Dash Kitten

Cat Photo Confidence For Everyone, Including You

  • Home
    • GET IN TOUCH
    • PRIVACY POLICY
  • About Me
    • Awards
    • Dash Kitten Commemoration
      • The Pinnectomy. Harvey’s Ear Surgery Report
  • Learn Cat Photo Skills
    • Photo Blog
    • #52Assignments Collected Posts Page
  • Learn Cat Movie Skills
  • D.K. Crew’s Quarters
    • New Zealand Spotlight
    • The DK Mailing List
    • Product Reviews & Gift Guides
    • Our Special Pet Blogger Interviews
HOME » Photographing a Dark Cat in the Sunshine

Photographing a Dark Cat in the Sunshine

20/02/2019 by Marjorie Dawson 14 Comments

We are hopping on the Pet Parade today with photographs of Phoebe who is our dark cat. Do you struggle with dark fur? We do too, so our post might surprise you.

This has added a whole new dimension to my upcoming ‘how to photograph black cats post’ idea. I might need a whole black cat photography series. Scribbles out draft post.

Photographing a Dark Cat

Phoebe is a Black Cat (or is she?). Well, you may remember seeing my Phoebe cat portrait in our ‘depth of field‘ post.

Take a look at her basking in the low sun’s softer rays. She looks like a brown cat.

The Intensity of Light Makes a Difference

It is summer in New Zealand, mid-February, and the light can be surprisingly intense so I asked myself a question. When can I take the best pictures in summer if it’s not during the day?

I did what every learner does. I checked online with my growing list of photography websites for photographic tips. All of them recommend morning or evening light for better pictures. The light is softer and you can take pictures with lots of definition.

Photographing a Dark Cat
Sun puddle time. Focus.

Morning and Evening Light

You can see many shades of colour in Phoebe’s coat and the shadow is not as dark as it might be at mid-day. There is a softness to her fur and while her eyes are closing, she is not squinting into strong sun.

Try Exposure Compensation

If you are desperate for a picture and know you will not be able to repeat an event you could try exposure compensation.

Exposure compensation is an override function for you to ‘disagree’ with your camera’s settings, or make an informed ‘artistic’ decision.

I mentioned discovering it in my Where do I start? post for newbies. I am suggesting it here because you may not be sure if it will work but if it’s your only chance to capture a moment, then try it. Just make sure you practice first.

Dark Cat Full Face Sunshine
Early sun means open eyes and no squint

Adjusting Canon Exposure Compensation

If your DSLR is different you may find the settings by looking in your manual.

  • Make sure your dial is set to Av. This is the mode I am exploring right now.
  • Press the Av Button at the back. Under my thumb in the picture.
  • Press and simultaneously turn the adjustment wheel in front of the dial.
  • Towards the lens darkens your image. Away from the lens lightens your image.
  • You will see the small mark under the horizontal line move as you adjust left and right so you always know what your exposure is.
Exposure compensation dials

As a newbie I did not think to try exposure compensation to change Phoebe’s cat coat colour but it is something I will experiment with in future.

I took the picture of Phoebe using Av mode and ISO of 200. Phew, I hope this made sense.

Join Dash Kitten and co-hosts Bionic Basil and the B Team and Barking from the Bayou Don’t let the Pet Parade pass you by.

Pet Parade Winter Large
Join Dash Kitten on Social Media
20
Visit Us
Follow Me
Vimeo
fb-share-icon
Share22
Pin
Tweet
Share
Share

Filed Under: Camera Skills Tagged With: dark cat photography

Meet Marjorie, Writer and Photographer

Portrait by a window with teddy bears Taken with a smartphone.Marjorie is a cat lover, photographer and smartphone moviemaker who loves sharing her knowledge with learners.

Marjorie is a Cat Writers’ Association Professional member, CWA Muse® Medallion and Certificate Winner, and winner of the CWA Kuykendall Image Award for her photography.

 

Comments

  1. Helene Goldnadel says

    23/02/2019 at 10:08 pm

    This is really a helpful stuff

    Reply
  2. M. K. Clinton says

    22/02/2019 at 8:14 am

    I am going to work on improving my iPhone videos with your help! Happy Pet Parading.

    Reply
  3. Cathy Keisha says

    21/02/2019 at 3:35 pm

    TW only uses the auto level on her Canon point and shoot. Once a long time ago, she had an analog camera that she knew how to adjust the settings on. For the 12 people who visit our blog, TW doesn’t need no fancy camera.

