Cat Photography Tips
We all love cats, don’t we? (OK, I know there are cat-haters out there… but let’s ignore those wretched losers.)
Well, how do you best go about doing justice to these marvellous creatures? First of all, I am sure you want to show your cat as the dignified animal it is.
So, no funny hats, sunglasses or other paraphernalia! I know that cats HATE to be made fun of. They’d much rather be worshipped as gods, actually.
You may not be ready to go quite that far, but in any case - try to bring out the best in your cat, make it look ALMOST god-like!
Level With Your Cat!
The first cat-photo tip is: try to keep the camera at cat-level. Even if it means getting down on your knees (which the cat will find perfectly appropriate). The fine cat-portrait above (by Jack Brodus) is a good example.
Leveling with your cat when taking pictures of it will generally give much more interesting results than if you would shoot the photo from human eye-level. See how dignified that cat looks!
Frame Your Cat!
Like in the picture here by Stas Kulesh, of a cat framed by a window. This is an example of a general composition principle: set your subject so that it becomes framed by something (in this case I guess the cat set itself there).
The advantage of doing this is that it focuses the attention on the subject, plus the frame adds information about some context. In this case a window, belonging to an old house it seems. Maybe a cottage somewhere in the Russian countryside…
Let Your Cat Get Comfortable!
Cats, like their larger cousins the lions, spend most of their day resting. It is fascinating to see how these animals, who don’t seem to get much exercise, can suddenly jump several times their own length!
I have seen a cat jump from the ground and up on a very narrow ledge, about 6 feet above the ground. It then took a walk along that ledge, and as it passed right by me it greeted me by gently pressing its forehead against mine.
Such surprising moments may be hard to capture, but… there is all the time in the world to capture a resting cat in some interesting pose - like this black-cat-against-red picture by “ansik“.
Play Hide and Seek With Your Cat!
Sometimes a cat may be in a playful mood (especially when they are young kittens of course, but some cats do keep some of that even when grown up). Then you can get really dynamic pictures if you are prepared to act quickly - as in the “peek a boo” cat picture here by miss pupik.
