Expert Shares: Tips & Techniques for Unique Cat Photos
People love cat photos. And if you love both cats and photography, chances are that you probably won’t be able to resist taking photos of the cats you encounter, be it your own pet, a rescue cat, or a stray on the streets! Yet, capturing the livelier side of them can be trickier than expected. Cat photographer Ryosuke Miyoshi (@ryostory1124) shares tips and techniques for capturing decisive moments in three different scenarios. (Reported by Ryosuke Miyoshi, Digital Camera Magazine)
EOS R8/ RF14-35mm f/4L IS USM/ FL: 14mm/ Manual exposure (f/8, 1/320 sec)/ ISO 100
Scenario I: Take it slow and careful with unfamiliar cats
Building a connection with a cat is crucial if you want shots that show unique expressions and personalities. They will be more likely to display them when the cat feels comfortable with you.
It can take some time to earn a cat’s trust, especially if it’s wary of humans. Give the cat space and maintain a quiet, unobtrusive presence until it gets more used to you.
Technique 1: Use a telephoto lens for your first encounter
RF135mm f/1.8L IS USM
Recommended: A fast telephoto lens
A telephoto lens lets you fill more of the frame with the cat while standing a comfortable distance away. (Comfortable for the cat, that is!)
If you get a “fast” telephoto lens, i.e., one with a wide (“bright”) maximum aperture, like the RF135mm f/1.8L IS USM, you can also easily create a lovely background blur (“bokeh”) effect that makes the cat stand out better against busy backgrounds.
I recommend switching to a shorter lens (standard zoom or wide-angle) only when you have had a few encounters with the same outdoor cat where it doesn’t move away when you approach it.
Technique 2: Turn on the silent shutter function
Cats have extremely sensitive hearing. They can get stressed out by unfamiliar sounds near them, such as your AF beep or camera shutter. Remember to turn on the silent shutter function, which is available on newer EOS R system cameras like the EOS R8. It disables all beeps and shutter sounds so you can shoot quietly and avoid startling your new potential furry friend.
Technique 3: Approach the cat slowly and carefully; use high-speed continuous shooting and Servo AF
When you and the cat have established a connection, you can try photographing it with a shorter lens. An ultra-wide-angle zoom lens can give rather unique results, like the one at the beginning of this article, shot at the 14mm end of the RF14-35mm f/4L IS USM.
Turn on these functions on your camera:
- Silent shutter function,
- High-speed continuous shooting
- Servo AF
Then, while checking your composition in the viewfinder or LCD screen, move towards the cat slowly, quietly, and cautiously until you get the perfect shot.
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Also see:
Shutter Modes & Continuous Shooting Modes: When to Use Which?
5 Tips for Better Subject Detection and Tracking
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Pro tips for approaching an unfamiliar cat
- Wear light or bright colours
Cats see a limited range of colours, and the colours that they do see are also more muted compared to humans. However, I’ve noticed that they tend to be more easily startled when I wear dark colours. I usually wear light or bright colours when I’m out taking cat photos.
- Respect the cat’s comfort zone and boundaries
It’s not about you photographing the cat, it’s about the cat allowing you to photograph it. If it’s unwilling to be photographed, don’t force it.
Scenario II: When you need to strike a fine balance between exposure and depth of field
EOS R8/ RF14-35mm f/4L IS USM/ FL: 14mm/ Manual exposure (f/7.1, 1/125 sec)/ ISO 100
Sometimes, background details are just as important as the cat. You will probably encounter some scenes where you need to strike a fine balance between depth of field and exposure, like I did for the scene above.
My dilemma
Red rectangle: I placed my focus on the cat
As the backlight results in a darker picture, I initially opened the aperture all the way to f/4 to let in more light. However, the resulting shallow depth of field caused the leaves to be slightly blurred out although I preferred them to be sharp and in-focus. Narrowing the aperture by too much could cause underexposure beyond recovery, and I didn’t want to compromise on the ISO speed and shutter speed either.
How do you ensure you get what you want when the cat might move away at any moment?
Technique: Change the display simulation mode to ‘Exposure + DOF”
Under the default settings, the preview you see on the EVF or LCD screen doesn’t show the impact of your settings on the depth of field, only exposure simulation. Enabling the “Exposure + DOF” setting, available with compatible lenses on most new EOS R system cameras, gives you a better idea of how your final image will look with the aperture settings. It’s a great help for nailing that shot in one take—or at least before the main subject decides it’s done enough modelling for the day and slips out of the picture!
This function helped me decide on f/7.1, which was just enough to put even the leaves at the back in focus without the shot becoming too underexposed. As a final touch, I adjusted the camera angle slightly so that the sunlight coming through the leaves created a starburst. DOF simulation lets you preview the appearance of the starburst, too!
Scenario III: Purr-fectly timed jump shots
EOS R8/ RF14-35mm f/4L IS USM/ FL: 14mm/ Manual exposure (f/4.5, 1/250 sec)/ ISO 100
It’s challenging to get perfectly timed shots of a cat fully airborne mid-leap. If your finger reaches the shutter only when the cat starts to jump, it’s probably too late.
The pre-shooting function in the RAW burst mode makes it much easier to capture the peak moment. It records the moments up to 0.5 seconds as you go from shutter half-press to full press.
The shot above is one example of how much of a lifesaver the function can be. The cat had already initiated the jump when I half-pressed the shutter button, so without pre-shooting, I would have missed the shot.
How pre-shooting helped capture the perfect flying shot
Shots 1 to 4: At half-press, the camera’s pre-shooting feature started recording, and these 4 shots were captured before the shutter was fully pressed. The peak moment happened to be the first shot recorded.
Shot 5: The cat landed just at the moment I got to full press.
Shots 5 and 6: These are the shots captured after full press. If not for pre-shooting, they would have been the only shots of the jump recorded.
How to enable pre-shooting
Step 1
Locate and select “RAW burst mode” in the SHOOT (red) menu. The tab number depends on the camera model.
Step 2
Select “Enable”.
Step 3
Once RAW burst mode is enabled, the pre-shooting function becomes available. Select it to enable it.
Find out more about how RAW burst mode and pre-shooting work and how to use them in:
Camera FAQ: What are RAW Burst and Pre-shooting?
Bonus tip: What are the best times for cat photography?
When are they most active?
Cats are the most active when the temperature is comfortable: not too cold, not too hot.
In hot weather, they are more active in the evening and at night. You probably won’t see them as much in the day: they are more likely to be catnapping somewhere cosy.
In countries with four seasons, they are active throughout the day during spring and autumn when the weather is milder. Their winter behaviour is the opposite of summer: they will prowl around or bask in the sun in the afternoon, but be curled up somewhere warm at night.
Recommendations for photogenic actions?
Most cats will groom themselves right after a meal. For a start, try taking burst sequences of them as they are doing so. You will probably come away with lots of interesting moments, especially if your camera has very fast high-speed continuous shooting capabilities like the EOS R8’s maximum 40 frames per second.
More cat photography tips and ideas in:
Cat Photography: Catchlights and Other Tips for Lively, Adorable Kitten Portraits
Ideas for Photographing Cats in Outdoor Settings
3 Ideas for Cute Cat Photos
5 Pet Photography Tips for Better Cat Portraits
About the Author
A monthly magazine that believes that enjoyment of photography will increase the more one learns about camera functions. It delivers news on the latest cameras and features and regularly introduces various photography techniques.
Published by Impress Corporation
Named one of Tokyo Camera Club’s “10 Viral Photographers of 2020”, cat photographer Miyoshi hopes to show the world the charm of rescue cats through his photography hobby.
Instagram: @ryostory1124
