As you might remember, January is summer time here in New Zealand and today’s selfie is Sienna our tortie enjoying the summer sun. I snapped her tortoiseshell cat summer portrait at eye level as she enjoyed the early morning sunshine on the bannister of our deck.
How Did I Take The Photo?
I focused on Sienna’s face and did not worry too much about the highlights of bright sunshine that backlight her fur. For a cute and quick snapshot this looks quite serious but she does not look like a senior cat does she?
The cat collar is from Beastie Bands and Sienna has had it for ages. Most collars seem to fall apart after some time but her Beastie Band carries on and on.
Sienna – ISO 200 f5 1/50
A word about light
I am currently working through a course (January 2023) called Candid Photography Skills by a photographer called Greg Williams. (It was on special offer on Instagram.) He says early on in the series of inspiring short lessons that there is no such thing as bad light. There is only light and how you use it as a photographer.
This hit home with me as someone relatively new to photography. Why? Because I always worry about light, having enough of it and it being in the right place for it. Greg Williams says use the light you have. He has taken the most wonderful fresh and candid portraits of famous people lit only by ambient light like a street lamp, a TV or even a smartphone screen. Check these sample shots for super quick inspiration.
One of the important things I learned on a photo course I took as a beginner a few years ago was to shoot up at something as it empowers your subject. When I saw a photo opportunity this week, posed high up, of course I grabbed my camera and carefully stepped out into the garden. What had I seen? A tabby on rainy tin roof!
Having said that, one of my most popular posts of 2021 was about shooting photographs downwards and how this can make your cat photos stand out as special. Cats can get away with anything as a model can’t they?
Tabby – ISO 800 250mm f6.3 1/320
Grabbing A Tabby On A Rainy Tin Roof Opportunity!
The house next to ours is further up the hill so everything is raised; first the driveway and garage, and then the steps back up to the house.
This shot shows the tabby perched on a corner of the high garage roof. Typically, as I stepped out to take a photo it began to shower and you can see the raindrops. I had to keep my fingers crossed that I didn’t get my lens wet when I moved quietly around to a good position for a better shot. I carefully raised my camera and adjusted the telephoto lens.
Back at the computer, I have gently lifted some of the colour from the green hosepipes you may be able to see beside kitty. It looked pretty horrible before and softening it looks a lot better. This was my best view of the gorgeous tabby cat.
Fast shutter speeds are generally used to reduce time and freeze the moment. For example, in wildlife photography, fast shutter speeds are used to capture a bird flying in the sky.
If you look below the tabby you can see that the ISO is 800 which is quite high (this means it was darker than I expected) and the speed I needed to get a resonably sharp shot was 1/320. This enabled me to avoid any camera shake as I held the heavier 55-250mm lens.
Have you taken an upward looking photo that surprised you?
I promised a Christmas portrait reveal of our commissioned art work of Dot Kitten by New Zealand artist Sandra Wong.
We wanted a celebration of our girl as an angel and also as a fearless aviatrix of the skies where her spirit now flies.
It is a wonderful portrait in shades of vintage sepia and it captures her perfectly. The slightly concerned look as she gazed up at us, and her determination not be go unnoticed remind us of the amazing girl she was. Dot helped me win my first Muse® medallion in the Cat Writers Communication Awards, a proud moment for me and I am sure for her across the Bridge.
Without the inspiration of Dash Kitten, Dot Kitten and the Crew I would not be on my path to helping people take better photos and experiment with cool filters, so I owe her a lot. I hope you love her portrit as much as we do.
Today’s post showcases a fun and super easy way to create an instant bit of social media fun perfect for Christmas, or the summer holidays here in New Zealand. Grab your iPhone and use iPhone’s Magic Movies App. I discovered this when I was short on time and wanted to get a video up online fast.
Create a fast movie on iPhones with this movie magic app function!
On Android? Try Action Director try Google Play for something simple and similar.
How to Use Apple Magic Movie
Open iMovie
Click Start New Project
Select Magic Movie
Preview your clips and select the ones you want to use.
Using your finger, drag your clips into the order you like and click a clip to edit for length if you need to.
Press ‘Create Magic Movie’ at the bottom of your screen.
Magic Movie assembles your clips and stills into a short movie. (see Image 2)
Run your instant movie to see if you like it OR go back and edit some more …..
To do this, click on the pencil icon on the right to change or remove a clip.
Run your movie to see if you like it then upload.
Select Magic Movie
After you create a Magic Movie project, you can rearrange the video clips and photos that you initially selected and experiment with different styles, music, text and filter options. You can also edit each video clip individually.
You have a surprising amount of control over your Magic Movie.
