Pets can be difficult to photograph, particularly cats who seem to want to do anything and everything except pay attention to you when you have a camera out. I know all of us cat parents have taken many, many photos that illustrate this point perfectly.
Cats look down, look backwards, look creepily off in the distance, decide now is the perfect time to start grooming themselves and on and on. It’s difficult! At least your typical dog will direct their attention at you if you say, “Do you want a ____?” (treat, cookie, insert bribery method here). Cats don’t care.
This fella, Princey, *really* doesn’t care! His human has dressed him up in attire that he finds entirely offensive, and his very cute (but very annoyed and angry) face will tell you everything you need to know about how he feels about this pointy hat on his head.
@thekittydrink Happy birthday Princey! Our little man turned 6 this past Saturday.🎉🥳🎈
Yeah, they’re not getting any framed 8×10’s of Princey’s birthday celebration out of this session!
I’m terrible at pet photography. My husband and I can both be taking a picture of the same animal, and mine looks like it belongs in “Terrors Of Nature: When Domestic Animals Go Wrong. ” Meanwhile, the Pulitzer Prize Commission is calling on the phone for him congratulating him on a sure victory. He has natural skill that I covet, and he also makes it looks so effortless. It’s infuriating just because I AM SO BAD!
Related: Cat’s Reaction to Seeing Her Picture on Mom’s Wall Couldn’t Be More Fitting
But here’s something to help all of us get a great picture (smartphone edition) from our cranky, camera-circumventing kitties:
- Use natural lighting whenever possible (sunlight should always be behind you)
- The flash can be way to harsh, so turn it off
- Always get down on the cat’s level
- Use a toy, or a noise (squeaking, crumpling paper or the ever popular “pppssss ppppsssssss ppppssssssss”) to get their attention
- Move closer to your subject instead of zooming in. You’ll get much better quality and can crop after the picture is taken
- After focusing, drag your finger up and down to adjust brightness
- If the cat is on the ground, try flipping your phone upside down and taking the picture in “portrait mode”
- Take a LOT of pictures and do different angles. Experiment with poses and play with your different camera settings. You can always delete anything that doesn’t work later
Maybe we can all finally get good cat photos now!
Related: Photographer Takes Most Epic Photos of Cats Shaking Their Heads
Best of luck to you and your furry friend. And Happy Birthday to Princey! Here’s hoping his parents get a better pic next year!