I’ve been busy this month. Refining an idea for a colouring book, taking an online course, plus I have a full-time job … yeah. A lot of stuff is going on.
I am still taking pictures! Today I have photographs of some special kitty cats to share.
There are many things that a photographer hates to hear. one of them is “It’s because you have a great camera. I could take pictures like you if I had your camera.”
Yes, I do have a great camera. A Canon Rebel SL1
But would you go up to a painter and say “It’s because you have a great paintbrush. I could paint pictures like you if I had your paintbrush.”? No! You need a little more than a good camera.
My formal photography training was a course in college. I learned about composition, lighting, developing, printing … all in black and white. On film. We learned everything, from taking the photoos to developing and printing them ourselves. This was a few years before digital cameras entered the marketplace.
Since then, I soak up lessons online and I experiment a lot. One of the great things about digital cameras is that you don’t waste whole rolls of film. I had the disappoint experience of not correctly loading 35mm film into my camera. Two or three times, I would go to the photo lab, eager to pick up my prints, only to be told that the roll was blank.
Enough about the history of photography. One of the best things you can learn is lighting. I prefer natural lighting. Flashes can flatten your subject and remove detail.
Sid here demonstrates the importance of lighting with cats. Natural lighting brings out the many shades of his fur. (I can attest that is soft and fluffy fur.)
Another tip is to get down to the cat’s level. This sweet miss is my youngest kitty, Hermione. She is the most patient of my cats when it comes to posing for photos. But it’s still hard to get her to look at the camera. I have to make weird noises to catch her attention.
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