Let’s Talk About

Taking cat pictures you will be really happy with on a smartphone as never been easier. And, one of the most effective tools in smartphone cat photography is ‘portrait mode’.

You can use this mode to take gorgeous and fun cat portraits and you only need to know one simple setting to confidently ace your own cat portraits.

What is Portrait Mode?

Portrait mode is a camera setting that artificially blurs the background of your photos, creating a bokeh (soft focus) effect around the cat.

Find the Portrait Mode/Tool on your Smartphone

On my iPhone the portrait mode is part of the camera and yours may operate in a similar way. To move between camera options I slide my finger across the bottom of the screen.

Once you navigate to your portrait option you may find a series of different options available. Mine includes ‘Stage Light’ ‘ ‘Contour Light’ and two different ‘Key Light’ options. You can try these out to see what a difference they make. Each option is worth trying to push the ‘limits’ of your smartphone camera.

Lighting is Key

Natural light is best, if you can get it, but, if your room or flat struggles to get the kind of light you need, remember the one awesome thing your smartphone can do.

It works amazingly well in low light.

So well that you might drop your smartphone in surprise. OK I’m kidding but so many people are genuinely taken aback by the superb quality of images like this one of Toulouse. One cat, one small lamp (off camera) nothing else.

Distance Matters

Each smartphone is different and your distance from your cat is something you will be able to experiment with so you can find the most successful distance for taking a good cat photo.

My iPhone 12 lets me know if I need to step further away. Usually it prefers me to be about 60 cms (2 feet) or so from my cat subject. Your Android or iPhone may be more versatile and work at closer distances. Most smartphone lenses work out when you are too close and display a reminder to step back.

Composition is Crucial

First, remember that you need to have an uncluttered background. Even with portrait mode, a clear background  makes the out of focus area look smoother and less busy. This image of Taz works really well and only uses portrait mode with no other editing.

Taz also breaks the rule of not placing your subject in the centre of the frame. He is a strong enough colour and has such presence it works. Remember that this indefinable ‘presence‘ is something your cat has, if you are lucky enough to capture the moment.

While you can successfully pose your cat front and centre like this; using the Rule of Thirds is a second option you can try. For some reason the human eye finds a cat placed one third of the way across the image field looks pleasing. So, try this while you have your model in position (and before they move away with the bored meowdel strut).

Focus on the Eyes

Even though your smartphone doesn’t have the state of the art ‘eye focusing’ tech. of a mirrorless camera keeping your focus on your cat is easy. Tap your smartphone screen.

This works for almost every ‘phone out there and helps you to focus on your cat’s face. Even if you move slightly, your cat’s face should remain in focus while you shoot.

Practice Makes Perfect

Keep practising your Portrait Mode skills on your cats. The more cat photos you take, the better you will get a judging what works, and going it with confidence. 

If all else fails, you can incorporate a touch of bokeh (soft focus) from an app like Snapseed. But, getting it right ‘in your smartphone’ saves so much time.

Now go and try it and let me know how you do!

Editing is where your cat photography can really come to life! It’s normal to feel a little unsure when you’re starting out, but fear not, there are some easy edits you can try to make your feline friend look pawsome. Don’t worry if you’re new to editing! Let’s explore some simple techniques that will make your cat the star of the show.

You can subtly enhance or go wild and get totally creative when you edit a cat photo, so let me introduce you to some super simple ideas that will make your next cat photos extra special.

Essential Cat Photo Edits

• Cropping: Tighten the composition to focus attention on your cat. Basically, you edit out the background like the picture of Connor below. Experiment to see what works best. I have some good ideas here. Sometimes, all you need is to crop your image to centre attention on your cat. Connor (below) looks lost in the middle of the left photo but fills the cropped image nicely.
• Exposure: Adjust brightness and contrast to make sure you have a successful image with the right balance of light and shade. Look for the brightness/exposure settings on your smartphone (often within your camera app) or experiment with Aperture or ISO on your mirrorless/DSLR.
• White Balance: Correct any colour casts to achieve accurate colours. This might need remembering to adjust your WB on a DSLR camera to ‘Tungsten’ or a similar inside setting so your cat doesn’t look really orange or too blue.
• Exposure Compensation: (EC) If your cat photo needs a nudge in the right direction, try adjusting EC on your DSLR/mirrorless camera.
• Sharpening: Enhance detail, but be careful not to overdo it.

Exposure Compensation (EC) is something that confuses a lot of new camera users,(including me when I first started). It may not be something you would use often but, if your environment lacks sunlight, or has times when it is too bright, you might enjoy experimenting.

