Meow

[HowlingWolf]

Ive spent a few days trying to get a picture of this cat or his little orange friend, I thought it was hard enough getting my hound to stop trying to knock the camera out of my hand for kisses but cats just don't stop moving, try getting close and they move to be pet, god forbid they notice you have legs lol.

 

[EchoingWhisper]

This is not for C&C right?

 

[HowlingWolf]

You can c&c it I don't mind, there are some things I'm already not satisfied with, the cat' upper body isn't really in focus and looks painted rather then photographed, which I like, you might say it's "overexposed" but I like the way it came out, which is why it's like that, a better angle woulda been nice but not one where the cat is looking at me, I don't normally like my subject looking at the camera, fricken cats watch me through the lens, and legs.

 

[Natalie]

I think you C&Ced your own photo pretty well... As you mentioned, the cat is not really in focus, and the angle is a bit weird. Next time, try getting down more on the cat's level if you can to get more of her in the shot. She's really beautiful!

 

[HowlingWolf]

She is a pretty cute cat, but she only shows up every once in a blue moon I swear it. Her friend on the other hand pops up like clockwork.

 

[o hey tyler]

You can c&c it I don't mind, there are some things I'm already not satisfied with, the cat' upper body isn't really in focus and looks painted rather then photographed, which I like, you might say it's "overexposed" but I like the way it came out, which is why it's like that, a better angle woulda been nice but not one where the cat is looking at me, I don't normally like my subject looking at the camera, fricken cats watch me through the lens, and legs.

I actually would not say that the first photo is overexposed. It's actually significantly underexposed.

It's always better to be on the same level as your pets when photographing them. Looking down on the animal makes them feel small and insignificant. It really doesn't artistically do them justice. Your assessment was correct, the cat is mostly out of focus, but this will give you a few things to work on... Composition, exposure, and focus.

 

[HowlingWolf]

You can c&c it I don't mind, there are some things I'm already not satisfied with, the cat' upper body isn't really in focus and looks painted rather then photographed, which I like, you might say it's "overexposed" but I like the way it came out, which is why it's like that, a better angle woulda been nice but not one where the cat is looking at me, I don't normally like my subject looking at the camera, fricken cats watch me through the lens, and legs.

I actually would not say that the first photo is overexposed. It's actually significantly underexposed.

It's always better to be on the same level as your pets when photographing them. Looking down on the animal makes them feel small and insignificant. It really doesn't artistically do them justice. Your assessment was correct, the cat is mostly out of focus, but this will give you a few things to work on... Composition, exposure, and focus.

I never thought of that being offensive to cats (these aren't mine they are my neighbors), but that little orange cat in the second one would NOT come up to me when i sat or layed down, but wouldnt get away from me when I stood up. Maybe it has something to do with individual conditioning? I know the cats at the shelter I was working at loved to be eye to eye and grab my clothes, jerks.

I wish these guys would run up to me the way my hound does when I sit down, but damn the short amount of time it takes to get a focused shot of him before he tries to lovingly maul me (he was homeless for a while and I became his care-er so he gets overly excited with me, which is fine, but he is so damn photogenic but so damn fast and add).

 

[EchoingWhisper]

Here's some ideas - capture them eye level, ensure there is no motion blur, ensure that it is in focus, make sure blown highlights don't turn into grey due to post processing, and it is underexposed, avoid clipping your blacks too much.

 

[HowlingWolf]

Here's some ideas - capture them eye level, ensure there is no motion blur, ensure that it is in focus, make sure blown highlights don't turn into grey due to post processing, and it is underexposed, avoid clipping your blacks too much.

what do you mean by clipping my blacks?

 

[MTVision]

Clipping your blacks means you lost all detail in the black areas. Kinda like blown highlights.....

 

[HowlingWolf]

Clipping your blacks means you lost all detail in the black areas. Kinda like blown highlights.....

Oh okay thanks.

 

[o hey tyler]

You can c&c it I don't mind, there are some things I'm already not satisfied with, the cat' upper body isn't really in focus and looks painted rather then photographed, which I like, you might say it's "overexposed" but I like the way it came out, which is why it's like that, a better angle woulda been nice but not one where the cat is looking at me, I don't normally like my subject looking at the camera, fricken cats watch me through the lens, and legs.

I actually would not say that the first photo is overexposed. It's actually significantly underexposed.

It's always better to be on the same level as your pets when photographing them. Looking down on the animal makes them feel small and insignificant. It really doesn't artistically do them justice. Your assessment was correct, the cat is mostly out of focus, but this will give you a few things to work on... Composition, exposure, and focus.

I never thought of that being offensive to cats (these aren't mine they are my neighbors), but that little orange cat in the second one would NOT come up to me when i sat or layed down, but wouldnt get away from me when I stood up. Maybe it has something to do with individual conditioning? I know the cats at the shelter I was working at loved to be eye to eye and grab my clothes, jerks.

What are you talking about? It's not offensive to cats to be standing up, it's unflattering compositionally to the cat when photographing them. Being a bi-pedal human in an upright position, a cat will look small when photographed at a downward angle with at least a 35mm FoV or wider. You were at 5mm on a point and shoot camera, it would work out to be around 28-35mm on a Full Frame Body I'd guess. If you're down at eye level, with a longer focal length, the cat is more pronounced in the frame. It's great that you love and cherish this photo, but for others to share the same love for a photo, there are basic compositional guidelines that have been found to be pleasing to view.

I shot this photo of my cat at eye level with a much longer focal length, got her eyes sharply in focus along with her whiskers. It was an impromptu shot, as she jumped up on a chair next to me while I was shooting something else. So I repositioned my monolight and shot. Should have probably shot at a smaller aperture, and cranked the light up. Oh well. The bokeh is from the rivets in the chair she was sitting on.