Tips For Photographing Cats And Dogs

[sbk]

I had originally thought about posting this in the Photography forum but then realized that pet owners would find this more interesting than regular photogs.

This material is pulled from Ritz Camera.com and I've pulled out the relevant bits

Dogs:

A few tips here: dogs are very much like people. Cats are not, but dogs largely imitate our own responses to life. We can, with a large degree of accuracy, anticipate dog's reactions for these are so much like our own. Just as we should be prepared when photographing human beings, we need to be just a prepared when photographing dogs. I personally keep a loaded 35mm camera at the ready in my own house, knowing that frequent "photo ops" will occur. Ansel Adams ("St. Ansel of the Sierras") said that "chance favors the prepared". That means that there are lucky breaks, of course, but the prepared photographer seems to get more lucky breaks than the unprepared. This is especially true when photographing pets including dogs.

Any lens and any camera will do, but probably normal and short telephoto lenses will be the ones more often used when photographing dogs.

dog photography

NYI student James Mee gives us an entirely different type of location portrait, using a fast shutter speed to freeze this hard driving pooch in mid-air. The converging lines of the dirt roadway and the high-voltage power lines pull our eye to the right side of the picture, where the dramatic shadow cast by the dog makes this picture all the more dynamic. There's an element of mystery to this picture as well. We're not exactly sure where this dog is headed, but if there's a chase on, we don't envy whatever is being pursued. Could it be the neighborhood cat?

It's hard to say about flash. I had an English Cocker Spaniel once who was terrified of flash and would immediately begin to tremble all over. I had another English Cocker who was totally indifferent to flash and/or cameras. I also have known certain large guard dog types – German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Dobermans, Airedales – who would attack any photographers using flash. I have known other dogs who would attack unfamiliar photographers with or without flash; so be careful, proceed with caution!

Flash does have one particularly useful characteristic other than its inherent ability to "freeze" the action. That is the ability to show detailed texture such as fur or whiskers. Side lighting, coming from a 90-degree angle, is very useful here.

As always, every photograph of every dog will be a better photograph if the third NYI Guideline is followed: simplify the picture! Eliminate the unneccessary items and be sure to keep all the necessary ones in the picture.

Finally, remember that most dogs are highly trainable. Perhaps they can even be trained to bark "f/11 at 1/125" instead of a mere "arf, Sandy" or the commonplace "bow wow wow".

–Jerry Rice

Cats:

It will surely help if you can use a tripod but the sudden rapid movements of the cat may often preclude such a measure. But there will be times when a tripod can be used and should be used, times when the cat is resting or gazing out the window, for example. Cats, unlike dogs, are often patient especially when planning a strategic attack on an unwary goldfish or overly confident canary. I've seen cats wait long minutes before pouncing, thus giving you the chance to set up a tripod. Once the cat springs on the unsuspecting prey, the action is fast and furious and no chance for a tripod!

It is possible at times to make formal studio portraits of cats, replete with keylight, fill light, background light, and accent lights - the whole ball of wax including muslin backdrops and/or seamless paper. But you can't count on cat cooperation; he may feel like posing on one day and may run in terror the next! Certainly one of the cat's great charms is his utter unpredictable nature, at least I think so.

Or you may get this scenario: the cat waits patiently, very patiently, very cooperative while you get the studio set up. And then, without warning, will simply walk off the set. My son, a professional actor and director, would shout at the cat, “It’s a heck of a time to give your notice.” Perhaps his language might be a teeny bit saltier. But, then, cats don't have unions, do they? A run-of-the-play contract doesn't exist in the feline world.

Lighting can present a serious problem when photographing cats. Your white cat or your yellow tiger cat or your seal-point Siamese are light toned and reflect enough light in most indoor areas under normal room light conditions. Even your medium gray or your calico may reflect enough light so that good photographs can be made. But my Burmese is a very dark sable brown with no white markings. In the shadow areas he looks like a black cat in a coal bin at midnight (except, of course, for his eerie yellow eyes). In the sunlight he's a very rich dark brown with a very shiny coat that reflects adequate glints of light for photography needs.

Some cats may be spooked by electronic flash, others not. Mine isn't, but you'd better aim the flash directly at him. If you try to bounce the light off an umbrella, wall, or reflective surface, you not only have to open up the usual two-and-a-half stops but you may also need an additional two stops. Why? Because the subject is, obviously, much darker than normal.

Cats differ one from another not only in color and marking and in behavior but also in size. My Burmese is the same size as his cousin, the Siamese, but I've seen Maine Coon cats that were as big as cocker spaniels, or so it seems. And that means you may have to get a bit farther back in order to photograph the animal.

Cat fanciers are all aware of the many movements a cat has, each of them equally photogenic. The great balletomane and choreographer

Balanchine owned cats and once uttered, mournfully, that he wished his dancers could move as gracefully and as beautifully as his cats. Even those theater goers who loved the long running musical “Cats” freely admitted that the actors and dancers could only give weak imitations of the way that cats really move!

So, part of your job when focusing attention on your subject (the second NYI Guideline) is to watch the subject's movements carefully and anticipate the next movement. For example, when your cat stretches forward with the weight on his front legs and paws, he then is going to do one of two things. He may either rock backward on his rear legs and paws or he may suddenly do his Halloween bit. You know, when he arches his back, assumes a fiendish look, and seems to a celebrated emissary from hel_l! Any of these poses can be good subject matter.