Explore Exposure Compensation Post

Enhance Your Cat’s Features

Make your enhancements (also called increments) small and don’t rush. Yes you can undo but I have learned from experience and getting it wrong 😉 that a light touch from the start gives you successful results faster.

• Eyes: Brighten your cat’s eyes to create a captivating look. People automatically look at a cat’s eyes first and you can use subtle touches of ‘dodge and burn‘ to make a difference if the eyes seem just a bit shady. This simple technique is fantastic and one I strongly recommend you explore. A very gentle touch can lighten an eye significantly and most apps and software have this function.
• Fur: Use tools like clarity or texture to emphasise the richness and depth of the fur. This can really help sharpen a fuzzy texture. Again, you only need the lightest touch to make your cat’s fur look more convincing.
• Colour: Adjust saturation and vibrance using your app or software to enhance your cat’s coat and eye colour. This is an area where you work in very small steps to make adjustments. Don’t hurry and don’t overdo it!

Creative Editing Ideas

If you are happy with your cat photo but want to give it just a lttle extra ‘something’ why not try changing colour, or adding a framing effect.

• Black and White: Convert your image to black and white (monochrome). This style focuses on texture, light and shape once the colour disappears. Your results may surprise and please you as this kitten image did for me. Originally a shot in bright colour, it looks effective and thoughtful in black and white.
• Filters: A real asset for smartphone users. Each app will have different filters PhotoDirector, Snapseed and Pixlr and good places to start. See the triple portrait below.
• Sepia Tone: Give your photo a vintage feel with a brownish ‘sepia’ tone.This is perfect if you like a gentler feel than black and white gives you. You will find this adjustment in your filter menus but, if you are not sure, check the photo software or app instructions.
• Vignette: Darken the edges of the image to draw attention to the centre. Many software packages offer different ways to add this subtle framing device to your cat photo.
• Magical Layers. I created a cat photo ‘overlay’ portrait pos with a short video and had so much fun, I know you will too if you try it. This take more effort but the results can be spectacular. Check the short video I created.

Cat Photo Overlay Post

Cat Photo Editing Software

You will have your own personal software favourites, especially if you use a smartphone, or regularly use a computer as a blogger or at work. Let me know any recommendations and I will be happy to add them to this post.

My favourite smartphone app is Snapseed (free) but I want to share this list of software recommendations is computer/tablet based. A good Online app is Pixlr.

• Affinity Photo: A powerful and user-friendly option for beginners and professionals.
• Adobe Photoshop Elements: Similar to Affinity Photo. Useful to amateurs and pros alike.
• Free options: Consider GIMP which has a learning curve but is top quality.

A Final Feline Thought

Less is often more.

Subtle adjustments can make a big difference to editing a cat portrait. Experiment with different editing styles to find your own unique view of your cat. If you are not sure about your adjustment, walk away for a few minutes to clear your mind. This works for me when I am not sure if my adjustment has worked.

An under exposed photo can be a real problem for beginners, whether you use a DSLR/Mirrorless camera or a smartphone. But don’t worry there are some easy ways to fight back and make sure you don’t let the darkness steal your photos.

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Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

What is under exposed in photography? Under exposure refers to when an image is too dark, according to the technical rules of what is considered to be correct exposure, ie, darker than what you remember the original scene to be.

Canon

There are two ways to fight back against underexposure in your cat photos and make sure you capture a good shot. Check out my under exposed photo fixes!

First, if you can learn just a bit about your camera settings on your DSLR/Mirrorless camera or smartphone you can dramatically reduce the number of underexposed images you take.

Second. For images already on your smartphone, or computer editing can make an instant and dramatic difference. Both work and both are valid means of improving the outcome of an underexposed photo.

Smartphone Exposure Adjustments

Open your under exposed cat photograph in your favourite smartphone app.

You may have a regular iPhone or Android app you use but if you need a few ideas try Pixlr or the impressively featured Android app (only $3.99) Camera Zoom FX Premium or you could try my favourite app, Snapseed. iPhones and Android ‘phones all have basic photo editing functions for exposure, cropping and filters.

Look for the Exposure or Brightness tools in your smartphone’s menu. The app will lighten your whole image which may be exactly what you need.

Check out my introduction to free app Snapseed

Smartphone Extra Tips

If you still need to make more detailed photo adjustments some editing apps have separate sliders for Highlights, Shadows, and Black tones, see if you have these.

