How to Photograph your MC in 6 easy Steps

:rofl:

Step 1 - Set up a nice little 'scene' and gently place your MC into position. Try to ignore the look of utter disgust at the inconvenience you are causing them.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7068/6...4d6bb698_z.jpg

Step 2 - Suggest to your MC that they may want to relax. Again, ignore the sniffy expression.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7049/6...ba62999e_z.jpg

Step 3 - Within about 30 seconds, boredom will be setting in. So use a toy to keep them entertained while you take pictures. [NOTE: growing a spare hand is useful at this point]

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7195/6...d2844bd7_z.jpg

Step 4 - Remember, getting the toy too close to the camera can result in some lens/paw/claw close encounters.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7194/6...94b35ce5_z.jpg

Step 5 - MC's are adorable, but younger ones in particular can have problems doing two things at once, so be aware that asking them to 'play' and 'show me your tail' at the same time can result in the sort of contortions normally only reserved for those kind of websites! :shy:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7196/6...6e9e4d61_z.jpg

Step 6 - finally, with a little patience and several hundred wasted photographs later, you might just get one final 'pose' that is somewhere close you wanted 2 hours ago! Even if she has managed to hunch herself into looking like a 3 month old kitten instead of an 8 mth old *sigh*

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7186/6...2b70af46_z.jpg


:pissed: Good luck to anyone trying to do this :rofl:

This is so funny! I have spent entire afternoons trying to take one good picture!

Love it, I've just had to try and explain when I am laughing to my OH and laughing even more as I'm trying!!

:rofl:If you think thats bad, you should see the looks I am getting from across the room now.... it's that 'you are talking about me aren't you' look!


Glad it made you ladies smile though, it was fun doing it ;)

Utterly hilarious. I've given up photographing mine, especially as Poif seems to have lost her beautiful thick coat! I'm assuming that it will get better again soon. :S

That actually made me lol; awesome!

Brilliant :) I can only get Buddy to pose on a motorbike, Fudge attacks the camera and I have lots of blurred pictures of Arion's rear end while he is running away :(

Lovely photos. We will all be following your tips and hoping!

Hm... we tried this more than once. But each time the Coonies were more interested in the camera lens than in any toy I dangled in front of them. So we always end up with extreme close ups of Coonie noses.

Had to photograph a cat like that a year or two ago Antonia, gave up in the end, but did go back, this time armed with an extra old cheap lens and used it as a prop toy. After some messing around and another 'need two pairs of hands' session, did get the pictures, without the lens suffering too much and without it actually appearing in the pictures. Might be worth trying :sad2:

Thanks Candes, now we are up and running again, I can answer. I am actually a professional photographer, so know a few things, but will add to your advice with a biggie - focus on the eyes as often as you can, if the rest is out focus it rarely matters if the eyes are sharp, clear and bright :winkwink:

Brilliant will try out your methods but not holding out too much hope especially when others seem to get better photos than I can of my babe,is it all about to change.....x

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Originally Posted by jckkerrison

Brilliant will try out your methods but not holding out too much hope especially when others seem to get better photos than I can of my babe,is it all about to change.....x

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You can do it, just lots of practice and patience.... and food...and toys.... and and and.... most of all, HAVE FUN! :winkwink:

Ah well, now we are back up I read this again and yep crying with laughter again!!! Roxy always has the look of disgust in photo's she always looks grumpy in pics Hector on the other hand will let you take his without too much begging!!

Poif ALWAYS starts a mammoth grooming session the moment I get the camera out, she won't be distracted by anything!! Such a pain!

Someday I might just have to try photographing our older MC. In her advancing age (13 yrs) she's become more placid in nature, and I think if we can groom her, treat her, and catch her in a good mood, we might have some success. She's a red tabby, so maybe a white backdrop? Or black?

Our new kitten will be a blue tabby, and our home is very "light" -- white walls, blonde hardwoods, huge windows. I expect to try to photograph him as he grows, using a fairly natural backdrop.

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Originally Posted by SoxCat

Someday I might just have to try photographing our older MC. In her advancing age (13 yrs) she's become more placid in nature, and I think if we can groom her, treat her, and catch her in a good mood, we might have some success. She's a red tabby, so maybe a white backdrop? Or black?

Our new kitten will be a blue tabby, and our home is very "light" -- white walls, blonde hardwoods, huge windows. I expect to try to photograph him as he grows, using a fairly natural backdrop.

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For a red tabby, I would try and find something more neutral than black or white to really set off & focus on her colour, so pale creams, light greys, that kind of thing. In fact, your blonde hardwoods would be good too to give a really natural look. Another genuine tip for photographing any pet is to get down to their level - because we are generally taller than our pets, we are often too tempted to shoot down on them, but getting down to them, or them up to your height usually makes for more flattering pictures.

