Admit it: You love photographing your pet. Whether it is while sleeping, while eating, while playing and even when he slips out of a funny pose. If you are one of those who spends the day with the camera in hand taking snapshots of your cat, you cannot miss these tips that professional pet photographer gives us on how to take fun and original photos of your cat.
It is not necessary that you have a great camera or that you have great notions of photography, with these little tricks you will get the most beautiful images of your feline. Are you ready?
Tips for taking fun and original photos of a cat
Try to reflect your personality
Each cat has a unique and unrepeatable personality. Get to know your cat and try to reflect that personality in the photograph that you are going to take. For example, if your cat is a born explorer and loves to play, instead of trying to get a classic portrait of him standing still and posing, take advantage of that trait of his to capture him mid-game. Adapt to him and you will be able to capture his true personality from him. It will be much more than a photo; you will be able to tell a story about your cat.
Elements, objects and accessories that you need to take an original photo of your cat
According to Elena Kaede, there are certain elements that are essential when taking a beautiful, fun and original photo of a cat: a variety of different sweets, objects with interesting scents, wands with feathers (since they have a long extension, they allow you to handle a little attention of the cat without moving) and toys that produce different sounds to attract the attention of the pet and to look at the camera. It is much better to have more than one toy for the photo as cats get used to the sounds quickly.
Getting the cat to stay still when taking a photo
This is one of the most difficult tasks when trying to take a good cat photo, but it’s not impossible! Although it is completely true that there is no magic trick, the most important thing is that you are relaxed when you go to take a snapshot of your pet. Cats, like humans, are a reflection of your state of mind. If you start to get nervous, there will be no way for the cat to be photographed.
The starting point of a good photo is patience and relaxation. If you are relaxed, you will always get beautiful photos of your cat. In addition, it is very important that you choose the area where you want to take the photo well and make that area interesting for the cat (with smells, with sweets, with games…) This way it will be much easier to keep it still in one place.
Take a photo of the cat moving
You do not always have to photograph your cat in static mode, if what you want is to capture the animal in motion it is important that you take several tips into account. In order for the camera to take the shot very quickly and the cat does not move in the photograph, you need to be in a place with a lot of light and make the most of your camera’s functions. Many mobiles and most cameras have the “sports mode” function and the “burst” function.
The “sports mode” (you can recognize it by the image of a running man) makes the camera choose faster shutter speeds, that is, it takes the photo more quickly so that the subject comes out less shaken. The “burst shot” allows you to take many photos in a row with tenths of a second between each other. In this way, you can capture the movement of a hunting cat, for example. On most mobiles, you only have to press the button without lifting your finger for a couple of seconds and you will get many snapshots in a row.
The biggest challenge: Photographing a black cat
Black cats are much more difficult to photograph, but with a few little tricks you can get the perfect photo. Try to get a good light that illuminates the place where you are going to take the photos well, a light that is soft and uniform and try to place the cat in an area with colors that are not too light or too dark. Sometimes, we put the cat in an area with a lot of white and the camera, if we shoot automatically, adapts to bring out the light colors well and the dark ones become a blurred shadow. Direct, harsh lights and too bright backgrounds will make things much more difficult for you.
Try not to overwhelm the cat
One of the worst things we can do when trying to take a fun and original photo of our cat is to overwhelm him and force him to do something he doesn’t want to do. It is also important to take into account the safety of the animal and not put it in danger at any time. “I use props and costumes in my photos, but I try to ensure that what I choose is always of high quality and safe for them. The bow ties I buy have the same safety clasp as good cat collars. Also, I would never try to put a bow tie on a cat that doesn’t allow itself to be handled or left unsupervised,” says Elena.
The safety and tranquility of the cat should always come first in a photo session and as long as we keep that in mind, let’s experiment!! Let’s take all kinds of photos that we can think of, sometimes they will turn out well and others not so much, but sometimes the rules are meant to be broken and along the way we will surely learn a lot about photography, and about our cat!