• Highlights: This brightens the brightest parts of your photo. Great for lightening a gloomy sky or bringing out details in sunlit fur.
• Shadows: This brightens the darker areas and doesn’t affect your highlights. It is perfect for revealing details in dark corners or under a tree.
• Blacks: This adjusts the darkest tones in your image. Use it carefully to avoid losing detail in shadows, but it can be helpful for adding a bit of depth.

Then save your image as a separate copy. If you do this you can try different adjustments to see which treatment works best for your photo.

BONUS TIP: There’s a fine line between brightening and ‘blowing out’ your photo which loses important details. Blowing out means white areas that are so bright you lose all your details.

Explore DSLR Camera Settings

To avoid future dark captures you can learn how your camera reacts to different types of light so you can change the settings ahead of your photo shoot. If time is limited, you can also use Automatic or a mode like Aperture Priority (Av/A) or Shutter Priority (S/Tv) where the camera helps you out.

Aperture Priority is my go-to mode for cat photos and with this I avoid a lot of dark disappointing images.

Using the camera’s modes like Av/A and S/Tv is a great way to learn about exposure for beginners. Try using a mode then check and see which settings the camera thought were best. If the image was a success make a note the settings then use these yourself next time. (Av – Canon A – Nikon)

Super quick reminder. The larger your camera’s aperture, for example f1.8 – the more light you are letting in. The smaller the aperture such as f22, the less light reaches into your camera. I know f-stops are confusing. I coped by remembering f1.8 is huge and F22 is really small without trying to understanding the science behind it.

Computer Editing Ideas

If you have computer software like Paintshop Pro, GIMP, Affinity Photo, or Photoshop Elements you can download your images and adjust them with a larger range of tools and even a gentle touch of AI.

• If you don’t have a good brand of software, Fotor is a free online editor with the chance to upgrade to an impressive range of tools (you join and get free credits). It worked well with my image of Toulouse as you can see here.

BONUS TIP: If your photo is still a bit dark after adjusting exposure, try increasing the “Contrast” slider. This will make the lights lighter and the darks darker.

Exposure Tips Summary

Smartphones really rock the low light captures much more than they used to so try for any shot. You might be really happy with the results.

Don’t overdo your editing. Remember that if you are not totally happy with a cat photo, you may only need to make a small exposure adjustment and you will transform your image not a lot of fussy work.

For beginners using DSLR/Mirrorless cameras; making friends with Av/A and S/Tv modes and two basic f-stops to build your skills. I love Aperture Priority when I feel anxious about settings, it works so often.

We are not experts but learning all the time so have fun exploring and you will take away the dark in no time.

Did you know ISO is another way to help your photo look a bit brighter? Discover ISO basics

Let’s talk photo editing woes. You take a picture, you love it on your camera, then you open it on your computer and it’s so disappointing.

Maybe the colours seem wrong, the lighting needs help, and overall it just feels…meh. It happens to all of us, but it can be super frustrating, especially when you were so excited about capturing that perfect moment.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

But. Did you know your DSLR or mirrorless camera (and maybe your smartphone) has a secret super power that can rescue a lot of your images? Let me introduce you to Camera Raw. It sounds a bit scary but stick with me to the end of the post to discover if RAW might be useful, knowing about it certainly is.

What is Camera Raw?

Camera Raw is a different way to take photos because it captures your image as data. Imagine it as something out of the Matrix movies, streams of numbers that are impossible to interpret until they are processed using a raw processor/editor.

DEFINITION. How to take photos in raw. A raw photo editor is software designed to process and enhance raw image files captured by digital cameras. Using raw editors/processors preserves the full data from your camera sensor, providing a lot of flexibility for post-processing. This ensures that your photos look their absolute best.

Fix the Photo

• I have showcased Camera Raw in depth in this post

Do I Need a Raw Processor or Editor?

Yes. The data you see here is transformed from this scary jumble of data into an image when you open your photos using the raw processor.

Let me suggest three processors/editors when you want to explore camera raw. These will be helpful if your own software might not ready be ready to open the images. All of these are cross-platform compatible, which means they work on Windows PCs and Macs.

• Luminar Neo (annual payment)
• Affinity Photo (single payment)
• Darktable (free)

• Here’s the kind of transformation you can make using camera raw. Your usual photo software might lighten the image but there would be a lot more blur, not the lovely definition of fur and eyes like you see in Toulouse and Jack below.

