Today I put together a super short video showing how to correct White Balance when it’s too yellow.
Mostly you will keep your white balance settings on AWB (auto white balance) but if, like me, you have been taking photographs of your cat outdoors, you may have to change your settings to ‘Tungsten’ or ‘Fluorescent’ for inside photography.
How I Got My Yellow Toned Photo!
Teddy flopped down beside me and I realised he has put one paw in each of my two gardening Crocs! He looks so cute so I hurriedly grabbed my camera and took a few shots before he decided move position.
When I downloaded the image onto my computer I realised that, as cat photos go, it was too yellow and looked pretty awful!
The floor is a golden coloured varnish which makes the yellow tone look much worse as well. My white balance was set for outside and should have been set for indoor light.
If you look at the short video you will get an idea of how I adjusted the photo.
The Final Results
As you can see, there is much less yellow in Teddy’s photograph in this picture.
I did not spend too long editing the image. I basically followed these simple steps like you:
Adjust your White Balance settings.
Navigate to your Vibrance and Saturation settings.
Carefully adjust these to add a bit of warmth or colour.
Marjorie is an award-winning cat photographer, tutor, and published author based in New Zealand. A Professional Member of the Cat Writers’ Association, she helps cat lovers strengthen the bond with their pets by improving their photography and editing skills through short how-to videos and posts. Marjorie believes anyone can take amazing photos and show off their cats to purrfection!
What is ISO? Do I need it? What is it anyway and should I even care?
For someone just starting out with cat photography in Auto mode on a DSLR, mirrorless, or smartphone camera, ISO might not be a concern. However, as your passion for capturing your feline family grows, you will naturally want to expand your photographic skills.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
That’s where ISO comes in – it’s an essential part of your growing skillset.
ISO adjusts your camera’s light sensitivity.
What does ISO mean?
Let’s start with a short (and helpful) description of ISO.
If you look, you will find a lot of definitions and explanations online so I saved you a job by finding the best explanation (I think), and the easiest to understand.
The founders of the International Organization for Standardization (the group that created ISO standards for cameras) tried to find a universally understandable acronym, but it proved difficult with so many member countries and languages.
Instead, they chose ISO as a shortened version of the Greek word “isos” which means “equal.” This reflects their goal of creating international standards that would be equal and consistent across the globe.
Light is measured though your camera lens. This might seem obvious but cameras have so many buttons, bells and whistles that it is easy to get confused.
You adjust the camera’s sensitivity to light by changing your ISO. The lower the ISO number you set the less sensitive your camera is to light.
With all cameras, not just those used for cat photography ISO, starts at 100 and goes to 6400 on the cameras most of us cat lovers will use. A good place to start your explorations, especially using A or Av mode (which I love) is with ISO 100 or 200. This is great for a bright day outside, on a catio or a close to the window portrait.
Then start changing your settings and see what happens!
How do I set my ISO?
The best way to become more confident about setting your ISO is to play with your own camera. ISO will be adjusted with a dial, or as part of your camera menu screen. Check your manual if you are not sure or refer to your camera company’s web site.
Give yourself permission to fool around and play with your ISO. See what happens as you change the light sensitivity, in a spirit of exploration and fun.
This photo has an ISO of 200 and it is too low.
Raising the ISO to 800 gives a better picture.
Low ISO (100-400)
This is like turning down the sensitivity. Great for bright sunny days outdoors or well-lit rooms. It creates clean, crisp photos with little to no grain (also called noise). However, you might need a slower shutter speed which can blur moving cats. (1/250 is a good shutter setting for moving cats).
This level of ISO turns up the sensitivity in your camera. It’s good for cloudy days, indoors with some light, or action shots where you need a faster shutter speed to freeze your cat’s movement. There might be some ‘noise’ also known as grain, but this shouldn’t overpower the photo. It is up to you, the photographer to decide how much noise suits your purpose.
