Ginger Cat In A Sunlit Pose

Today’s portrait has a touch of the ‘before and after’ magic that comes from a few simple edits. The subject is our senior boy Jack who this week managed to fall off his cat steps by launching himself off halfway down.

After a quick vet visit he was diagnosed with a soft tissue injury and confined on crate arrest to restrict his movement. A small amount of Gabapentin has been added to his diet until he recovers.

On Saturday we lifted Jack out of his crate and onto the family bed where he enjoyed the bright autumn sunshine. He was so pleased to be on his familiar daytime napping spot he purred and purred.

A Challenging Light Portrait

The first photograph here shows you how bright the light is mid-afternoon. It gets much brighter here in New Zealand than in Europe and America, so the light ,coming from your right, makes the shadows around Jack look very dark and dramatic.

I did not have time to set things using Manual, what you see is Aperture Priority and not perfect so some rescue editing was needed. I took several pictures and you can see two used here.

Making the Photo Work

I want to encourage you not to give up on a hurried, snatched moment capture without some thought. Light edits can make a big difference, especially if the picture matters to you. Jack’s picture looks very dark but it is a special moment, let me show you what I did to rescue it.

• I cropped the portrait to remove the dark background. This lets you focus on Jack’s alert and eager face. ‘Yeah, Look at me! I’m on my favourite napping spot, in the sun‘
• Step two was to lightly brushed areas of deep shadow using the Dodge and Burn tool. This tool gently lights up the shadows on Jack’s face. Use a very light touch and small steps then assess after each pass with your tool. Dodge lightens and Burn adds a touch of shadow.
• Your software or app has the option to Dodge or Burn images. GIMP, Photoshop Elements and Luminar Neo all include the tool and many free smartphone apps like Snapseed.
• I boosted the ginger colour in Jack’s fur with the Essentials Colour tool in Luminar Neo.

This full length portrait of Jack shows three edits that you might like to try:

1. I lightened his face more than the closeup portrait – so you can see how different the tool can make your capture look. Your cat may be in shadow but with a light stroke or two of the tool their face and fur can stand out just a little bit more.
2. I added a soft white vignette to focus on our ginger senior and keep with the light feel of his portrait. Note that the vignette is quite faint, a barely there frame that enhances the glow in his fur.
3. Reassess cat fur colour as I did here. Jack’s fur seemed pale so I boosted the ginger fur tones. Jack’s personality is anything but pale and interesting!
4. Remember, enhancement matters but edit in small increments until you are happy. [Not sure? Walk away for five minutes then reassess.]

I really like the dramatic look of Jack’s portrait and hope I can encourage you to try rescuing a slightly disappointing cat photo with some simple edits. These tools work in most conditions from normal light conditions, to darker shadowy images.

Remember always work on a digital copy so you can adjust, edit and make mistakes with a clear conscience!

STOP PRESS

We have just learned of the passing of dear Jackie Avery of Two Devon Cats. She was always kind enough to send us cards and inspired me to do better with my sending. I visited the boys sometimes and when I saw them, missed them a lot. There is a lovely Cat Blogosphere tribute here.