What Camera Raw Cannot Do

You cannot take a very rapid series of cat photos if your cat is running very fast and you want to capture and freeze its motion. Many cameras fall over their own digital feet processing the data ‘on the go’. Like me you might prefer to practice changing your shutter speed instead.

How Do I Add Raw to My Camera Settings?

To experiment with Raw and see if it is a function you can make use of, you will need to add the Raw option (aka RAW in capitals) to your image settings on your camera.

Here you can see a DSLR menu from my Canon camera menu. Look for something similar to these in your own camera’s menu. If you can’t find it, check your manual or an online resource.

You will have an Image Quality button that stores your image options. You may have a lot more options but this list gives you an idea of image settings and file sizes.

• Small – 720x 480 pixels. This takes up 0.3MB (megabyte) of space per photo
• Medium 3456 x 2304 pixels 8.0MB (megabytes) of space per photo
• Large – 5184 x 3456 taking up 10MB of space per photo.
• RAW – 5184 x 3456 taking up 18MB per photo

Remember that a higher image size like 18MB means a larger picture and a much larger file size than 8.0MB.

Raw in Summary

It is easy to get swamped by discussions about RAW and JPEG formats that you find in dozens of photo blog posts. Most of these you will not need as you are on your own photo journey, at your own pace.

So, raw may not be something you will use immediately but the power it brings to your editing (called post-processing by expert photographers) can make a difference to your photographs, when the opportunity arises.

Explore it to see if you would find it useful. It’s an interesting next step to take in your camera and software exploration.

Taking captivating cat photos requires an understanding of your camera’s shutter speed. A shutter can freeze movement or blur it, depending on your camera settings.

Shutter speed also covers depth of field, and bokeh but in this post I want to show you simply how your shutter actually does its job and how it can help.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Yes, your shutter is working for you even if you are on Automatic or a ‘Mode‘!

• Remember: Shutter Speed is one of the three pillars of the Exposure Triangle (see bottom of the post), along with Aperture and ISO. Seeing how they work together becomes something you grasp as you learn about the three elements in small steps. Don’t panic, or try to learn it all at once.

What Does Shutter Speed Do?

Shutter speed determines how long your camera’s shutter stays open. The two cat photos below will show you the difference between fast and slow shutter speeds when I tried to capture cat movement.

How fast the shutter operates affects the amount of light that enters into the lens and this affects how your camera captures your cat as it moves, as you can see in the quick video.

My video shows you what happens to your shutter and the settings you can experiment with. I am also including a helpful quote from Photography Life that describes how shutter speed is measured.

Shutter speeds are typically measured in fractions of a second when they are under a second. For example, 1/4 means a quarter of a second, while 1/250 means one-two-hundred-and-fiftieth of a second (or four milliseconds).

Photography Life

Quick Start Shutter Speed Prompt

Slow Shutter Speed	Shutter Setting 2″ (seconds) for dim light, interiors or night photography
Medium Shutter Speed	1/125 A cat walking at moderate pace
Fast Shutter Speed	1/1000 or 1/2000 Catch a cat sprinting or jumping

What Happens When Your Shutter Speed is Wrong?

When I began to take photos I had no idea what the impact a difference in my shutter speed could make. I got it wrong a lot of the time but, like you, I keep going and I keep learning. We all take a lot of ‘artfully blurry’ photos that might have been cats.

• As your skills develop and expand. You can enter contests to win prizes and Certificates.

Remember, things don’t need to be perfect, you just have to be a bit more in control. You will learn that small adjustments to your shutter speed, balanced with your ISO make a real difference.

Let me show you two examples of shutter settings. One is a failure and one is a success.

Shutter speed fail

To set the scene in my sample image. It was a warm summer afternoon and the Dash Kitten Crew were ready to play like mad things with a Neko Fly wand gifted by our friend Erin the Cat Princess. I took the opportunity to try my action photo skills and improve my shutter speed experience, which is what you should do too.

My first attempts included the photo above. Nothing is in focus, every cat is moving so fas. It is a settings disaster! Silver (the pale tabby facing the camera) flies off after the toy leaving Toulouse far behind. 1/250 is the shutter speed and f4.5 the aperture setting. As you can see I misjudged the shot completely!

Shutter Speed Success

Toulouse in a dramatic solo roll. You might be able to see the blur of the butterfly toy closer to the camera. I focused on the top of his body with my camera’s ‘focus point’ on his chest. The settings were balanced differently this time. 1/125 is the shutter speed and f8 the aperture setting. A wider aperture matched with a slower shutter speed.

What shutter speed lets in the most light?

