, to create their own art.
Today, portraits professional are usually photographs, and are often taken at home with digital cameras. With such easy access to photographs, it may sound surprising that once upon a time, even these used to be very expensive and time consuming. The camera would be bulky and the exposure needed to be longer. In order to get portraits, professional photographers would be recruited and visits to their studios planned days in advance! Some rich people could afford to hire photographers to come to their homes and take portraits there, but even this would be a time consuming affair, taking up most of the afternoons and evenings.
Today, we not only have the option of taking digital portraits ourselves, but also can get drawn portraits. Professional artists offer to make quick, pencil, or detailed portraits for you, and if you opt for a photograph to be converted to your portrait, you need not even spend much time on it. You can simply mail your photographs and have them replicated as portraits professional.