A short time ago I had the pleasure of doing some photography for a pet rescue organisation. They wanted me to take photos of quite a few kittens and cats on the same day. This was a fantasy come true to me. Not only am I a photographer but I am a cat lover. I felt this job was a lot of enjoyment yet especially challenging.
You might have been told that pet photography is very difficult . It's hard to think that taking photos of sweet little kittens could be very difficult. What is so hard about this kind of photography? It is the identical thing that makes other types photography difficult; quick movement. Let's discuss methods to overcome some of these familiar difficulties.
Kitten photography
If you are photographing kittens the initial issue to be aware of is that you will be working with an unpredictable subject. It is very exceptional for a kitten to just sit and look at the camera. You must use aids to lead your kitten with no intimidation or anxiety. It is imperative to encourage the kitten to be as calm as possible. A lively kitten is very hard to photograph. A relaxed kitten is ideal.
How can you calm a kitten? One of the ways that kitties relax is by letting them spend as much energy as possible. Once they begin to fatigue then you will have a better chance of gaining the photographs you want. You can ask someone to tinkle a toy or blow a whistle over your shoulder so that the kitten stares in the direction of your camera. You can also give them a little bit of kitten food and the minute they raise their head up following eating, take the shot. Strive to get them to look at your camera if doable. This can be hard if they are still in play mode. This is why I say it's more intersting to take pictures of them when they are starting to calm.
If you would like a spontaneous and entertaining playful photo then it might be at a lovely idea to let your kitten play. You can take some wonderfully natural and fun photos this way. You can take a photo of your kitten stretching up and trying to reach for a toy with toy. You can also take a shot of your kitten being very interested in something. These spontaneous and honest shots work very well as an choice to the standard pet portrait photo. I have taken many spontaneous pictures using this method.
Professional Pet Photography Tips
What are the right settings to use for photographing kittens? Many who have not mastered manual mode suitably tend to shoot in semi-automatic settings. I do not believe you can get the right photo when the camera dictates the adjustments for you. You are smarter than the digital camera. I always shoot in the manual setting mode for absolutely everything. Kittens included.
What is the reason for this It is beause I understand more than the camera does. I realize what will work. I want to have absolute control over my fstop because I want to be in charge of my own depth of field. If you let the camera control your f-stop then you are letting the camera to control your depth of field. Your camera doesn't understand how to capture a first-class image, it simply knows that it needs to expose for lighting and capture depth of field. It does not comprehend how to get sharp photos of moving kittens.
I frequently place myself about a meter away from my kitties. As the focus point moves all the time I use auto focus. (Due to the movement of the kittens). Making use of manual focus can take too much time for your kitten to jump into the plane or focus, if at all. I pursue the kitten about with my finger on the button, repeatedly focusing and refocusing. To help me to get clarity of the kittens eyes I am thorough and specific about what F stop range to use. I am inclined to use an aperture between F5 .6 and F8. This allows me to have a rather short depth of field without focus difficulties.
I use a shutter speed of around 200th of a second or higher. Your kitten can move about very fast and you want to be able to freeze the action without blur. If you are using the speedlite you will find that you do not need to fret about shutter speed. Flash will freeze the movement at around 250th of a second. This is really useful to work with due to the fact all you have to do then is set your aperture knowing the flash will manage the shutter speed, so to speak.
If you set your f-stop to a wide setting, like F2 .8 or F4, you may find sharpness eludes you. This might be due to the fact your kitten has jumped out of the focal range and the image is no longer sharp. However, if you use a slightly smaller aperture you might find you usually do not undergo this predicament. Aperture and depth of field are intimately related. It is vital that you get the true f-stop for the distance away from your kitten. In other words the bigger the aperture the closer to your subject you need to be. Think about this when you are photographing your kittens.
What happens when you can't use the flash?
