CJK
10-04-2006, 08:09 PM
Found this on web. ( gives permission to use)
Photographing Your Cat
When taking photos of cats good light, preferably outdoors is important, if this not possible inside in a brightly lit room & or by a window, this is especially important with blue eyed cats as their eyes let in more light than other eye colours. If you have to use a flash, try & take the photo at a slight angle, to avoid the flash going off directly in the eye. If you must use a flash, it is best to use one that is an off-camera flash, which you can hold to the side of the camera, preventing it going off directly into your cat's eyes. I also like to take photos in bright light because the irises are constricted & therefore show off more of the cat's eye colour. One thing I would like to add is that I find my lilac point Siamese can look very washed out when I take photos of her outside, I haven't yet experimented with taking photos of her later in the day, but I shall do some tests and find out when is the best time to photograph her outside.
http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnniePost7_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnniePost7.jpg) http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnnieChair1_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnnieChair1.jpg)
http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnnieInAugust3_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnnieInAugust3.jpg) http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnnieAugust2_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnnieAugust2.jpg)
Hold the camera at the cat's eye level. Make sure you don't cut off ears, feet or tails.
If you want professional looking photos, use a backdrop. I buy cheap material & put it over the sofa. Use colours that contrast well with the cat's coat & bring out the cat's eye colour. I prefer to have a plain background but sometimes you can use the background to your advantage, as in the photos of the cat in the flowers below.
http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/PodgeOnFloor_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/PodgeOnFloor.jpg) http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/SuniJune_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/SuniJune.jpg) http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnnieCatRun8_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnnieCatRun8.jpg)
Use toys & food treats to get the cat's attention. I prefer toys as when I have used food treats the cat's keep trying to come to me & won't sit still. With a toy, I tend to dangle it just out of view of the camera. I like to take photos of my cat's looking directly at the camera, but I also like photos where the cat's head is slightly at an angle.
Do what professional photographers do, take lots & lots of photos. I only get one or two really nice shots out of every 100.
http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/MitzyJune6_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/MitzyJune6.jpg) http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/MitzyBed1_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/MitzyBed1.jpg) http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/LokiJan9_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/LokiJan9.jpg)
http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/LokiMarch6_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/LokiMarch6.jpg) http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/NickJuly5_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/NickJuly5.jpg)
http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/NickAugust1_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/NickAugust1.jpg)
Try to capture your cat's personality & mood in the shot.
Yawning shots are easy to take & look great.
http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/NickAugust3_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/NickAugust3.jpg) http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnnieYawn_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnnieYawn.jpg)
Keep the background uncluttered. It detracts from the cat.
Get in close, Fill as much of the frame as possible with the cat.
Remember that a cat is a beautiful & graceful animal, you want to capture shots of your cat being a cat & not in any
way undignified, such as dressing it up, or making it pose in an un-cat like way.
I find blue/grey cats easiest to photograph, black & Siamese cats are the most difficult. You can use a flash with a
blue cat, but the light tends to bounce off a black cat's coat....and as explained above, a Siamese cat's eyes can be a little tricky.
Always have your camera close by. Try to experiment with your camera's settings & switch from auto to a manual setting where you have more control over aperture & speed. I have found by doing this I am now able to take photos inside our quite dark house, without the use of a flash.
Be patient. Your cat may just not be in the mood to have his/her photo taken. If this is the case, no matter how hard you try, you will not get good photos. Wait until your cat is in a more receptive mood. Photographing your cat has to be fun for both the cat & you. This is another reason I like to use toys when I am photographing the cats. It makes the session enjoyable for them & relatively easy for me to get nice shots of them.
Another tip is to photograph your cat when she has just woken up from a nap & isn't overly active.