The spectacular shot of Toulouse worked because the camera did not have to work too hard.

More light was being allowed in (remember in the video at the top of this post?) so the shutter speed did not need to be as fast. This is why you get better with practice and feel more in control of your camera.

Most modern SLR cameras have an array of focus points ranging anywhere from 5 to 75 and more. these are within the viewfinder. You can normally select either one specific point or all points at once for auto-focusing.

All Things Photography

A final note that might help you improve your focusing skills

If you have trouble focusing on a cat’s eye, or a specific point, I suggest you explore your camera’s focus points.

The quote above from All Things Photography is an easy explanation to take in. Your focus points are zones on the camera sensor that are sensitive to changes in image contrast, each zone might be a square or other mark you see through the viewfinder and the number of points varies with each camera. You can change these as much as you like when you gain experience.

Cat Photography Shutter Samples!

Shutter Speed and Aperture form part of the Exposure Triangle (with ISO) and there is a great explanation of how these work together on the Photography Life blog. I want, here, to focus on understanding shutter speed at its most basic level for this post.

Photography Definitions

• Exposure Triangle – explained in plain English by Photography Talk.
• Shutter Speed in Detail – Photography Life goes into depth about the impact of different shutter speeds.

After my quick run down on what ISO is and how it can help your cat photos, I wanted to add a super quick explanation on what Aperture is. When you eventually try manual, you will find ISO and Aperture confidence will give you so much more confidence photographing cats and other pets. Let’s take a look….

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

A Definition of Aperture

You will find a lot of descriptions, explanations and ‘technical’ breakdowns that tell you what Aperture in your camera is but, if they intimidate you, try this simple idea instead.

Aperture Numbers

Aperture is written as f/ followed by a number (f/2.8, f/8, etc.) easy enough but you have to remember that a lower f-number means a larger aperture (more light).

If the whole idea seems confusing, don’t give up. Keep taking photographs, look at what the effect of each aperture setting is later when you download and edit your cat photos.

Large Aperture (Small f-number like f2.8)

If you open your eye really wide you are doing what a camera does when it uses a large aperture. This camera setting lets in a lot of light. It’s great for low-light situations like a room the sun doesn’t reach very often or night time photography.

My favourite technique the soft focus bokeh behind cats like Toulouse here. I am using a large aperture and blurring the background. It makes your your cat stand out by blurring the background (shallow depth of field).

Small Aperture (Large f-number like f16)

Like a squinting eye, a small aperture lets in less light. This is helpful for bright locations and helps your cat photos from being over exposed (too bright). It’s benefits include a sharp photo from front to back. An example of this would be a landscape you take on holiday or out for a hike.

Beginner’s Best Aperture Tip

Many cameras have an “Aperture Priority” mode (often labeled A or Av). This semi-automatic mode lets you choose the aperture, and the camera automatically adjusts the shutter speed for a good exposure. It’s a great way to experiment with aperture while the camera handles the technical stuff!

• Download your photographs and see what aperture looks like for a particular light if you use A/Av mode. It’s a really good way to get aperture confidence. You see what works and what doesn’t.

Finally, don’t be afraid to use one of your camera’s modes like Aperture Priority or Shutter Priority to help you learn. Some people swear by manual settings, others (like me) take prize winning photos using camera modes as well. Each photographer, like their images, is unique.

Go be unique and explore in your own way!

What is ISO? Do I need it? What is it anyway and should I even care?

For someone just starting out with cat photography in Auto mode on a DSLR, mirrorless, or smartphone camera, ISO might not be a concern. However, as your passion for capturing your feline family grows, you will naturally want to expand your photographic skills.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

That’s where ISO comes in – it’s an essential part of your growing skillset.

• ISO adjusts your camera’s light sensitivity.

What does ISO mean?

Let’s start with a short (and helpful) description of ISO.

If you look, you will find a lot of definitions and explanations online so I saved you a job by finding the best explanation (I think), and the easiest to understand.

The founders of the International Organization for Standardization (the group that created ISO standards for cameras) tried to find a universally understandable acronym, but it proved difficult with so many member countries and languages.

Instead, they chose ISO as a shortened version of the Greek word “isos” which means “equal.” This reflects their goal of creating international standards that would be equal and consistent across the globe.

ISO/Google

How do you measure ISO?

Light is measured though your camera lens. This might seem obvious but cameras have so many buttons, bells and whistles that it is easy to get confused.

You adjust the camera’s sensitivity to light by changing your ISO. The lower the ISO number you set the less sensitive your camera is to light.