Just prior to one of the shoots my flash then began to fail. Thankfully I was shooting with continuous studio lighting. I made the decision to take my flash off the camera. I then produced my photos at 6400 ISO, 200th of a second and F 7.1. I shot with a very high ISO to compensate for the soft lighting. I wanted to get as much light as I possibly could. I also needed to use a high ISO so that I was able to utilise a quick shutter speed. Using an F stop of 7.1 enabled me to get some clear and sharp images.
How to photograph kittens
I photographed a mixture of standard and candid, yet lighthearted, photos. I made the decision to create a series of these photos in black-and-white. I call this my "Black and White Kitten Series".There are many opportunites to produce some very resourceful pictures of kittens. You may create some intentional blur, side profile photos, intense macro pictures or even use aids like baskets or flowers.
Just remember the key to photographing kittens is light and motion. It is preferable to get as much light on the scene as possible. Window light is good but you also want to illuminate the scene from the opposite side. You may want to use reflectors but it may distract the kittens. Alternatively you may like to bounce the flash off the ceiling as I did. (Before my flash stopped working.)
Bounced flash is great. It is also effective to have a white card on top of your flash unit. This white card aids in pointing the lighting from the roof downward onto your subject. It is not ideal to blast your kitten with direct flash. The flash may damage their eyes and frightened them.
You want to be spontaneous and ready when you photographing your kittens. Always position yourself on the ground and shoot from an angle that's near to the ground.. This may assist you to hold sharp focus on the eyes. Be prepared to move around with your kitten. It is essential to provide them encouragement as you go. After you capture them give them a little treat. Animals know when they are respected.
Photographing kittens involves practical skill and good light. It also demands the photographer to be calm and happy. Some days are more productive than others. Now and then your kittens are not scared of the camera. They will look at the camera with curiosity and even move toward you start sniffing the camera. This is a wonderful photograph if you can capture it. If you are working with frightened kittens then be incredibly gentle and very tolerant.
Photographing kittens is a pleasurable and challenging experience. Always treat your animals with greatest respect and love at all times. Kittens and sensitive little beings and need to be treated with respect.
You might have been told that pet photography is very difficult . It's hard to think that taking photos of sweet little kittens could be very difficult. What is so hard about this kind of photography? It is the identical thing that makes other types photography difficult; quick movement. Let's discuss methods to overcome some of these familiar difficulties.
Kitten photography
If you are photographing kittens the initial issue to be aware of is that you will be working with an unpredictable subject. It is very exceptional for a kitten to just sit and look at the camera. You must use aids to lead your kitten with no intimidation or anxiety. It is imperative to encourage the kitten to be as calm as possible. A lively kitten is very hard to photograph. A relaxed kitten is ideal.
How can you calm a kitten? One of the ways that kitties relax is by letting them spend as much energy as possible. Once they begin to fatigue then you will have a better chance of gaining the photographs you want. You can ask someone to tinkle a toy or blow a whistle over your shoulder so that the kitten stares in the direction of your camera. You can also give them a little bit of kitten food and the minute they raise their head up following eating, take the shot. Strive to get them to look at your camera if doable. This can be hard if they are still in play mode. This is why I say it's more intersting to take pictures of them when they are starting to calm.
If you would like a spontaneous and entertaining playful photo then it might be at a lovely idea to let your kitten play. You can take some wonderfully natural and fun photos this way. You can take a photo of your kitten stretching up and trying to reach for a toy with toy. You can also take a shot of your kitten being very interested in something. These spontaneous and honest shots work very well as an choice to the standard pet portrait photo. I have taken many spontaneous pictures using this method.
Professional Pet Photography Tips
What are the right settings to use for photographing kittens? Many who have not mastered manual mode suitably tend to shoot in semi-automatic settings. I do not believe you can get the right photo when the camera dictates the adjustments for you. You are smarter than the digital camera. I always shoot in the manual setting mode for absolutely everything. Kittens included.