Be aware of your cat's good & bad angles. My Siamese doesn't look particularly pretty when he's sitting, he has a very slouched posture, so I try to take photos of just his face & neck, he also looks very nice when he's lying down. My Burmese is a little on the overweight side, so I try to avoid photographing him when he's sitting down, as it makes him look even fatter
Photographing Your Cat
When taking photos of cats good light, preferably outdoors is important, if this not possible inside in a brightly lit room & or by a window, this is especially important with blue eyed cats as their eyes let in more light than other eye colours. If you have to use a flash, try & take the photo at a slight angle, to avoid the flash going off directly in the eye. If you must use a flash, it is best to use one that is an off-camera flash, which you can hold to the side of the camera, preventing it going off directly into your cat's eyes. I also like to take photos in bright light because the irises are constricted & therefore show off more of the cat's eye colour. One thing I would like to add is that I find my lilac point Siamese can look very washed out when I take photos of her outside, I haven't yet experimented with taking photos of her later in the day, but I shall do some tests and find out when is the best time to photograph her outside.
http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnniePost7_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnniePost7.jpg) http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnnieChair1_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnnieChair1.jpg)
http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnnieInAugust3_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnnieInAugust3.jpg) http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnnieAugust2_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnnieAugust2.jpg)
Hold the camera at the cat's eye level. Make sure you don't cut off ears, feet or tails.
If you want professional looking photos, use a backdrop. I buy cheap material & put it over the sofa. Use colours that contrast well with the cat's coat & bring out the cat's eye colour. I prefer to have a plain background but sometimes you can use the background to your advantage, as in the photos of the cat in the flowers below.
http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/PodgeOnFloor_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/PodgeOnFloor.jpg) http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/SuniJune_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/SuniJune.jpg) http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnnieCatRun8_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnnieCatRun8.jpg)
Use toys & food treats to get the cat's attention. I prefer toys as when I have used food treats the cat's keep trying to come to me & won't sit still. With a toy, I tend to dangle it just out of view of the camera. I like to take photos of my cat's looking directly at the camera, but I also like photos where the cat's head is slightly at an angle.
Do what professional photographers do, take lots & lots of photos. I only get one or two really nice shots out of every 100.
http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/MitzyJune6_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/MitzyJune6.jpg) http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/MitzyBed1_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/MitzyBed1.jpg) http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/LokiJan9_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/LokiJan9.jpg)
http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/LokiMarch6_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/LokiMarch6.jpg) http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/NickJuly5_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/NickJuly5.jpg)
http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/NickAugust1_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/NickAugust1.jpg)
Try to capture your cat's personality & mood in the shot.
Yawning shots are easy to take & look great.
http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/NickAugust3_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/NickAugust3.jpg) http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnnieYawn_small.jpg (http://www.cat-world.com.au/images/AnnieYawn.jpg)
Keep the background uncluttered. It detracts from the cat.
Get in close, Fill as much of the frame as possible with the cat.
Remember that a cat is a beautiful & graceful animal, you want to capture shots of your cat being a cat & not in any
way undignified, such as dressing it up, or making it pose in an un-cat like way.
I find blue/grey cats easiest to photograph, black & Siamese cats are the most difficult. You can use a flash with a
blue cat, but the light tends to bounce off a black cat's coat....and as explained above, a Siamese cat's eyes can be a little tricky.
Always have your camera close by. Try to experiment with your camera's settings & switch from auto to a manual setting where you have more control over aperture & speed. I have found by doing this I am now able to take photos inside our quite dark house, without the use of a flash.
Be patient. Your cat may just not be in the mood to have his/her photo taken. If this is the case, no matter how hard you try, you will not get good photos. Wait until your cat is in a more receptive mood. Photographing your cat has to be fun for both the cat & you. This is another reason I like to use toys when I am photographing the cats. It makes the session enjoyable for them & relatively easy for me to get nice shots of them.
Another tip is to photograph your cat when she has just woken up from a nap & isn't overly active.
Be aware of your cat's good & bad angles. My Siamese doesn't look particularly pretty when he's sitting, he has a very slouched posture, so I try to take photos of just his face & neck, he also looks very nice when he's lying down. My Burmese is a little on the overweight side, so I try to avoid photographing him when he's sitting down, as it makes him look even fatter