Capturing Perfect Cat Photos

A few weeks ago, I borrowed a Canon 6D with a pair of very awesome Canon lenses from our friends at RentGlass.com to take along on a road trip. Within a few days, I’d landed in Boulder, Colorado, waking up next to my friends’ adorably sweet cats. Like any other pet nut with a fancy camera would do, I had a photo shoot.

Having a dog, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when snapping perfect cat photos. Ogilvy, my Great Dane, moves quick and is absurdly hyper, so clear images are a rarity. Having the time to actually set up a good photo is even more rare. These kitties, though, seemed much more chill — so I reasoned that I could apply many of the tips from our newborn photo shoot to get pretty great results.

Find good, natural light

Photos, generally, get much better when the subject is lit with natural light from a window or while outdoors. Getting Cheddar and Bacon into natural light was shockingly easy. It turned out that their favorite lounging spot, the guest room bed, was graced with beautiful sunlight each morning. So instead of having to find the light myself and get them to pose in it, I really just needed to rely on each of them to settle into a cozy, warm spot.

Adjust your angle

Standing and pointing my camera at the bed would have been an option — but it wouldn’t have achieved a stunningly unique photo. Since I didn’t have a good stool or ladder to get more height, I opted to bend lower so that the camera was on the same level as the kitties. This made the bed the “floor” of my image and allowed the curtains, wall art and headboard to frame in the scene in the background.

In some photos, like when Bacon decided to stand tall — my lower angle also gave the cats a very regal look.

Or, when I did stand slightly higher, Cheddar looked upward into the camera making her look cute and snuggly.

As with most shoots, we recommend taking a number of photos from a variety of angles so that you have plenty to choose from when editing later.

Be patient

Catching the perfect photo of your cat can take quite a bit of time. I quickly learned that Bacon and Cheddar, while happy to lay on the bed, weren’t the least bit interested in being forced to pose together. Several failed attempts at trying to keep them side-by-side eventually resulted in me giving up and opting to take beautiful photos of their natural poses instead.

Be ready

Thankfully, cats move a bit slower than my giant puppy. However, they’re still animals and they don’t understand posing for a camera. Even before I decided to do a photo shoot with the two, I snapped a few photos of Cheddar waking up next to me in bed. Keep in mind that the perfect photo may come at a moment that you least expect. Have your camera ready and keep an open mind while editing — sometimes a little creative cropping can help you to find stunning shots from random moments.

Ultimately, don’t be afraid to get a little creative. Follow your cats around as they enjoy and relax in their day-to-day activities. Cheddar was excited to sneak through her tunnel when we finally made it out to the living room for the morning. I quickly hopped down to the floor and peeked inside to catch her in the act. The photo makes for a fun alternative shot to the more lazy day photos we caught in the sun.

This post originally appeared on Prettyography.