Sealpoint Kitten photoshoot (Natural lighting)

[Essence Of Perception]

I will post a few pictures of the recent shoot with my young cat, Aurora. There will be some posted that I don't like at all (Ex. The black background; the basket..), but I feel I should put them in there anyways to get some critique on the shot itself.

It was all natural lighting through a big bay window, as otherwise she seemed too blown out in her whitest points. Will have to purchase better lights.

My favorite prop was an empty fish bowl but none of the pictures worked out very well, (Psycho cat) so they will be attempted again in the next shoot, this time with help from the husband.

This is all just practice for my portfolio in pet photography. All critique is welcome, I am here for the advice! Thanks in advance. (A lot of quality was lost in the downsizing)

1.) (Cropped)

2.) (Not cropped, same image as above)

3.) (Should it be cropped?)

4.)

5.)

6.)

7.)

8.) (Black didn't work out, it swallowed her whole!)

9.)

10.) (Basket colors took away from the kitty?)

 

[KatharineAspen]

I love number 7 the black and white emphasizes (sp?) her points. She's a beautiful kitty too Any animal with points and you've got me hooked!

 

[hamster]

She's a beauty, but a lot of the shots are blurred. If she's moving too much, try boosting the ISO so you can shorten the shutter speed...or get a faster lens. What are your settings?

 

[Essence Of Perception]

The images really seemed to blur when I resized the images, they seemed a lot clearer before, and when I see them in comparison to the original size, it makes me wonder what happened. I don't recall my settings right now, maybe next shoot I will remember, sorry! Lol. I'm brand spankin' new at this though, as of this just past Sunday, so put my shutter speed at a higher number, correct?

 

[LaFoto]

Well, resizing does not blur a photo.
Camera shake and too long exposure times do, and this is clearly what happened to several of these. Evidence is the light reflection in your cat's eyes, if that is elongated by camera shake then no resizing could have brough this effect about. The only clear ones are 1a and b, 5 and 10.

Nevertheless, I really like the concept of using only natural light (but keep in mind that shutter speeds become really long, too long to handhold at "normal" ISOs --- high ISOs give you noise, though, so that needs to be outbalanced in your plannings --- , I like the backdrop, though the colour is a bit strong (I think), and (of course!) I really like your cat!

Welcome to ThePhotoForum.

 

[Essence Of Perception]

I have been examining the camera, and going over as if I was in the moment of the photo shoot again, and I gasped when i found out I had my ISO at only 100. Sorry guys, next one will be more planned out, promise! Lol! Thank you for all the excellent feedback, and critique, keep it coming.

 

[hamster]

What lens are you using? Aperture? Shutter speed? If you aren't familiar with these concepts, understanding them will improve your shots GREATLY. May I recommend a book? Understanding Exposure by Brian Petersen will help you with these concepts. When I was first starting out (I'm still pretty much a beginner) getting to understand this stuff was really exciting. I hope that photography excites you enough to learn more.

Good luck!