by Judy Lin

Created on: May 31, 2007

I've been taking photographs of my cats for almost four months now; they have a loose fan club online that makes regular demands to see their photos, so I take a few pictures once a month, and post the best ones. What makes for a good pictures?

First: NO FLASH. The cats squint when there's a flash, which makes them look evil and not at all the bright-eyed cuties that they are. I compensate for this by turning on every single light source in the apartment, but the exposure time is still in the range of full seconds. When I photograph my parents' dog, I do everything I can to flood the place with light, but it also helps to have a treat in my hand to get him to stay still. Occasionally, I will use an indirect flash, but on this point I'm relatively inexperienced so there's not much I can say on this.

I confess, though, sometimes I do use a flash, but those photographs are ones in which the cats are actively playing, and there's no way I can get it to sit still long enough. I prefer not to use the flash, though, because it really brings out how drab my apartment's carpeting is...but that's another story.

Second: the background should be as simple as possible. This is more of a guideline than an actual rule-I have some very cute photographs of my parents' calico sprawled amongst a pile of stuffed animals. But generally speaking, unless you're going for a more complex composition, your pet should be noticed first, not the pink trash can (also a mistake of mine) or the messy bed. Most photographs of pets have the animal front and center, but don't be afraid to experiment with interesting compositions. Some of the most dramatic shots I've taken were ones where the cat is in a corner and the rest of the photograph is taken up by the window it's sitting in.

Third: Get down on their level. For cats, this means lying on the floor and following them around until the "eureka" moment arrives. For dogs, you could probably sit on the floor. The most compelling shots of animals are usually the ones where the camera is level with the subject.

Fourth: lots and lots of patience. Kids, cats, and dogs are ingenious at figuring out when you want them to sit still and then refusing to do it. Unless you've got your dog or cat circus-trained, it's probably easier just to follow them around than to get them to pose. If you're adamant about posing the cat or dog, get everything set up first-the background, the lighting, the camera settings-so that you can, essentially, drop the pet into the scene and click.

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