What is Digital Noise? “Noise is a grainy veil in a photograph, obscuring details and making the picture appear significantly worse.”
Here you are really pushing your ISO (sensitivity) to cope with low-light situations. A high ISO will be great for capturing indoor cat naps or playful moments in the evening but, you can expect to see more digital noise, which can make photos look textured or rough. It is up to you to decide how you shoot and how you adjust your own ISO.
I could pack my short post with pictures to demonstrate each ISO but I know you will learn more by grabbing your camera or smartphone and doing something yourself. So get out there, tinker with your ISO and make this your first step out of Auto mode!
Marjorie is an award-winning cat photographer, tutor, and published author based in New Zealand. A Professional Member of the Cat Writers’ Association, she helps cat lovers strengthen the bond with their pets by improving their photography and editing skills through short how-to videos and posts. Marjorie believes anyone can take amazing photos and show off their cats to purrfection!
Sienna takes a wonderful portrait and keeps everyone in line with a firm hiss and a paw whap, and her Birthday post was just beyond 29 comments and climbing, you can see her card if you have an account there and the responses of her friends.
BengalBadasses aka Bailey and Uncle Thomas, are lovely Instagram friends who added their embellishments to her card that you can see above.
Marjorie is an award-winning cat photographer, tutor, and published author based in New Zealand. A Professional Member of the Cat Writers’ Association, she helps cat lovers strengthen the bond with their pets by improving their photography and editing skills through short how-to videos and posts. Marjorie believes anyone can take amazing photos and show off their cats to purrfection!
I would appreciate your attention, as members of the Sunday Selfies, long enough to watch the very short movie announcement I have for you. Half a minute will do just fine!
We want to welcome Taz as a member of the Dash Kitten Crew and, if the transition goes reasonably well, he will be adopted by us from his family next door. Just in time for the 500th selfie post from Kitties Blue!
Why Are We Adopting Taz?
His family are moving overseas and they have asked if we would adopt Taz. This is for a very specific reason. He has, we are told, determinedly tried to find his way back to their previous properties when they moved. When they moved here he had to be kept inside for four months.
NOTE: The inside life, where his family are moving to is definitely not for him. If he got out he would try to find his way back home and, as this is across the ocean, this would be potentially fatal for him.
He has been a regular visitor for well over a year, and you may recognise some of the photographs in the slideshow. He is a welcome visitor and well known to Dash Kitten’s crew. Taz has, in fact, napped inside our home on several occasions as his mum and dad know.
The Positives of Taking on Taz
The decision to take him on is a no-brainer. Taz is a super friendly black cat, he is 10 years old, healthy and will be chipped and up to date on his shots. He knows us and likes us.
The hardest part will be when his family leaves.
Selfishly, from a cat photographer’s point of view, he is the most gorgeous model for me, and Taz will become a spoiled and much loved member of the family. So, please welcome our newest family member.
Marjorie is an award-winning cat photographer, tutor, and published author based in New Zealand. A Professional Member of the Cat Writers’ Association, she helps cat lovers strengthen the bond with their pets by improving their photography and editing skills through short how-to videos and posts. Marjorie believes anyone can take amazing photos and show off their cats to purrfection!
Remember how I shared about my discovering a photograph of Dash Kitten and how I added a touch of magic by using layers to transport Dash to fantastical new worlds?
I want you to try your own with a digital cat portrait to create something that would make the perfect gift. You can do this, it’s fun.
There is an exciting and different world to explore beyond your lovely cat portrait. All it takes is a layer and a touch of magical skill for you to discover and create images of the highest quality. So, let me give you a quick guide to what a layer is, then show you an easy how-to you can use with every cat photograph or pet portrait.
The digital download image of Dash allowed me to do something friend Sylvia Rzeminski (Bode’s mom) has suggested I do a long time ago. She said I should create a piece of feline art as a tribute to Dash after his sudden death. I struggled with his loss for a long time but finally feel ready to take my love for Dash and his memory to new places.