With all cameras, not just those used for cat photography ISO, starts at 100 and goes to 6400 on the cameras most of us cat lovers will use. A good place to start your explorations, especially using A or Av mode (which I love) is with ISO 100 or 200. This is great for a bright day outside, on a catio or a close to the window portrait.

Then start changing your settings and see what happens!

How do I set my ISO?

The best way to become more confident about setting your ISO is to play with your own camera. ISO will be adjusted with a dial, or as part of your camera menu screen. Check your manual if you are not sure or refer to your camera company’s web site.

Give yourself permission to fool around and play with your ISO. See what happens as you change the light sensitivity, in a spirit of exploration and fun.

This photo has an ISO of 200 and it is too low.

Raising the ISO to 800 gives a better picture.

Low ISO (100-400)

This is like turning down the sensitivity. Great for bright sunny days outdoors or well-lit rooms. It creates clean, crisp photos with little to no grain (also called noise). However, you might need a slower shutter speed which can blur moving cats. (1/250 is a good shutter setting for moving cats).

• The Importance of Light in Cat Photography

Medium ISO (400-1600)

This level of ISO turns up the sensitivity in your camera. It’s good for cloudy days, indoors with some light, or action shots where you need a faster shutter speed to freeze your cat’s movement. There might be some ‘noise’ also known as grain, but this shouldn’t overpower the photo. It is up to you, the photographer to decide how much noise suits your purpose.

What is Digital Noise? “Noise is a grainy veil in a photograph, obscuring details and making the picture appear significantly worse.”

Photography Life

Successful portrait of Thomas ISO 400

Here you are really pushing your ISO (sensitivity) to cope with low-light situations. A high ISO will be great for capturing indoor cat naps or playful moments in the evening but, you can expect to see more digital noise, which can make photos look textured or rough. It is up to you to decide how you shoot and how you adjust your own ISO.

I could pack my short post with pictures to demonstrate each ISO but I know you will learn more by grabbing your camera or smartphone and doing something yourself. So get out there, tinker with your ISO and make this your first step out of Auto mode!

Are you a cat photography enthusiast who sometimes struggles with terms and jargon you don’t understand? Don’t worry, you’re not alone! I encountered a camera adjustment I was not familiar with recently and I want to share because it’s a bit of an eye-opener and it can make a difference to your cat (or dog!) photos when you use it on your mirrorless or DSLR camera.

I am going to try this one out over the coming weeks and I think other DSLR/Mirrorless camera users will too so let’s look at Exposure Compensation and see how it works in practice.

As a bonus I am including my FREE photography glossary as a download (see the bottom of the post)! The free eList includes a lot of photography terms for beginners.

Exposure Compensation Examples

Here are two samples of the difference the change can make ‘in the camera’ and save you endless fussing and tinkering with your cat’s photo in a photo editor. Toulouse (tabby), and his best friend Wyatt are my models to show very simply how using plus or minus makes a difference. The impact on a photo can be a lot more dramatic but this shows you what that simple dial or button can do.

Meet Exposure Compensation

What is Exposure Compensation a.k.a. Exposure Control? It is a sneaky and simple way of slightly adjusting the exposure from the settings the camera decides are good for your shot. It works while you use the Modes (see quote) and lets you change the exposure just a little bit. Why would you do this? Because our camera’s aren’t perfect and can misjudge the light so you can step in and make a small change.

To use exposure priority, your camera must be in a setting that uses the camera meter. This can be Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Program Mode, or other Scene Modes. The only time it will not work is when you have your setting in Manual or Automatic Mode.

I admit that I am not big on ‘manual‘ mode as it does not work well for my kind of cat photography, although some photographers swear its the best.

I take photographs of cats in repose, cats moving or fierce cats often within five minutes of each other. So, I prefer to use Aperture Priority (Nikon A) and Shutter Priority (S/Tv). Still, sometimes the light isn’t quite right and it needs the small tweak this tool can provide.

TIP If you are familiar with your camera’s histogram a small adjustment to your exposure can help you remove the dreaded ‘blinkies’ which point out areas you have over exposed. Anything that helps you avoid that is a good thing – right?

Where do I find Exposure Compensation

It is different on each camera so check your manual or a tutorial video online. It can be a button, a dial or part of your menu but there will be a symbol similar to this, a plus and minus.

• Plus – Use this to draw out details in the shadows scroll towards the +. Details in a cat face become more visible for example.
• Minus – Use this to underexpose your image and draw out details in the highlights of your photo.