I am learning to take portraits and candid shots of the cats in the Dash Kitten Family. This challenges me to look at my settings and check out more information for learning my DSLR camera online. Today’s picture started out distinctly blue so read on to find out why.
Today’s selfie is Silver, our tabby. He is Miranda’s brother and you can see a resemblance between them. Most of their sibling-ness does seem to show itself in Silver’s willingness to chase his sister round and round the garden.
The photograph is a lovely portrait of Silver. He became a more serious tabby cat boy when his best friend Riley, a Cerebellar Hypoplasia cat, was killed three years ago.
Riley’s passing affected him deeply, and I tried to capture some of his solemn attitude in this photograph. Silver is still playful but sometimes I feel he is looking at the world from a more serious place in his heart.
Why Did Silver’s Picture Turn Blue?
The cat lounger has a curved roof which casts a grey/blue shade. The cosy duvet cover on the lounger also cast a blue-grey colour so Silver turned out much bluer than I expected when I downloaded the images.
I had to do some photo correction in my image editing software. I reduced the ‘cyan’ (blue) and lightened the image.
You can see the original below.
The lesson I learned about using my DSLR camera?
Try to have the right settings in place before you creep up on your cat to take a picture.
Have a good week and we hope you managed to catch our cool smartphone movie earlier this week.
Marjorie is a blogger, award-winning photographer and smartphone moviemaker who loves cats.
Those are some really cute images! Also got some composition techniques and ideas out of reading this article. Thank you guys!
Amazing shot! Love your cat!
My photos tend to take on the color of the background because of Truffle and Brûlée’s silver and white coloring. I am so thankful for photo editing software.
I am really enjoying watching your growth and sharing your tips – you’ve helped me immensely. My issues are always light and speed – these two buggers are tricky. But you are helping me understand the gobblygook language of photography – thank you!
Silver is very handsome and does look like he’s a bit on the solemn side. Your edited version looks great!
Looks awesome! We get that “blue” tint quite often with our photos. My biggest issue is finding consistent light for white balances.
Thanks for sharing
-Alex and Navy
http://www.navycorgi.com
Interesting!! I never went the DSLR route. More a “the camera you have” kinda gal … but I am enjoying watching your progress!
Always love your photographic lessons although I have given up with my camera and decided one day when I am 95 maybe one good pic will come out LOL. Great post and silver is just so so handsome
Aww, Silver, I can definitely see and feel the sadness in your eyes. Loss has a way of staying with us especially the loss of a most loved friend.
Wonderful portrait. Lighting is definitely an ongoing lesson for me. I am much better with natural light outside. Can’t quite master indoor lighting.
Good light is key for best results in photography, I have learned the hard way but now I do a better job. Thanks for all the great tips!
I always just want to point and shoot and not edit. Trying to remember to leave time to correct them. It really does make a difference, your example shows it. Silver is a very handsome fellow.
Good little tutorial. I’m still trying to figure out how to get a photo of Cookie’s birthday steak that doesn’t end up dark, grainy and horribly looking. We have limited lighting situation.
Aw Silver is very handsome. That’s one thing I try to do when taking pictures of my pets – to show their personality as much as possible in a single frame. It’s easier to do with some pets than it is others, but the pictures where their unique personalities really shine through always end up being my favorites.
He’s so precious!! You make an excellent point of having the settings ready ahead of time. We’re lucky when the great shot is right there for the taking, and by the time we’re finished fiddling our cute subject is long gone!!
Silver, you’re such a handsome boy, even in the picture where you’re more blue than silver.
Thank you Missy – Silver
Mommy is in love with silver tabbies. Hers was called Hopping John.
What a precious little angel. That look on his face just touches my heart.
Beautiful photo ! You’re handsome, Silver ! Purrs
What a handsome cat you are Silver! Getting the right settings before snapping the picture sounds like a good skill to learn – but will the cat wait?
Good job with the color correction, Marjorie! This is a lovely portrait of Silver. 🙂
That is a beautiful portrait of Silver. If you are shooting in the raw format you can easily correct the color using the white balance setting. I usually use the eyedropper and click it on something that should be white in the photo. If it still doesn’t look right you can try clicking on a different spot or changing the color temperature.
You did a great job of color correcting the photo – sometimes you just don’t have the time to readjust the settings when a good moment pops up.
Wow, that colour correction sure did a great job bring silver back from being sad and blue!
A lovely bright shot now, and a good lesson on getting settings set.
Purrs
ERin
Yes, those are terrific and such a handsome guy!
Great foto. We don’t have a fancy camera, but one of our camera’s takes a more natural foto while the other seems to attempt to correct thing automatically. So, when the overhead light’s on, we’re a bit yellow and when the daylight lamp is on, we’re more blue or purple. Funny how lighting can be so ‘purrtant. Big hugs
Luv ya’
Dezi and Raena