Tap the pencil beside each video clip to access editing options or remove the clip.
Top right on your screen you will see a small sparkly film strip. Tap this to change the presentation of your movie. You will see names like ‘Charm’ ‘Poster’ and ‘Contemporary’ all of which make changes to how your film starts and, if you need it, adds a piece of music, although you can chose your own purchased, or copyright assured music.
A good way to capture an impressive portrait of your cat without needing a lot of camera skills is to try a cat head shot. A close-up portrait of your cat can capture its fur texture, colour and personality without you worrying about your camera’s settings too much. For a beginner it’s a cool thing to try. I am showcasing some of my most successful head shots to inspire you!
Whether you are capturing a cute cat head bonk, or a sophisticated showcat image, a few quick skills that will keep your photo looking good.
Your camera focus needs to be sharp.
Your photo needs to be close – just the head/shoulders.
Finally, aim to get the soft bokeh (focus) look behind your subject.
Move In Close Cat Portraits
Head shots mean just that; the cat’s head, or head and a bit of shoulder.
My prize winning series about Sam a foster cat included several headshots which told his story eloquently through fur texture and differently angled head shots. I took dozens of photographs of Sam (so don’t think I nailed every single shot perfectly first time, it took a while!)
Getting this close if your cat is skittish can be a challenge. What do you do? This is my compromise and you might like to try it.
Get as close as you comfortable can by movement or using a zoom lens and take the shot, then crop in close to achieve your head shot. It is not cheating if the alternative is you and your cat getting super stressed in a crazy chase for a close-up that you end up not using.
Smartphone Cose-up Tip
If you use a smartphone then try your camera’s ‘Portrait Mode. This option is in a different place depending on your own brand of phone so look for it, and try it. Not sure where it is? Start by checking your ‘phone’s camera, this often has the portrait option within the camera app.
Smartphone Portrait mode demands a certain distance between you and your subject before the function kicks in. Experiment to discover where your sweet spot it and aim to take your photos once you see the fuzziness appear around your subject.
If I use this function I usually have to crop down to a head shot but smartphone portrait mode can be so effective it’s a compromise I am happy to make and you will be too.
If you don’t have portrait mode then check out one of the dozens of apps that created a ‘bokeh effect’ around your subject.
The fact is some head shot poses work and others don’t but the good news is that more you try the better your head shots will get. I took dozens and dozens of almost but not quite there shots before I got a handle on keeping the focus point of my DSLR where I needed it, over a cat eye!
This quote from Adobe is one I appreciated. A professional photographer will have different intentions to you. The pro might be taking closeup photos of cats to celebrate show wins – images that may appear on print. You may be a proud cat dad or cat mom aiming to take a photo to make into a photo canvas for your wall.
Both need to be sharp but you are balancing sharpness with your love for your cat. Yes, this love and affection matters, it changes how your cat looks. They love you, and somehow this shows in their portrait.
To get a good headshot, a photographer needs to know whose headshot they’re taking and how it’s going to be used.
Adobe Head Shots
‘Taz’ – ISO 400 220mm f 6.3
Keep Your Cat Eye In Focus
People will forgive you a lot if they can see a sharp cat eye. We, as humans, automatically check out eyes first and are happier when we can see them clearly. You can see what I mean in the picture above of Taz, a neighbourhood visitor. He draws your eye to his sharp and clear gaze.
For this photograph I captured him perched well above my height on a fence. I was grateful for my 55 – 250 mm zoom lens which allowed me to focus on a well lit cat with the contrast of soft foliage behind him. Natural light is the best!
Did I know the portrait would come out to well? Well, I wasn’t sure. I was focused on his right eye and holding my camera steady. If I had been a bit closer my trusty kit lens would have been a good bet for a nice shot too, so never discount your trusty beginner’s lens.
What if My Head Shot is Not Pin Sharp?
Don’t be disappointed. See what else you can do to enhance your image. One of my own favourite methods of boosting a photograph is to use the magic of filters even if they are a bit fuzzy.
Watercolour Effect Filter
Affinity Photo Black and White Filter
What kind of filters can you use? This depends completely on the software you use. Affinity Photo or Photoshop can give you some serious filter power, but you don’t need to spend a lot to grab some cool effects. This watercolour effect portrait of Toulouse was transformed susing an early version of Photo Lab: Art Picture Editor, and below that, a monochrome image of Teddy was given a makeover by Affinity Photo.
In Summary
Cat head shots need a bit of practice but the end result can be totally breathtaking. My portrait of neighbourhood friend Taz was part practice in action and part lucky shot but he came out beautifully and if I can do it, you can too.
Have you tried head shots of your cat? Were you pleased with the results?
