Cat Pictures – How to Take Better Photos of Your Cat
Have you been disappointed with your photos of your cat? If I asked you to articulate what distinguishes good photos from bad, can you tell me?
You don’t need a whiz-bang camera. If you learn and practise these basic techniques, you’ll see your photos improve measurably. And don’t be afraid to take lots of photos to get a few good ones. The professionals do.
Prepare your cat
Take a little time to plan your photography sessions. How do you want to capture your cat’s personality? Is she smoochy, lazy, active, playful?
Help your cat relax around the camera. Let her sniff it first. Remove any collar and wipe her over with a damp cloth if he looks a bit scruffy. You might want to control how far your cat can roam during the photo session. This could be as simple as closing a door or putting up a barrier.
If your cat is very active, wait for a quieter time, like after a meal when he may be sleepy. Or tire him out first. A good way to get your cat to hold still is to let him play quietly and once you have everything ready, call him. This will catch his attention, giving you a few seconds to capture an alert posture.
If you have a predominantly outside cat, she may be flirty when just let into the house. A chance for great photos of her rubbing against a chair.
If you want your cat to look at the camera, hold some food above or alongside the camera. You’ll want to take these shots before feeding her.
For shots of your cat playing, it will be easier with an assistant. Have some teasers, like feathers or string. Use a box or paper bag, but not all at once! You want uncluttered photos.
Lighting
Inadequate light ruins a lot of photos. Outside light is best, ideally at dawn and dusk. Remember not to shoot into the sun. Inside shots are best near a large window. Otherwise you will need good artificial lighting. There are a few problems with using the camera flash. It can cause red or green eyes when the light hits the back of the eyes. Red eye reduction is not helpful as it uses a second flash by which time your cat will have moved. The flash also tends to scare cats. If you must use it, you want the flash as far from the camera lens as possible. If possible, turn the flash away so it’s not pointing at your cat. If you can’t do this, cover the flash with tissue paper to soften the effect.
Movement
If your cat is on the move, a fast shutter speed is helpful. Most digital cameras have a sports mode designed for moving action. If your cat is a fast mover, a fast shutter speed allows you to take a quick series of shots.
To avoid blurred shots, steady the camera by bracing the it gently against your forehead, pushing your elbows into your ribs and holding a shallow breath just before you take your photos.
Close-ups
Get up close, at cat or even mouse level – this will give intimacy to your shots, and put you in your cat’s world. You may need to get on your stomach or knees. The cat should take up most of the space in your shot.
Cats look different from different angles. Take facial close-ups, full body shots, three-quarter body shots and action shots.
Background
Avoid distractions and clutter in your photos – use simple settings like a large patch of grass or a well-lit room with pale walls and plain carpet. Avoid couches, televisions, tables, lamps, wall hangings and such in the background.
If your cat is light-colored, try to have a dark background, and vice-versa. If necessary, hang a cloth as a backdrop. Be careful of background objects that appear to stick out of your cat’s head (or rear-end). Only include background objects if they add to the photo.
Now I strongly suggest you spend time looking at good and bad photos. Articulate why the poor ones don’t look so good. Is the object of the photo too small and far away? Is there too much background distraction? Is the lighting poor? Then look at some of your good photos or from my website. Why do you like them? Put it into words and you can start to transform your photographs.
Happy snapping!
Jenny Jackson
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/cat-pictures-how-to-take-better-photos-of-your-cat-393424.html
How much photoshop can you take in your pictures?
There is a difference (at least for me) between editing small imperfections and technical stuff in formal portraits -for weddings or family portraits or whatever- and a whole digital makeover.
Would you like a picture that took 10 pounds out of your body to make you look thin and fit? a birthmark off your face? Would you be satisfied with a portrait that made your family look like better versions of themselves?
I have nowhere else to ask, so here it is, just curious about your take on editing photos.
Anytime I take pictures I photo shop out my under eye bags and redness and whiten my teeth.
If I knew how to take 10 lbs off me w/ out it making me look odd then I would probably do it.
Since I usually take only pictures of my face, I probably would make my fingers look a little longer and thinner (usually leaning up against my hand) I would also make my nails longer and prettier.
I know all this can be done my photo shop but I really never paid attention in that class ( :
Birthmark: I was always told that I was lucky that I didn’t have a birthmark on my face. I actually think that they are very unique and i would never remove it – if i had one.
Family: Probably. But not by much. Make his hair neater. Take a little of this. But not like extreme things.
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I dont edit my photos. No matter how bad i think i look, thats how i look, and i’m prefectly fine with people seeing me. True, i’m not anywhere close to winning a beauty contest, but my friends and family look at me everyday, and they survive. And my boyfriend loves the way i look, he’s never seen a photoshopped version of my pics. (Except for one that i messed with the hue, and made obviously bright, but that was more of a visual experiment, i wasnt trying to cover anything up.)
I wouldnt ever edit my families pictures eaither. I’d feel like i was cheating at something. Ya know? I love myself and my family, and so what if we’re not perfect? My flaws make me me.
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I don’t edit any of my pictures, other than sharpening them if I need to.
I would feel stupid putting up an edited photo because it’s not really me.
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When ever i take a photo of my self for Facebook or something like that, i always airbrush. Or if there’s a photo of me out with my friends or family i air brush my self thinner, as i’m a lot fatter than most people my age. Most 13 year old girls are dead skinny, but im rather huge. Sometimes the photos make me feel good about myself, as i could have looked like that, but most of the time they just knock the small amount of confidents i have left. But i know if i dont edit the photos before posting them people will see the real me, the me i hate, so i suppose its better to let people see what they want to see. x
But i wouldnt do it to a family member or friend unless they really wanted me to, as i dont want them falling into this imaged obsessed photoshoped world behind a computer screen as i have. One time my mum asked if i could remove her bingo wings & make her legs look alittle less chunkey as she wanted the photo in a wedding album, but that’s the only time i’ve ever edited my family.
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I don’t really photoshop my pictures. Maybe if theres a pimple or something, but no, other then that, I wouldn’t make a drastic change to myself. Thats stupid.
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When I photoshop my photos, it’s normally just adding contrast or making it black and white. I don’t really mess with my face because when you do that, unless you have a REALLY good editing program, people can obviously see you edited your face.
I like sticking to all natural.
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I never photoshop my pictures. There are quite a few reasons for this:
– I don’t even know HOW to photoshop. I once attempted and I looked more distorted when it ended than it did in the beginning.
– (I don’t have myspace) But, for people who spend hours editing their pictures to post on myspace: Most of the people who see these pictures, know what you really look like! My friend edits her pictures forever to make them look ‘perfect’. She looks like a completely different person and it’s OBVIOUS.
Small retouches like the lighting, removing bags under the eyes or getting rid of a pimple or two isn’t bad. At least it still looks like the same person! There’s so much you can do on photoshop… It reminds me of those Dove Campaign ads but that’s a whole different story.
I wouldn’t ever edit my family’s pictures. I think they’re fine how they look! And plus, I wouldn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings either as in, making them feel like they weren’t good enough.
That’s just my opinion! 😀
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Right place, wrong section.
Ask it in Computers/Software
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I don’t even use Photoshop, I just use iPhoto.
I’ll usually click the enhance colors button, or maybe I’ll give it an antique touch or blur the edges, but I don’t change appearances.
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No, i like my pictures natural and unedited. If i’m gonna show someone pictures, then i want it to be me, not some perfect,airbrushed-looking, photoshopped version of me. I want to have my memories look like they were when they happened. Say it’s like cool effects like i put writing or i change the texture of the sky or whatever, that’s cool because it looks COOL but anything else is a no-no.
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