If you enjoy learning with a video try this to start with.
What is a Layer?
Let me give you an idea of what a layer is. Think of an onion, it is made up of lots of small layers of texture. Photo editing uses layers in the same way. Each layer can add something different and it is these layers that you will be using to make changes to your images.
The short video above on overlays covers a lot of the same territory. It is useful if you are a visual learner more than an instruction reader. Layers have lots of uses by experts, but for your skill builder you will just add one.
Layers in photo editing software are like the collages you make as a kid in school. All those separate pieces of paper ‘layered’ on top of each other create a new and different image. The only difference is that instead of cutting things out you use virtual layers in the software.
Each software will be slightly different but you will find ‘Layers‘ in your top menu, and the layers you create appear on the right side of your work area just like in my sample photos and the video. Software manufacturers may be competitive but they know that people using software have basic expectations about things like workspace layout and terms used so these stay fairly constant across applications.
A Ghostly Egyptian Cat
Each layer holds a different part of your image. You add backgrounds, or effect like snowflakes, on top of a layer that holds your original photograph.
You can change the arrangement of your layers by clicking and dragging them up and down. The order matters because what is on a higher layer can cover things on a lower layer. You can move or delete a layer if you don’t like the result then try again.
The cool thing is you can edit each layer separately. You can change the colour or transparency of a single element without affecting the photo to increase or reduce it’s effect.
You can use more than one layer once you get the idea of how it all fits together.
Layers basically give you more control over your editing and make it easier to fix mistakes or try different things without ruining your whole image.
Where Your Layers Are
Create A Layer
This can be done in two bite sized tasks. The first sets up the image you have chosen, and the second ‘cat art’ layer, launches you into a world of fun with a contrasting image that can be a texture, clock face, stars, bubbles, snow or anything you like.
Import your cat photograph and make sure it is a good size for what you want to do. The resizing option can often be found in ‘document settings’. You can change the size and resolution later if you wish but start with an image that is not too small (if you can).
If you are unsure take a look in your Help menu along the top of your application.
Then import your chosen background and make sure it is a similar size to your original photo. My image of Dash is 900 pixels across the top and I adjusted the bubble layer to match.
Copy your background using Ctrl/Cmd C then add it to your original image Ctrl/Cmd V. Don’t panic if your cat photograph disappears!
Cat Portrait with Layer Partly Removed
Create Your First Cat Art
In ‘create a layer’ you set up your image. Now in this section you start adding the adjustments that make your photograph into something different.
Look at the top of your two layers. You will see the words Opacity and Normal. Opacity allows you to show more or less of a background or an layer from of your original image. Normal changes the character of the layer (you can see this really well in the short video).
Click on the background layer, the layer you want to see ‘behind’ your cat portrait.
Click on Opacity and slide this down to around 50%. See if you like it. If not, adjust the slider until you are happy with the result.
Then select your eraser (aka rubber) from the tools that sit on the left of most photo programs. Adjust the size of your brush and carefully rub away the background layer from your cat’s fair and body in small amounts. Not the whole image, only the cat portrait. (See the sample above).
Finally, SAVE your image under a new name so you preserve the original for future use.
Conclusion and Encouragement
If you want to try this easy technique, start with the copy of a single digital downloaded image (not the original) and give yoursef permission to play with no expectations.
Your cat could be like Dash in the slideshow, surrounded by flowers, or a ghostly imge from Egypt or placed in a favourite part of a garden you love. Or, they could be like the the extra shots in the slideshow, surrounded by stars!
Let me know how you might try this easy technique in the comments.
A Gallery of Cat Image Treatments Using Single layers
Marjorie is an award-winning cat photographer, tutor, and published author based in New Zealand. A Professional Member of the Cat Writers’ Association, she helps cat lovers strengthen the bond with their pets by improving their photography and editing skills through short how-to videos and posts. Marjorie believes anyone can take amazing photos and show off their cats to purrfection!
