Hardcore Cat Photography: Tips and Advice on Capturing Photos of Feisty Feline Friends!
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- Опубликовано: 24 июл 2021
- Would you like to help cats get adopted?
The first impression most people get when looking for a cat is through photos. Quality, accurate photos can really help cats get adopted, and with so many in shelters and with fosters, every one helps.
Here I give tips and advice on taking compelling photos of cats that stand out from the usual straight-on phone shots you usually see. The first part of the video is more general stuff, while the second part gets more technical. I also show you some really affordable lenses you can use to get started--some of them I used to cat-pture some of the example photos I'm showing.
If you get lost and it seems too hard, just keep in mind:
Study and Practice is far superior to just buying new gear.
Study and Practice, over time, help you git gud.
You will get to where you want to be eventually! Just keep at it!
About my class:
It will be hosted in Benecia, CA (San Francisco East Bay) at a small gallery called Once Upon a Canvas. The class is mostly aimed at teens who have a functional mirrorless or DSLR camera and a decent laptop that really want to get started in photography quick, and learn fundamentals to build on; I want to help people skip out on some of the trial-and-error I went through learning. It will be two days, 3 hours per day, and probably on a weekend day. Cost is still up in the air; we're figuring that part out.
If you are interested in the class, send me an email via the address on my RUclips About page.
Note: All photos in this video are my own work.
The new Discord for my channel: / discord
I made the Discord for people who want to talk about the kinds of old and weird cameras (this one isn't weird, just widely considered outdated) I show on my channel, show off their results, their acquisitions, and ask for critique. We've been building up over there and have quite a few new members, with SUPER helpful commentary; it's just the friendly kind of community of photo enthusiasts I've wanted to build, so check it out!
Helpful videos about cats (from small RUclipsrs):
• How To Tame WILD FERAL...
--How to handle feral cats
• The difference between...
--Difference between feral and stray cats
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Technical:
All video shot with a Canon S100.
Video put together in DaVinci Resolve.
Photos all taken with different cameras:
Sigma sd Quattro
Fujifilm X-E1
Sony a700
Kodak P880
Canon S100
Thumbnail image taken with the sd Quattro.
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Social Media:
My rarely used IG account: / photophotop. .
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All music is from the RUclips Media Library. Thank you RUclips for making that a thing. 
Наука
Glad I found this.
I am a Co-founder/volunteer of a cat rescue and this certainly inspired me to practice more and hopefully get some cats adopted that have been in foster for some time.
Thanks for the video. You helped me feel more confident in helping my local animal shelter abd made me realize I was overthinking it. Best, Jess
I loved every part of this video and I'm going to show it to my cats 10/10!
🤣🤣
Thank you for this video, I was just recently rediscovering my love for photography while photographing cats I live with.
SO much work and common sense here. Inspiring and worth So much more attention.
I just planed to help out a shelter for taking photos for practice for me 😊
Nice video! And power to the cat fosterers out there 🐈
I'm glad I came across your video. I've been looking for subject matter. I'm disabled and homebound and have a beautiful calico Norwegian Forest cat named Bella. I will enjoy working with her as I gain experience making pictures. She IS a ham. I'll will take up your encouragement to contact a shelter. It would be good for everyone involved. I'm concerned that Bella's aggressive, but will depend on the advice from the shelter. Thanks for very good information and the experience of a good heart.
You are very welcome, and I actually really thank you for working with the shelter!
Great video! Thank you for the helpful tips. I volunteered to take photos for a shelter, they have a few dozens of cats and I won't have more than ~5min per cat. I'm kind of nervous, hopefully everything will turn out well!
Great video! I didn’t really learn anything new but it was very entertaining.
Thank you for very informative video! I believe getting good any subject matter as an art form is at the end of the day is about how much you love the subject. And I can tell you love cats very much!
Lovely!
Nice video! interesting subject!
Awesome! Thanks!!
Lovely video thanks!
👍🏻 good
Would love to see comments on my cat photos. I posted a slide show on my channel with my best cat photographs.
Hi, question about your recommendation at 5:33 for 85mm lens
I have an APS-C camera (Sony ZV-E10), does this mean you would recommend an 85mm crop sensor lens (full frame equivalent of ~128mm)? Or does that mean you would recommend a 56mm lens (full frame equivalent of ~85mm)? Sorry if this was obvious, am new to photography and want to capture realistic pictures of my babies as memories 💞
Hello! If you're on a crop sensor, each has its own merits. The 85mm lens is going to give you more 'reach', meaning you'll be able to be further away with the noisy, clicky box thing. You'll also get better subject separation (background/foreground blur-effect). Your depth of field (how much is actually in focus) is going to be narrower, so you'll want to stop the lens down a little bit, if not quite a bit--more than you would for a person, because cats are smaller subjects.
The 56mm is going to be easier to handle and less expensive, while still giving extremely good results. It will be easier to get sharp shots because you aren't as far away, so if your cat isn't so shy, I'd go with that. I recommend the Sigma 56mm f1.4 for people with Sony and Canon crop-sensor mirrorless cameras any time I am selling one at the store. It shouldn't be crazy expensive on the used market, either.
Alternatively, there are about a million 50mm f1.4 lenses you can go with. You'll get about a 75mm FF field of view, and they are super easy to find.
Hi@@forgottencameras ! Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed answer. My cat is super chill whether I'm close to her or further back (and luckily this camera has silent shutter), so reach isn't a concern.
So between the 50 and the 85, which one would you say best portrays a cat's proportions most accurately/true to life (i.e. the least perspective distortion)? It seems those two were the ones recommended in your video, but I assume those were recommended based on a FF body.
I appreciate you providing budget-friendly recommendations, but money is no object in this situation: I don't know how long left I have with her, so I'm just trying to get on camera the same beauty as I see through my own eyes (or as close as humanly possible) before she's gone. This is silly, but I'm paranoid about looking back at these photos and remembering her incorrectly as too fat or too skinny. Your video has some great inspiration in it and I've rewatched it multiple times already :)
@@ricemonsterr124 In that case, 85mm. When I do work that requires correct proportions, I shoot with a 70mm f2.8 macro, a lens designed for copy work. I actually use it for a lot, but it is really slow to focus.
If money is no object, the Sony or Sigma 85mm f1.4 for e-mount is the rec. It is going to give true-to-life proportions, focus will be fast and accurate, and they are laser-sharp. Anything in the 70-90mm range is going to be proportionally accurate; going lower and you'll get some barrel distortion. With the 50mm, it is -almost- negligible when shooting people's faces (headshots). The nose might be a little exaggerated.
In choosing an 85 for cats, keep in mind they are smaller than we are, so I would grab the one with the closest focusing distance.
Also keep in mind that you're going to have to stop it down to f4 or f5.6 at least to get eyes, nose, and ears all in focus on a moderately close shot (moreso for a headshot), so if you end up with an 85mm f1.8, it's not a huge deal.
...which means lighting is going to be a big concern.
Meow