I started this thread to hopefully make people smile and show that even with the best equipment Nikon can tempt me with and years of shooting experience, photographing cats is not an easy task, but more than happy to offer any help or advice where I can to people. I don't want to feel like I am being pushy, new member and all that, but if people ask I will happily answer where i can, though I don't claim to be a world expert :winkwink:

Oh, Tequila and Maya are going to blame you for their Mom's picture taking insanity!!:AddEmoticons00921:

Uh-OH!! Does that put me top of the Maine Coon hitlist! :rush:

:rofl: I suppose there are worse places to be.

Do you have any tips for photographing a tortie with dark face? I always struggle to capture Poif pretty face, and I think it's partly her colourings and lighting...

I am guessing you mean the cutie in your avatar? Always tough when its a dark face against a white chest and medium coloured body. Unless you know how to set your camera up manually [if it can be] the main problem you will have is that your camera sets an exposure time for the 'average' light in the scene... so with the white chest, body markings, and maybe some background, it is 'under-exposing' her pretty but dark face. Some of the recent model cameras with face recognition software may be better in this situation IF you can get her to hold still for long enough of course. However, a possibly more practical solution would be twofold. Even the smallest cheapest cameras [including many phones] usually have a macro setting [normally indicated on the mode dial by a little flower icon], try using this and then getting in close and totally filling the viewfinder/lcd screen with her face, so that the 'average' the camera has to work with is mainly dark. [rather like the grey tabby pic in your sig]
For something more artistic, see if you can persuade her to sit on a windowsill, so you get lots of natural light on her face - this will also help to get some 'catchlights' in her eyes, which really makes them alive. Better still, get someone outside the window waving a toy of doing something to make her look out and away from camera slightly, you can get some lovely, perky, intelligent looking expressions, and hopefully the window light will put enough detail into her face.

Oh and dont worry, even with the best equipment, such a stark contrast is difficult, you normally have to compromise a little and pull it back in editing afterwards. If you have any really nice pics that you like, but her face looks a bit dark, I'd be happy to have a quick look and see if they can be improved a little if you want, just drop me a message.

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Originally Posted by YvonnePhoto

For something more artistic, see if you can persuade her to sit on a windowsill, so you get lots of natural light on her face - this will also help to get some 'catchlights' in her eyes, which really makes them alive. Better still, get someone outside the window waving a toy of doing something to make her look out and away from camera slightly, you can get some lovely, perky, intelligent looking expressions, and hopefully the window light will put enough detail into her face.

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May I add a warning to this bit.................ensure the neighbours don't see the 'assistant' outside the window :rofl:

Wow that's lots of very helpful suggestions. I'll have a practice over the next week or so. The best pics I ever got of her were when she was in the bath! Think being surrounded by the white background was helpful.

Thanks!!:applaud:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b1...n/IMG_0662.jpg

awww, she is an absolute baba, good luck getting more of them!


H&J - Yes, that is true... well, unless the assistant has been particularly 'naughty' :w00t:

Rather than starting a new thread, thought it better to add this here. I was looking through some pics I took several weeks ago to send to a friend and found this one. Don't know why I missed it first time, I love it now, looking at it again. Anyway, Ella in yet another place she isn't meant to be but we let her get away with, especially if I have the flash out.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7236/6...27d6b119_c.jpg
ella on the table by Yvonne White - WhiteGoldImages, on Flickr

So beautiful!

thanks Lily! She is looking distinctly scruffy and less beautiful at the moment, but thanks to the information on this forum, pretty confident she will bloom again soon :001_wub:

Being a photographer this made me giggle :)

Awesome pics, and a gorgeous cat x

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Originally Posted by Audrey_D

Being a photographer this made me giggle :)

Awesome pics, and a gorgeous cat x

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:thumbup: Thanks Audrey and good to see another photographer too!

Love the photos - they are awesome... and you've definately captured the sprit of trying to take pictures of cats. I swear I get dirty looks whenever I point the camera (video or still) at mine. In fact if its the video camera they instantly stop being cute!

What I hate about photographing cats is their habit of posing sans legs... there they are looking gorgeous so out comes the infamous camera and when the pix are downloaded there they are... the legless cats, and if they do manage to show at least two legs at the required length then guess what the little darlings have managed to lose their tails! Oh well I do need a new website and I do need a new camera... maybe my OH will take pity and buy me a shiny new DSLR or one of those new Canon jobbies as seen in practical photographer... and only £700 ish quid a go!

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Originally Posted by Tivicoons

What I hate about photographing cats is their habit of posing sans legs... there they are looking gorgeous so out comes the infamous camera and when the pix are downloaded there they are... the legless cats, and if they do manage to show at least two legs at the required length then guess what the little darlings have managed to lose their tails! Oh well I do need a new website and I do need a new camera... maybe my OH will take pity and buy me a shiny new DSLR or one of those new Canon jobbies as seen in practical photographer... and only £700 ish quid a go!

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:w00t: Its the road to ruin....well, an addictive and sometimes expensive hobby.... but keep being nice to him and leaving the photography magazines lying around! Mind you, if he is anything like mine, subtle hints fly so far over his head they leave a hole in the ozone :LOL: