A Black Cat Filter Exploration

You will remember our boy Taz from our adoption post and several successful portraits, including this one taken with a smartphone using simple ‘Portrait’ mode. This is a really effective and successful tool that takes fantastic cat photos. Find it and use it on your ‘phone!

I wanted to showcase Taz in a series of portraits I took using the iPhone Portrait mode ‘Stage Light‘ option which frames your portrait with a dramatic dark frame similar to the recent cat vignette portraits I took. I have created these over a period of time and wanted to add them together as we near the end of the year.

Black Cat Squares!

These are all square format as one or two have been shared on Instagram but, never seen all together here on the blog.

The stage light effect can be very dramatic if you are close up to your cat and I am not sure the first one (above) is too successful. But, when you step into the more creative and, almost, abstract look using a tool like Stage Light, things can change dramatically.

Add Filter Drama

You have the choice of keeping the drama focused on your cat by just using the tool or, to add a touch of interest you can experiment with some of the extra lighting effects in Photoshop Camera and Snapseed.

Sadly Photoshop Camera has been withdrawn from the market which is a pity as it is the perfect user friendly solution for a simple effect like the sunbeam you can see above.

This dramatic and shady version of Taz, is a black and white adjustment that throws lots of the darker fur into the background. It highlights the fur touched by sunlight giving you a cat shaped ‘idea’ your mind fills in.

Combining Photos in a Montage

For a portrait with added interest, I have used the ‘Layout’ app on my smartphone to make a couple of images to show you how your cat portraits ca be combined. You ca, of couse, add more than one cat into your portrait mix!

Here you can see a couple of options. A montage and (below) a dramatic triptych that, if it was a greetings card, might fold into three separate leaves.

The effect is not one I use often, but it shows that if you explore your smartphone you will find it allows you to do so many things. My best ever smartphone tip is: explore yours. Even a simple, older ‘phone might surprise you with added filters on both iOS and Android.