Tips for taking better photographs of your cat.

Tips to help you take better photographs of your cat

If you want to have jewellery, collectibles or giftware reproduced from a photograph of your own cat it is important for me to have a good clear photograph to work from, and you will want one that shows your cats features and character to the best advantage. Here are a few hints and tips that you may find useful if you are taking your own photos. They were originally produced for photographing dogs, but most of the tips can apply equally well to photographing your cat.

Try to take your photographs out doors if possible so that you don’t need to use a flash.
Choose a slightly overcast day, or early to mid morning or late afternoon when the sun is low. This will reduce shadows and give better detail. Bright sunlight gives harsh results and too much shadow. Don’t have the sun directly behind you, coming from the side will give your photos more substance.
Use a tripod set to a height so that the camera is on eye level with your cat, and a shutter release cable to prevent camera shake.
Don’t be afraid to get on your knees! You need to get down to cat level to get good photos, so a piece of foam or old blanket that you can sit on or use as a kneeler is essential equipment. You will probably find it best to place your cat on a small table or bench if you don’t want to take the photos lying flat on your face!
Get all your equipment set up and ready to shoot before you start to pose your cat.
Organise plenty of help. If possible have someone to manage the cat and attend to last minute grooming, and someone else to stand just behind you to attract the cat's attention (squeaky toy at the ready!)
Choose your background carefully. Plain as possible is best (no flower borders please) and allow plenty of open space behind the cat . Look out for trees, or a post that will look as though it is coming out of the cat's head. If you are using a bench or table, and can rig up some sort of framework behind and drape it with a plain cloth (not white) to act as a background, that would be ideal
Try to compose your picture so that you have just enough background to frame the cat. If you are using a zoom lens, have the cat about 12 to 15 feet away from the camera and zoom in until the cat fills most of the frame. The ideal print will have about 1 -1½ inches of background on all sides of the main feature - your cat.
I prefer a ¾ view of the head and body for most cats, but some cats look best in full face, so do try shots from several different angles .
Use the smallest aperture settings on your camera suitable for the lighting conditions, f22 down to f11 should keep everything in focus. If you want to try and blur the background try using a shorter depth of field, but do keep everything that you want in focus the same distance from the lens. Remember the smaller the number the shorter the depth of field.
Always use good quality film, 100 or 200ASA if you are using a 35mm camera, and make sure that you have plenty. You will need to shoot lots and lots. The more you take the more chance there is that you will end up with some good ones.
Above all you will need to have lots of patience! If you cat gets bored and restless before you have finished, it’s no good trying to carry on. Leave it for a while and then when he has calmed down try again later.
If you MUST take your photos indoors most of the preceding tips still apply with one or two additions.
The two main problems with indoor photography are getting the lighting right and having a suitable background. Red-eye or green-eye spoils many photographs taken indoors with flash. Try and avoid this by turning on all the available room lights (except any that will be directly behind the cat), and if possible put up large sheets of white card that will reflect the light back on to the subject, and NEVER have the flash pointing directly at the cat. If possible use a hand held flash and direct it to bounce the light off a white card held (not too close) above and to the side of the cat, or even off the ceiling works well.
Do not position your cat in front of a light source, window or mirror as this will cause your photo to be overexposed.
Try to provide a plain background with coloured sheeting, (stretch it out to avoid creases) something darker for light coloured cats, and paler shades (not white) for black cats, then position the cat at least 6 feet in front to eliminate harsh shadows.
Remember with patience and lots of film and you should get some photos to be proud of, and well worth having reproduced on a piece of jewellery or collectible!

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