As a pet lover, you probably have tens of thousands of snapshots on your phone. Getting a decent portrait is challenging because pets move around a lot. Dogs are quite cooperative from my experience. Cats are the tricky ones because they follow the beat of their own drum. 😼
Here are some tips for taking cat pawtraits.
Light
It all starts with light. Natural light is my go-to source of light. Window light and bounce light are soft and have less contrast. Backlit light wraps around the subject gently.
Eyes
The big round eyes make them super cute. Cats, in particular, pupils dilate in low lighting conditions. Avoid direct sunlight that makes them look fierce. No flash!
Expression
Pets sleep a lot, it’s fairly easy to capture the quiet moment.
They show their traits when they are playing. Be ready for candid funny moments, facial expressions.
This is a shop cat 👇🏻
Attention
Most pets are sound sensitive. Some are attached to their favorite toys. Treats work like charms. Teaming up with a partner will make your job easier.
Perspective
See things from your pet’s perspective. Eye-level is recommended which means you might have to huddle up on the floor to get a shot.
Lens
Focal length 50-100mm allows you to keep a distance
Wide aperture f/1.2-f/2 will blur out the background to make the subject stand out
Settings
To increase the chances of capturing actions shots, set your camera to burst mode. Slow shutter creates motion blur. Use Shutter priority (S/TV mode ) to set fast shutter speed, leave the aperture to the camera.
Silent shutter is optional. Auto ISO is preferred.
Here are some pictures of my cat Turkey running around the house. You can see the differences in terms of color temperature and the size of her eyes.
Focus
AF-C continuous focus tracking
Pet Eye AF
Most of the new cameras have Eye AF (eye autofocus mode) for pets and human. If your camera doesn’t have Eye AF, set focus on the subject’s eyes and keep the same distances with your subject.
Use the back focus button to separate from the shutter button. Focus on the eyes just like human portraits.
This is a 360° picture of Turkey. Enjoy!
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