The Impact of Subtle Edits on a Ginger Cat

Cat photographers sometimes think that when you edit you need to make a big difference to the portraits of your feline friends. That’s what editing software is for isn’t it? BIG CHANGES!

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Well, not quite. In fact, I want to showcase three portraits with a ‘before and after’ image to show that sometimes adjustments can be subtle and bring out small things. Maybe a setting is not quite right, or the light is a bit too strong and the cat fur you are trying to capture has been overexposed. Subtle changes work magic.

Ginger Fur Edits

This is senior Dash Kitten Crew member Jack. He spends a lot of time napping, as befits his status as senior man cat of the house. Catching him asleep always reminds me to slow down and take my time with my photography so I can enjoy some precious moments of peace.

Photo One – Simple Edits

I have boosted Jack’s gingery tone and then gently sharpened his fur. Sharpening fur needs to be done carefully in small increments so you don’t take your edit too far. Always use a sharpen tool or function with a light touch.

• This is, of course, unless you want to make your kitty look like a punk rocker! Your photo mirrors your intentions. If you need a kitty punk rock look then the decision is yours, you are in control.

Note that I have not removed the scarring on Jack’s nose. This is from his solar eczema and part of ‘him’ and I feel removing it would not be an honest reflection of a fine man cat.

Photo Two – Closeup with Filter

This second image is a closer shot Jack that almost fills the frame. It was taken while he enjoyed a sun puddle. I boosted the ginger in his fur. I removed a bit of sleepy grit near his eye and on the bridge of his nose using Luminar Neo’s erase tool.

I masked Jack while I added a little touch of the Mystical tool to his background so the blanket looked less furry. [I aim to do a post on basic masking soon. It can be a useful and precise tool]. The mask meant I did not make Jack ‘glow’ with an unreal and ‘mystical’ light, I just softened the background a bit! My aim was a soft reality – your edit may need something different. Remember you are in control of your edits.

• Mystical is a tool in Luminar Neo that adds a soft texture to an image that is subtler than a simple blur, with a light magical touch.

Photo Three – Dramatic Light

This third photograph, as you can see, is much more dramatic. Jack is highlighted in a sliver of slim glowing sunshine with the rest of him in deep shade. His nose is overexposed and the highlights are ‘blown out’ (there is no detail to recover) so I had to think of another way to treat the photo (which I really like).

In the first image you can see the overexposed fur and the furry blanket. The spiky fuzzy hairs distract from the peaceful cat face so I tried a few different crops to how much of the blanket to remove but still keep a balance in the picture.

I finished off the edit with a filter effect called ‘Film Grain’ in Luminar Neo As you can see it adds a fun and very obvious old fashioned grainy effect. It may not be to everyone’s taste as filters can be a very personal treatment for a photograph.

Subtle Adjustment Summary

I hope that you can see how a simple adjustment or edit with your own photo editing software can make an image slightly sharper, add little more colour or, with a filter, a little more drama!

I hope I have encouraged you to explore your photo editing software and see how small things can make a big difference to your cat photos. One small adjustment or slider can be a real eye-opener – try it on a digital copy of an image.