Anyone who has ever embarked on the task of taking pictures of their home cat (or worse, a cat they met on the street) knows that this is not something for everyone. The scene is more or less always like this: you see a cat posing, standing still; the light is perfect; the background is adequate; you take your mobile phone or even your camera; you are ready to shoot and you are better placed; the moment you press the button the cat moves.
IN ADDITION TO SHARING OUR EXPERIENCE WE ASKED TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS SPECIALIZING IN THIS FIELD TO GIVE US ADVICE TO TEST CATS!
PHOTOGRAPHING YOUR CAT AT HOME
The best way to practice is to try to photograph in a place we know very well. We turned to Giulia Russo, aka Giui: she likes to call herself a contemporary ado, because she tells stories with her camera. In her basic photography courses, she always advises experimenting with her own cat, because photographing the cat can be quite complex.
A PIECE OF ADVICE FOR TAKING PICTURES OF A CAT STANDING STILL?
Spoiler: it doesn't exist. Or rather, an alert cat will never stand still. Therefore, the best way is to arm yourself with a lot of patience, observe it, study its movements, "adapt us to it" and be ready and fast to capture it in its natural poses (my favorite).
If we want to try to photograph him in a position that we want, my advice is to think more about keeping him "busy" than standing still. There are special equipment, but you can make up for it with a "do-it-yourself" method by attaching to the camera (on the side or top) a game with a wand with a very long thread to which a feather is attached, or hold in one hand the most classic game for cats: the ball.
Also useful are toys that make noise in order to "call" the attention of the animal when it distracts. You can move the toy in a circle until the cat follows it. In the meantime, if you use one hand (or if you have an even better assistant/helper) to catch your cat's attention in the desired direction, you can use the other hand to shoot.
LET'S MOVE ON TO THE SHOTS SET: THOSE PHOTOS OF CHRISTMAS OR EASTER CATS ARE BEAUTIFUL. YOUR ADVICE FOR PHOTOS THAT DO NOT STRESS NEITHER HUMANS NOR CATS?
First of all, you need to know the subject well: each animal requires a personalized approach. Not all cats are the same, there are photos that with some cats you can never make and others that seem to be born specifically for this kind of shots.
These sessions must be short and effective, almost as if it were a moment of play between the subject and the photographer. If you notice that the animal begins to get nervous, better to leave it immediately and try again at another time.
PHOTOGRAPHING YOUR CAT OUTSIDE THE HOUSE
We raised the bar of difficulty further and this time we turned to Marianna Zampieri, Catographer (or catgrapher): she dedicates herself exclusively to the photos of cats and is rather known for her documentary work of cats in Venice, in the project Cats in Venice.
A SUGGESTION FOR APPROACHING A CAT IN THE STREET TO PHOTOGRAPH?
Photographing cats is not easy at all, being very unpredictable animals: I can only try to give guidelines based on my personal experience. You have to distinguish the type of cat you want to go and photograph. When I started with the Cat-photography, I immediately dedicated myself to cats met by chance during walks in the hills near home and the only possible solution was to provide me with a nice telephoto lens (70-300 mm), to keep the right distance. Each cat has a limit of tolerance of the proximity of a stranger who is subjective and should not be exceeded at all, so as not to risk seeing shaded the opportunity of a successful shot.
Depending on what kind of photographs we want to take, it is important to have the appropriate equipment, a little 'common sense in understanding how far we can go, but above all a lot, a lot of patience, understood as both the ability to know how to wait for the right time and as an attitude to accept that a cat will never or almost what we expect -or what we hope- that it does at that time. And, finally, fundamental, a little knowledge and a lot of respect for an animal that still remains shrouded in mystery and a truly irresistible charm.
HOW TO "POSE" A CAT THAT IS IN AN OPEN SPACE?
This question really made me smile as soon as I read it! The idea of posing a cat remains a great mystery for me! Usually, I never start with the idea of a studied photographic composition, because very often my idea will be ignored. Rather, I often find myself having to bring out the best in what is granted to me, often in fractions of a second.