Scoodles
Sep, 2016Views
255
Likes
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 20 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Top 20 rank
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo in my living room. Photography is a hobby of mine, and sometimes, I just walk around the house and take pictures of my pets.Time
I don't remember the exact time of day but I do remember that it was midafternoon.Lighting
The year before I had gotten some great but noisy images of my pets against the same window making their fur seem highlighted. A storm outside had cleared allowing the sun to shine through our huge westward facing window and I wanted to shoot from a different angle. My kittens loved to bask in the sun so I just position myself where I liked the interaction between the light and shadows the best and started shooting.Equipment
This was shot on a Nikon D5200 with an 85mm lens. I also intentionally laid down a blue quilt to match the cat's eyes. No other equipment was used.Inspiration
I really love the challenge of animal photography. You can't tell an animal what you want so you never know what you will get. In high school, I lived on a farm with many different species and photographed them frequently. When it comes to this picture, Scoodles was a kitten from the fourth or fifth litter of kittens his mom had had. I simply wanted to take pictures of them before they went to new homes. However, Scoodles stole our hearts and still lives happily at my mother's farm.Editing
In high school, I didn't have any access to editing programs like lightroom or photoshop so I often made little adjustments using whatever photo editing program came free with my windows program at the time. Looking at the image I definitely boosted the contrast a bit as well as the highlights.In my camera bag
Photography is an expensive hobby, the equipment of which has been entirely gifted to me by relatives. I have my Nikon D5200 body along with a 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, and 75-300mm lenses. I haven't felt a pressing need for much else other than a decent tripod and larger zoom lens for wildlife photography.Feedback
Cats can be tricky subjects if they are not accustomed to being models for portraits. I know a lot of photographers taking pet portraits who struggle to get good pictures in studios. I vastly prefer going to the animal's natural environment. All of my cat photography has been at the house or barn of the subject. That being said, you have less control over the aesthetic of the photo if you aren't in a studio. Considerations such as giving the cat/kitten a quilt that matches their eyes can help make a photo stand out. At the end of the day, when working with any animal, it is just important to shoot from the vantage point that makes the animal as comfortable as possible while keeping in consideration the interaction of the surrounding light on the animal's fur, scales, feathers, etc.