What is the reason for this It is beause I understand more than the camera does. I realize what will work. I want to have absolute control over my fstop because I want to be in charge of my own depth of field. If you let the camera control your f-stop then you are letting the camera to control your depth of field. Your camera doesn't understand how to capture a first-class image, it simply knows that it needs to expose for lighting and capture depth of field. It does not comprehend how to get sharp photos of moving kittens.
I frequently place myself about a meter away from my kitties. As the focus point moves all the time I use auto focus. (Due to the movement of the kittens). Making use of manual focus can take too much time for your kitten to jump into the plane or focus, if at all. I pursue the kitten about with my finger on the button, repeatedly focusing and refocusing. To help me to get clarity of the kittens eyes I am thorough and specific about what F stop range to use. I am inclined to use an aperture between F5 .6 and F8. This allows me to have a rather short depth of field without focus difficulties.
I use a shutter speed of around 200th of a second or higher. Your kitten can move about very fast and you want to be able to freeze the action without blur. If you are using the speedlite you will find that you do not need to fret about shutter speed. Flash will freeze the movement at around 250th of a second. This is really useful to work with due to the fact all you have to do then is set your aperture knowing the flash will manage the shutter speed, so to speak.
If you set your f-stop to a wide setting, like F2 .8 or F4, you may find sharpness eludes you. This might be due to the fact your kitten has jumped out of the focal range and the image is no longer sharp. However, if you use a slightly smaller aperture you might find you usually do not undergo this predicament. Aperture and depth of field are intimately related. It is vital that you get the true f-stop for the distance away from your kitten. In other words the bigger the aperture the closer to your subject you need to be. Think about this when you are photographing your kittens.
What happens when you can't use the flash?
Just prior to one of the shoots my flash then began to fail. Thankfully I was shooting with continuous studio lighting. I made the decision to take my flash off the camera. I then produced my photos at 6400 ISO, 200th of a second and F 7.1. I shot with a very high ISO to compensate for the soft lighting. I wanted to get as much light as I possibly could. I also needed to use a high ISO so that I was able to utilise a quick shutter speed. Using an F stop of 7.1 enabled me to get some clear and sharp images.
How to photograph kittens
I photographed a mixture of standard and candid, yet lighthearted, photos. I made the decision to create a series of these photos in black-and-white. I call this my "Black and White Kitten Series".There are many opportunites to produce some very resourceful pictures of kittens. You may create some intentional blur, side profile photos, intense macro pictures or even use aids like baskets or flowers.
Just remember the key to photographing kittens is light and motion. It is preferable to get as much light on the scene as possible. Window light is good but you also want to illuminate the scene from the opposite side. You may want to use reflectors but it may distract the kittens. Alternatively you may like to bounce the flash off the ceiling as I did. (Before my flash stopped working.)
Bounced flash is great. It is also effective to have a white card on top of your flash unit. This white card aids in pointing the lighting from the roof downward onto your subject. It is not ideal to blast your kitten with direct flash. The flash may damage their eyes and frightened them.
You want to be spontaneous and ready when you photographing your kittens. Always position yourself on the ground and shoot from an angle that's near to the ground.. This may assist you to hold sharp focus on the eyes. Be prepared to move around with your kitten. It is essential to provide them encouragement as you go. After you capture them give them a little treat. Animals know when they are respected.
Photographing kittens involves practical skill and good light. It also demands the photographer to be calm and happy. Some days are more productive than others. Now and then your kittens are not scared of the camera. They will look at the camera with curiosity and even move toward you start sniffing the camera. This is a wonderful photograph if you can capture it. If you are working with frightened kittens then be incredibly gentle and very tolerant.
Photographing kittens is a pleasurable and challenging experience. Always treat your animals with greatest respect and love at all times. Kittens and sensitive little beings and need to be treated with respect.
About the Author:
Amy Renfrey is a professional photography teacher. She is the author of several photography ebooks and a monthly photography emagazine. She shows you how to take stunning photos every single time, even if you have never used a digital camera before. Click here to learn photography the easy way.
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