    Reply
  4. Ellen Pilch says

    21/02/2019 at 12:46 pm

    Phoebe is a beauty.

    Reply
  5. Melissa & Mudpie says

    21/02/2019 at 12:42 pm

    Such gorgeous pictures!

    Reply
  6. The Swiss Cats says

    21/02/2019 at 9:51 am

    We didn’t know ! Zorro looks brown in the sun too ! Purrs

    Reply
  7. Catscue Catmom says

    21/02/2019 at 6:12 am

    Amazing what light can do on fur – beautiful Phoebe!

    Reply
  8. Maggie says

    21/02/2019 at 4:24 am

    Beautiful photographs and so interesting to learn how you took them. Sun puddles are a challenge.

    Reply
  9. Brian Frum says

    21/02/2019 at 1:46 am

    Phoebe looks totally amazing and we love those pretty furs!

    Reply
  10. ERin the cat Princess says

    20/02/2019 at 6:51 pm

    Lovely pictures there, and nice to see new aspects of the camera and what to do with them. We really look forwards to seeing your coarse when it is ready, too.
    Purrs
    ERin

    Reply
  11. meowmeowmans says

    20/02/2019 at 6:08 pm

    Phoebe is gorgeous.

    Way to be brave and experiment with your DSLR! I love that that you are learning by trying. That is the best way.

    Reply
  12. mommakatandherbearcat says

    20/02/2019 at 5:54 pm

    One can never learn enough about photographing black cats. I remember the first BlogPaws I went to – there was a session with a photographer and she said to use dark backgrounds for black cats. “Please, Ellie … can you move over on this black blanket so I can get a good picture of you?” 😉

    Reply
  13. Summer says

    20/02/2019 at 3:50 pm

    My human always messes with the exposure, especially in bright sunlight. Exposing for the highlights puts everything else into shadow, which creates a really dramatic effect.

    Here’s something more you can practice – experiment with flash fill; in other words, use flash to “fill in” the shadows in daylight shots. (You will need to use manual exposure to do this most effectively, and probably try few different exposures to get it just right.) It cuts down on unwanted contrast, and gives the image a glossy feel! (This is one of my human’s secret weapons, so don’t tell her I told you!)

    Reply
  14. Memories of Eric and Flynn says

    20/02/2019 at 12:32 pm

    It is amazing what a difference the sun makes to Phoebe’s colouring.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Join Our Mailing List!

Discover, Learn, Share, Teach.

Dash Kitten Contact Us Graphic for the Blog

Kuykendall Image Award Winner 2020

Cat Writers’ Association
Link to the About Me page introducing Marjorie, Author of the blog at Dash Kitten

CWA Muse® Medallion Winner

Graphic for an Award winner to display on their web site.

Associate Disclaimer

Dash Kitten is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking Amazon.com

RIP Friend Nerissa the Cat

A memorial tribute picture and link to our fellow adventurer

Please follow & like us :)

20
Visit Us
Follow Me
Vimeo
fb-share-icon

Humarian for Pets and People

Humarian Probiotics Promotional graphic for my favourite probiotics

Quote DASHKITTEN for 20% OFF your first order.

Triple Finalist – Nose to Nose Awards 2018

Nose to Nose Awards 2018

Blog Collaboration Award

Special Certificate 2015
Dash Kitten Newsletter Link and Logo including a cute picture of Miranda the cat
Dash Kitten Contact Us Graphic for the Blog

Dash Kitten Social Media

20
Visit Us
Follow Me
Vimeo
fb-share-icon
Dash Kitten Newsletter Logo

NEWS FROM DASH KITTEN

  • Cat Photography Ideas Go Macro
  • New Cafe Kittens – Pooka the Tuxedo
  • The Great Outdoors #52Assignments No. 7
  • Creative Photo Ideas For Lockdown Cat Lovers
  • Summer Photo Portrait in the Garden
A link to my About Met page

Copyright Notice for Dash Kitten ©

All images and text used on this site, from its creation to date are copyrighted ©  to Marjorie Dawson, Whskr and Dash Kitten.com unless otherwise noted.  Content cannot be used without my specific written permission. Please let me know via the Get In Touch page if you are interested in using images or stories from DashKitten.com

Copyright © 2021 · Enterprise Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

40 SHARE