Photo taking is a very meaningful activity as it records the treasurable moments in our lives. Photo taking would be more valuable when we can capture different moments with our cats. In this article, we will see how to capture memorable pictures with our lovely cats, and what we need to bear in mind when we take photos with cats.

The first thing we need to know is about cats rather than photography techniques. We usually co-operate and look at the camera lens with some post when we take photos of humans (unless they are some active kids who find it hard to sit still for a few seconds). Cats may be similar to the kids in that, as mentioned in the previous articles, they have their peculiar personalities and individual characters that make them unique. That means it may take some effort for us to take photos of them and with them successfully.

Lights

Cats are very sensitive to light. When taking photos with them, natural light is very important. Flash must be turned off, otherwise the cats will either close their eyes, turn their faces, or give awful facial expression because they would be anticipating a harsh flash. The worst situation is that, they would be impatient, no longer stay where they, and walk away.

In fact, flash light can be very strong and it is not pleasant for anyone (not even people) to take a shot with the eyes open for the strong light to pierce the eyes the moment the shutter is closed. It is hard to explain to cats to keep their eyes open for the photos to be taken with strong light flashing directly in front of their eyes.

Actually, flash light may not produce the aesthetically pleasing effect as we may expect it to be. We often assume flash to bring the whole foreground (group of people) to light clearly and sharply. What we do not recognise is that flash light often produce mistuned light on some spots of the foreground, especially in our eyes. The red eye effect and the “laser light” effect seen in cats’ eyes when they happen to keep their eyes open, are good examples.

If in some cases flash light cannot be avoided in dim environment, we can try to direct the flash elsewhere for some cameras with detachable flash, such as a wall or ceiling, so that the light can reach the foreground without flashing directly on the people and the cats.

Cats’ Unsteady Movements

Another issue is that cats often move too fast to photographs. It is quite challenging to convince cats to stay still for a photo to be taken, so we need to take some time and effort to train cats to follow the “stay” command to photography. Actually, the stay command may apply not only for photography purpose, but also for other purposes. As far as no flash is applied, we should have some control to train them to stay.

One quick way to draw cats’ attention while taking photos is to make some weird noise to draw their attention. It can be a click or flip. As a result, cats will often return by giving a cute expression of curiosity. However, avoid loud noise as it will scare them away. Another way to teach them to stay still and pose is by bribing them with their favourite toys. As always, it takes time and effort through trial and error before we succeed.

Cats’ Position

When we take pictures with kids, we may get down on our knees or even on the ground to their levels in order to take a photo that would not look awkward in proportion. The same is true for cats in particular. It would be important for us to adjust our body position to fit their level in order to take a good picture. For example, the proportion would be fine if we are sitting on a chair or bench with the cats sitting on our lap.

Cats’ Natural Motion

Cats usually have their best performance when they are outside in nature walking or playing around. It would be great if we are able to capture the moment naturally when they are doing whatever they are doing, without having to stop and pose. In this case, we would need some special lens and camera setting to capture movement.

Patience

This word appears very often throughout articles about training cats. Yes, we do need patience with cats. Suppose everyone is ready in their position, and the cats suddenly turn their head away from the camera when the shot is made. We can never anticipate when they will turn their heads. So, try again. Remember, we take photos to have fun with it, and enjoy being with our cats.