Snapshot or photograph?

[ahtchristina]

Few questions:
1) I love taking pics of animals, but I how do I take it from snapshot to photograph? Animals just seems so darn snapshot-y!
2) Is he out of focus, or is he just fuzzy?
3) What's your preferred software for editing? (Even before we get to the whole RAW/JPEG conversation..). I have Paint and Windows Live Photo Gallery. With Paint, cloning stuff out is a pain in the butt, unless there's a way to do that with the Photo Gallery...

Also, if you think his head is huge, your partly right - his body had just been shaved.

 

[MLeeK]

1.eliminate the distractions behind him. Use good composition. Make use of your aperture to create a shallow depth of field to help with those distractions. Use an appropriate shutter speed for a potentially fast moving subject. pray-animals are tough.
2. He's OOF.
3.Photoshop CS5. On the budget end Photoshop Elements 10 is pretty awesome.

 

[DorkSterr]

Just a glance and its a snap shot. The torso doesn't look right, sharpness is not there, not focus...etc. FOr photo editing I tend to stick to PS & LR personally.

A darn cute cat tho

 

[KmH]

Looks like you've gotten a lot of distortion from the lens on your camera.

The major difference between a snap shot and making a photograph is preparation

 

[paigew]

Snapshot, yes. Adorable photo, yes! I love that pissed off look he is giving you "damn you for shaving me" . Yes as stated, he is oof.

 

[photographyxfactor]

Oh my Gish, if I can pay someone to teach me to do that. I love it!!!!

 

[gsgary]

How about using lighting and a backdrop, and i use Capture One

 

[pgriz]

Snapshot - image taken because the opportunity presented itself.

Photograph - image constructed to showcase the subject, remove distracting elements (foreground, background) lighting chosen to emphasize the key aspects of the subject... As Keith said, there's prep work involved. And the technical stuff (focus placement, right amount of DOF, appropriate exposure for the subject, right focal length) is there to place the viewer's focus where it needs to be. As I think gsgary has shown.

 

[timputtick]

Snapshot, think about light and focus. Also try using backdrops, an animal taken at random in the house is bound to be a snapshot. The window behind is good ambient light but instead you've made a harsh line between the blown out window and the cat. cute cat though!

 

[Ysarex]

Snapshot, yes. Adorable photo, yes! I love that pissed off look he is giving you "damn you for shaving me" . Yes as stated, he is oof.

I had the same instant reaction; that cat is pissed off! Any time you can capture an animal with anthropomorphic characteristics it's going to be a good photo. It may be technically inferior to the one-eyed dog with Marfan syndrome, but it's a great shot. :thumbup:

Joe