Cat Photo Prompt Ideas

I’m collecting together a page of my blog posts of creative and adventurous photo ideas, right now they are scattered all over the blog and not easy to find! I hope you use your Imagination to inspire your images and find a prompt that works for you.

Definition of PROMPT: to make someone decide to say or do something

Cambridge Dictionary

For those who want to explore something a little bit different I hope these ideas might nudge you out of your comfort zone. Each one encourages you to experiment and see the world through a new lens, whatever the camera you are using. The instructions are beginner friendly, and I am always available to respond to comments and email.

• This post is not for those who sneak off and ask Chat GPT, Claude or Gemini and other AI (artificial intelligence) engines to create a fluffy cute pet, but for the cat, dog, rabbit, rat lover who wants to add something creative to enhance their own work, their own pet portrait.

The page is for the people who say ‘I wonder’…

Getting Creative With a Cat Portrait

One of the best ways to transform a cat photo is with filters. Filters can be gentle or dramatic, weird or wonderful. Every smartphone app has filters, and computer photo editing programs like Luminar Neo and Photoshop Elements allow a lot of adjustments that are fun to explore.

• Always work on a copy of your digital image.

Otis the Cat is Transformed

Here is a simple and cute image of one of the wonderful cats from Neko Ngeru Cat Cafe, here in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. The first image is Otis looking out of a paper bag where he had been hiding ready to pounce (or be pounced on!)

Boost the Ginger Tones

The image of our manly ginger can be adjusted in different ways and the easiest is to try boosting the colour. This is a simple adjustment using your software’s colours tool (Check your menus to find it).

Take a look at Otis here and compare it with the original image above. The ginger fur is brighter and the orange tones glow more. The changes are subtle and gentle and may be just what you need to add a little bit of colour.

TIP: Not every edit to your photograph needs to be emphatic, or make a strong statement. A light touch can transform an image.

Add a Touch of Visual Flair

This edit of the portrait of Otis has, for me, a more serious look to it. A treatment like this might add more impact, or reflect a challenging project. I have used one of the adjustments available in Luminar Neo’s “Creative’ menu called ‘Dramatic’.

I often suggest you push a slider further to see the results and test a tool’s limits and the screenshot here shows you what happens when you get too enthusiastic.

Taking a step back and carefully reviewing your work has benefits. The photograph below shows how a lighter touch can give Otis a more successful look.

Moving Into Black and White

If you are not satisfied with a cat photograph but feel it’s good. Try using your software or smartphone’s monochrome conversion tool. After you have done the basic conversion, look for your colour sliders. Yes, they should still be there and they will change the look of your image.

An alternative to black and white adjustments is exploring your software’s presets. Monochrome/Black and White presets are ‘ready to roll’ with settings already adjusted and no work from you! Presets transform an image in different ways and can be adjusted.

Extreme Makeovers

An easy and dramatic creative transformation is solarising your pet. You can see the result of Otis eerie change here and this change is not hard to so. The project introduces you to curves and you control the outcome of the adjustments you make. This one is computer based although some smartphone apps come close!

Try at some of these subtle adjustments or dramatic makeovers. They prompt new ideas and creative journeys for you as a photographer and editor. Add changes of your own from your menus and see what happens. Dont forget to save each experiment as a new file!

Let me know how you get on.