Beginner Cat Photo Skills, Let's Talk About

Get Creative Editing A Cat Portrait

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.

Dash Kitten Photograph
Close Crop of Dash Kitten

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.
Connor Square Closup Photograph cropped of a handsome tabby
Connor Square Closup Photograph cropped of a handsome tabby
Crop Tool graphic illustration
The crop tool is two right angles with a line crossed through them.

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

Miranda Victrix. Tuxedo lounges on a wooden railing

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!
kitten resting it's head on a sneaker

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.
Cat with starry background

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.

9 thoughts on “Get Creative Editing A Cat Portrait”

  1. These are wonderful! I love that b&w one, and the one with the galactic background! Your tips on photography are wonderful and easy to follow for newbies and great refreshers for veterans! And, it works for taking amazing dog photos, too! Pinning this to share!

    Reply
  2. You always amaze me with your photos and each time I take one I try to remember what you have said but I never seem to get good ones like you, thanks for the lesson

    Reply
  3. Super tutorial on how simple tweaks can make all the difference in your photos. I’ve been experiments more with brightness, white, black, contrast, etc. It certainly helps a photo that seems like a “delete” photo at first glance. Your video on overlays is superb! Thanks, Marjorie! I’m sharing this one again!

    Reply
  4. Great tips, and I do like the suggestion of turning a picture black and white. I’m going to see if it improves some of my poorly taken colour photos.

    Reply
  5. Nice photos! I always learn something from your posts! Thanks for joining Angel Brian’s Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!

    Reply

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