Animal photography: how to take pictures of cats

No matter what kind of animal the owner keeps, he wants to record every moment of the pet, but taking pictures of the pet is recognized as one of the most difficult subjects. Many cat owners always complain that they can't take good pictures of cats. In fact, taking pictures of cats is also very particular. Here are some tips for taking pictures of cats, hoping to help you.

I. Preparatory work

First of all, taking pictures of cats requires some preparatory work. Give the lovely kitten a bath, be sure to wash it clean, and then do beauty. Just like taking pictures of people, cats are not beautiful without makeup, and they also need makeup. But the cat's makeup is not eyebrow pencil lipstick or something. The makeup mentioned here is mainly to wipe off the pet's eyelids and comb his hair neatly.

After cleaning up the cat, you have to clean up yourself. Be sure to wear a strong and wear-resistant suit. Because you often have to lie on the ground when taking pictures, it is easy to get your clothes dirty. Don't wear expensive clothes.

Second, the equipment

1. lens

The demand for photographing cats can be as simple as a camera and a mirror. As for which lens to choose, it depends on what kind of shooting effect you want. For example:

Fisheye lens-can be placed a few centimeters in front of the cat to shoot the effect of a big-headed cat;

Wide-angle lens-such as 12mm, can shoot the cat and the surrounding environment, increasing the chances of success, but be careful that the cat becomes too small and not prominent enough;

Standard lens-such as 35-50mm, of which 50mm large aperture lens can easily capture cats with shallow depth of field effect, but it is only suitable for cats who are not afraid of people, so as to be close to shooting;

Telephoto lens-for example, 200mm, if we shoot close to the cat or are afraid of standing too close to scare it away, we can start with telephoto lens, imagine ourselves as a spy, and keep a distance to shoot the cat in the distance;

Macro lens-if you want to be special, you can try to shoot at a very close distance with a macro lens, so that the cat's eyes and hair can be presented one by one. Recommend it to your domestic cat.

In addition, it is necessary to prepare enough batteries, because the power demand for using telephoto lens and continuous focusing mode is quite large, so it should be a wise choice to prepare more batteries. Memory cards should also be fully prepared. Once the memory card capacity is insufficient in the middle of shooting, what a pity.

2. Basic settings of the camera

In terms of white balance, you can use the automatic white balance mode if you use a flash. If shooting in tungsten lamp, you can directly set the white balance to tungsten lamp mode without using a flash. As for using other indoor light sources, it is best to calibrate the white balance manually to reduce color cast.

In addition, when focusing, the focus position should be in the cat's eye. If you focus elsewhere, the photo will appear blurred. If shooting a fast-moving cat, the continuous focus mode of the camera can reduce the out-of-focus situation.

3. Pay attention to the shutter speed

When holding a camera, you need to keep a safe shutter, but a moving cat needs a faster shutter, such as 1/400 s. Whether indoors or outdoors, you can increase or enlarge the ISO aperture to get a faster shutter speed.

Third, how to shoot a cat?

Cats generally don't listen to live broadcasts and can't take them out to shoot. Once they run away, you can't get them back. In order to avoid this situation, it is recommended that you shoot indoors.

Cats' living habits usually start to be active when they sleep during the day and end at night. Although the pet cats at home have gradually lost this unique habit, most cats still follow this rule, so try to pat cats in the afternoon. Because the indoor environment is very different from the outdoor environment, it is a good choice to use the telephoto end and open the aperture as much as possible, which can blur the messy background and make the subject more prominent.

1. light source

When shooting, try to use natural light. Flash is not only easy to cause red eye, but also easy to scare pets, so choose bright natural light environment, outdoor or indoor with bright windows.

When shooting indoors, the light source is the most important factor to consider. The simplest thing is to shoot with natural light during the day and illuminate with natural light outside the window, which can achieve natural effects. It is best to have family and friends to help fill the light with reflectors to reduce the backlight shadow of cats. If there is no reflector, you can use white towels and sheets instead.

If there is no natural light, all indoor lights should be turned on, and higher sensitivity (such as ISO 800 or above) and larger aperture should be used to reduce the jitter and blur of the picture. A more flexible method is to use a flash to reflect the light source to the cat by jumping the light, because the direct flash will make the cat's eyes reflect the light and appear "red eye" phenomenon. Flash and soft light device can make the light source softer.

Make sure your eyes are sharp.

Cats' eyes are a little special. In bright environment, their pupils will shrink into a narrow vertical line, and in dark environment, they will Zhang Kaicheng into a circle. Most people think that round pupils look cute. To shoot such eyes, it is necessary to use jumping lights in a dark indoor environment.

As the saying goes, the eyes are the windows to the soul. In portrait photography, the focus is often on the eyes, so pay attention to the grasp of eye light. The same is true of cats, whose innocent eyes are bright and lovely, sometimes naughty and sometimes lazy. As long as you capture the cat's wonderful eyes, you will achieve an excellent pet photography.

So, focus on the cat's eye. First, don't lose focus. Second, you can use shallow depth of field to simplify the background to highlight it. It would be better if the eyes have proper reflected light.

3. Selection of shooting time

If you want to take a more formal portrait of the cat, you can wait for the opportunity when the cat is a little sleepy or just waking up. If it is a photo of an energetic pet, it should be taken when they are energetic. Obviously, it is not suitable to take pictures when they are angry.

Get close to them

As a host, don't force them to pose. Choose an environment that makes cats feel comfortable and relaxed, and actively let the camera follow them.

A good way is to shoot horizontally. As we all know, when pets look at us from the bottom up, we will also habitually shoot down. If we change the angle, make the camera consistent with their horizontal line of sight, and shoot them from their perspective of seeing the world, it will be very special. When they are lying on the floor or on your stomach, you can also shoot along their line of sight.

Don't let go of the best model when you meet a kitten. When a cat is older, it will be alert to things, and it will be alert immediately if it is disturbed a little, but this problem rarely exists in kittens. When cats were young, they were interested in everything and played with everything they found. They don't care much about your existence. Especially when playing, they are often very focused and excited. If you make a little noise, they will immediately open their eyes and look around. What are you waiting for?

Attract their attention

How to attract the attention of cats? One small way to attract their attention is to call their names or whistle while they are playing. This method can not only capture their surprised expression, but also capture their alert posture.

When we take pictures of cats, we will talk to him while taking pictures, and sometimes we will use toys to attract his attention. In such a hot summer, I often sweat after taking a few photos.

Show their personalities

If your pet is a lazy cat, slap it to yawn. If your pet is lively and active, shoot him more when he is good at sports, or some tricks he often plays naughty. Remember, showing unique personality is the key to the success of pet photography.

Few people can photograph cats in motion, because they are very sensitive and move very fast, so photographing cats is usually static. In this case, it is convenient to choose S mode as the focus mode, that is, the single focus mode. When the cat is still, press the shutter for half-focusing, then make a composition, and finally release the shutter, which can ensure the accuracy of focusing and the clarity of the photo.

7. Close-ups

If you shoot with a telephoto lens and let the cat's face or body occupy the whole picture, it will be very realistic and reveal some human nature.

8. Be patient

No matter how excited your cat is, you should have enough patience to let it relax. You can choose the continuous shooting function of the camera here.

9. Experiment

The last point is that you can try to shoot from different angles and methods. Maybe we can find the other side of the cat.