You can’t help it. You see your kitten sleeping like a little angel on the sofa and you want to hug him and eat him with kisses. How could it be otherwise, you take out your camera or your mobile phone and you prepare to immortalize the moment. Then you will drool every time you show the images of your pet to your family and friends.
Do you want to improve the photos you take of your cat? Professional pet photographer, gives us the keys to get the funniest and most original snapshots and explains which are the best places to take photos of your cat. Are you ready?
Perfect places to take photos of your cat
Choose a place where the cat feels comfortable
When deciding whether to do a photo session for our cat outdoors or indoors, the most important thing is to choose a place where the pet feels comfortable and calm. If the cat is not used to going out of the house, it will be crazy to take it outside because it will get nervous and it will be very difficult to take pictures of it. Elena Kaede often recommends setting up a mini studio at home so that the cat can be in his territory and relax easily.
If your cat, on the other hand, is used to “semi-freedom” or you have a garden or patio where the cat goes out frequently, take advantage of it! Natural light is a luxury and if you also accompany it with flowers, trees and landscapes in the background, spectacular photos can come out.
Tricks to make a good photo session of a cat outdoors
If you are going to do a photo session with your cat in an outdoor space, it is important to choose the best moments of daylight well and know how to make the most of that light. For example, midday light is very harsh and will create many areas of contrast. Instead, the mid-morning or mid-afternoon light is softer and more uniform. Have you ever noticed what is the best moment of light in the garden of your house? Perhaps you have some beautiful sunsets that could perfectly accompany the photos of your cat.
Outdoors give beautiful results, although it can sometimes be quite a challenge for the cat to keep its attention on the camera with so much encouragement. Given this, he remembers: a shoot should be fun for both the photographer and the model. Adapt to the cat, let him guide you through his favorite places, capture him being himself and so your photos will be more than an image, they will be a reflection of his personality.
Tricks to make a good photo session for a cat indoors
If you have finally chosen to do the photo session for your cat at home or in an indoor space, it is essential that you keep a close eye on all the elements that appear in the photo. It’s not about having magazine houses or setting up a spectacular scene, it’s about seeing beyond the cat in the photo (which sure looks beautiful) and looking at that ugly bottle that comes out behind it and moving it away.
You can use, for example, a blanket in a soft and simple color that creates an atmosphere of home and warmth without robbing the animal of prominence. Sometimes, to avoid that horrible radiator that we have in the room appearing in the photo, we just have to move a little and change the frame slightly.
Also, to achieve the best photo of your cat, you should try to make the most of the natural light that enters the house. You can place the scratching post or its bed next to the window, for example. They love to sunbathe and they won’t be long in coming and you will have a place with a beautiful light to take pictures of them. If you also add some curtains of a smooth but beautiful color, you will have a beautiful photo.
Short shots versus long shots
All plans are good when photographing a cat, it only depends on the story you want to tell in your photo. The most important thing is to create a connection with the cat. Get down to eye level with him! Get down so that the camera is in line with his gaze, make little noises so that he looks at you. A photo is like a conversation between what’s in it and the viewer, and just like in a real conversation, you earn points if you look into each other’s eyes. So bend your knees and crouch down if necessary and try to catch her eye by getting down to her level.
With flash or without flash
As a general rule, when taking photos of a cat it is better not to use flash. Direct flashes like the one from the mobile camera bother the cat a lot, they end up making it nervous and you won’t get anything if it gets stressed.
Open the windows wide and try to get more ambient light. If you have an SLR you can buy a reportage flash and bounce it off the ceiling so it will light up the room and not hit the cat’s eyes directly.
Set up specific sets for thematic photo sessions
There is nothing better than choosing a special date to photograph our kitten. If you have decided to do a photo session during Christmas or Halloween, you should keep a few things in mind. First of all, you must find a neutral place, it does not have to be a study background, a corner of the house with a smooth wall and a discreet floor is worth it.
Then look for elements that are very representative of the theme you have chosen. Be careful: do not choose too many or the photo will be very overloaded! It is best to look for objects that are large so that you fill the image with just a few, that are very representative so that the viewer understands at a first glance what you are talking about and that are also interesting for the cat. A trick? If you can hide some candy in them, you will be able to keep the cat’s attention for the decoration, sure success!