A common expression is “let the part stand for the whole.” And this can certainly apply in photography as well, and in cat photography in particular. When it's time for my cat's meals, I place his bowl of Little Friskies just to the left of the kitchen sink. He immediately goes for the food and he is almost totally hidden by the sink and its cabinet. Except, of course, his rear end and long tail extend out beyond the sink. I've often focused attention (second Guideline) on him by photographing just his tail and rear end. I suppose one might call this a cat abstraction, a case of the part standing for the whole. Incidentally, this type of photograph seems to work better in black-and-white because the cat is almost black and the linoleum floor is white as is the sink cabinet.

I was talking a moment ago about the cat's tail. If the part can stand for the whole (frequently), what more expressive part of the feline anatomy is there than the tail? You could create an entire photographic essay on just a cat's tail alone! Its twists, it turns, its curves, its incredible movements — a total expression of graceful art.

I would suggest that 35mm cameras, either rangefinder or single lens reflex, would be ideal for photographing cats. But certainly medium format cameras can be successfully used. And would you believe that the late and great Edward Weston photographed his many very active cats with an 8x10 view camera? Not in studio setups, mind you, but roaming around his house and yard. To show you the level of Weston's art, he was the recipient of the first Guggenheim Fellowship awarded to any photographer! Incidentally, he made a book of photographs about his cats — “The Cats of Wildcat Hill.” It's out of print now, unfortunately.

If you do use artificial light — electronic flash, floodlights, etc. — be careful about “red eye” — actually, with cats and other pets it’s a variant — “green eye.” These conditions are caused by having the light source to close to the camera and having the light reflect off the back of the cat's eyeballs. Raise your light source and move it away from the camera, and probably everything will be all right in most cases. Also, turn on a few room lights as well.

And now to the final NYI Guideline — simplifying the picture by eliminating the unnecessary and retaining the necessary. The cat is such an elegant creature that you can make wonderful photographs with nothing in them except the cat. You don't need to “gild the lily”, so to speak. The cat's often just enough. But don't overlook the other possibilities of cats with people, with other animals, with interesting surroundings, etc.

The late writer Cleveland Amory said “Cats have enormous patience with the limitations of the human mind”.

T.S. Eliot wrote that “A Dog's a Dog — a CAT’s a CAT.” The capitalization emphasis is Eliot's.

And John Wayne summed it up neatly in one of his Westerns. When one of the other actors mentioned that “Duke” owned a cat, Wayne answered “Listen, Mr., you don't own a cat; he just lives with you.”

–Jerry Rice

[sbk]

And so, I would like to post my recent photo of my sister's very cute Shih Tzu. I think this one turned out pretty well . Although the background is a little too bright, I think this photo captures the nobility of a sweet dog face

[Priceless]

Anybody like some cat action pics? Have a look at this site: http://www.kvarnstugan.se/kattungar/kattun...04/vecka12.html

The cats are Norwegian Forest Cats, the site owners are amateur breeders but the husband is a professional photographer (as you can easily see ) Unfortunately the site is in Swedish only, but if you click "Kullar" at the top and then use your imagination, you will find some of the world's best cat photography (at least in my opinion ).

BTW, I'm not affiliated with the site or its owners, except that I've met them a few times.

/ Priceless

[Beardog]

Hi SBK,

A ring light flash opposed to the on mount flash is another real good way to get a great shot without over or underexposing the subject. It cost a little bit & usually wraps around the lens. The light gives an angelic highlighted look & does not spook a dog or cat(or at least as bad) while freezing movement quickly as pets do rarely like to stay still for to long(especially cats). Nice shot by the way!

[Sheryl]

My Chihuahua doesn't like to be photographed. As soon as I come near him with a camera, his ears go down and he turns his face away from the camera.

It's nothing to do with flash as I've always photoéd him (or tried to) outdoors. It's a small little camera, too.

Anyone have any idea why he does this? He's been like this from the get go.

[PoorSucker]

My Chihuahua doesn't like to be photographed. As soon as I come near him with a camera, his ears go down and he turns his face away from the camera.

It's nothing to do with flash as I've always photoéd him (or tried to) outdoors. It's a small little camera, too.

Anyone have any idea why he does this? He's been like this from the get go.

Maybe got scared of flash when puppy and associates camera with flash.

Try disguise the camera.

[sbk]

My older dog Scruffy has cataracts in one eye and blind in the other (thanks to the neighbor dog ) and he turns away from the camera as well, flash or no. he's just learned that thing is annoying so he turns his face.

[MrSnrang]

I took this with a halogen spotlight shining in the garden. Had to compensate for white balance a lot though.

I used a higher ISO because this dog has slight facial movements that create slight motion blur, losing sharpness.

My ferrets are much trickier. Either I step up the ISO too high and suffer from too much noise because they move very quickly or use a bounce flash and risk red eyes and scaring them. They also often move too quickly for the autofocus of my camera to catch up with so i have to deal with the tricky task of manually focusing with a small and dim viewfinder of a crop-sensor camera. Using a wide aperture is difficult because they can jump out of the depth of field before the shutter actuation because of shutter lag.

The easiest way for me to get a picture of my dogs is to make sure I'm shooting in plenty of natural light.

[MsFigure]

Great post - and I can't wait for my new camera to try out some of the tips.

Not a fan of cats, but those action pics of the cats were really good.

AND I LOVE this one - That face is so adorable