I always find that the perfect way to capture a moment is in a photo. With nine fantastic felines, I take a lot of photos. I have had the same camera for a couple years now and while it has been awesome, it was time for an upgrade.
I wanted a camera that was more compact and something that would take my cat photography to the next level. Thankfully, that came to me in the form of the Fuji X-A3! I used the camera’s fantastic features and options to create A Beginner’s Guide to Cat Photography. Enjoy these helpful tips!
A Beginner’s Guide to Cat Photography Tips!
Choose Your Cat Subject: Every cat has a personality. When you are beginning cat photography, it is super important to work with cats that are easier to shoot. These are usually the friendly, easy-going type of kitties.
I found with the Fuji X-A3 that taking cat photos in Macro came out gorgeously, as you can see in the close-up photo above. My cat subject was my sweet ginger kitty, Jasper and you don’t get more easy going and lovable than him!
Capture Moods: While we can attempt to elicit a particular response from a cat, it is pretty unreasonable. Cats are independent and prefer to do their own thing. You want to capture your cat in their truest form, which means letting them be themselves. If your cat is grumpy, then let them be grumpy.
If your cat feels irritated, then capture that. We all know how cute irritated ears can be, as you can see in the above photo of my cat, Figaro. He is a gorgeous Ragdoll and his moods are many! I loved that the Fuji X-A3 has a touch screen, which allowed me to “touch shoot” and “touch zoom” no matter what mood I was capturing!
Focus on Image Quality: If you are taking the time to photograph cats, you want the images to be at their very best. While leaps and bounds can be taken when it comes to editing, you still can’t achieve greatness with a poor quality photo. There are many fabulous choices out their for cameras, but I am loving my Fuji X-A3 because the quality can’t be beat.
It has a 24.2 megapixel image sensor, so it allows for outstanding image quality. Eleven film simulation modes and advanced filters also gives me more options. Soft focus and partial colour are two of my very favorite for fun effects when photographing cats!
Skill Level Minimal? No Worry! These are Cat Photography Tips For All Skill Levels!
Appreciate Details: When we think of cat photos, the first thing that comes to mind is head or full-body shots. This is great, but there is so much more to a cat than just the main features. Every aspect that makes up a cat including the tail, eyes, nose, ears, whiskers and especially paws are photo-worthy. I personally love cat paws and they are adorable to shoot.
It gives you a stylistic approach to your photos and who doesn’t love that! I like to feature my photos on my social sites as well as on the blog. The Fuji X-A3 allows for wireless communication, which means I can sync the camera photos to my phone. I can also print photos and remote-control shoot!
Add Cool Effects: The beauty of photography really is in the camera options. You can never go wrong with a fun “pop of colour” or whatever fun setting your camera can offer. My Fuji X-A3 allows for Partial Colour, so I was able to highlight my handsome cat, Jinxy, with the orange setting. The other colour options are blue, red, purple, green and yellow. This fun setting allows me to save a lot of time on editing as well!
Enjoy It: Photos are meant to be taken with passion. You want to be enjoying your cat photography so that you can take those perfect shots and grow with the craft. This isn’t meant to be a painful experience for you or your cat. I personally found that taking photos with the Fuji X-A3 allowed me to enjoy what was happening more so than usual.
I attribute this to the compact design, the awesome pink colour of the camera I chose, the ease of shooting and all the fantastic features. In summation, love your cat, love using the right camera and you will love the photos you are taking!
In the Mood for More Cat Content?
Understanding Feline Diabetes – This is an important post every cat owner should read!
All About Cat Dandruff – Cat dandruff is more common that most owners know!
Keeping Your Cat Cool – With summer on the way, make sure your cat stays cool!
Nicole Dooling says
I would totally use this to capture my “jungle house cat”
lol The kitties are beauties!
Kristen says
Awesome to hear and thank you Nicole!!!
kathy downey says
Wow,what great shot…i want to cuddle with them all
Kristen says
Thank you Kathy. They LOVE snuggles too!!!
Kim K says
I have 2 dogs and 2 cats, so definitely I would take pictures of my furry kids first.
sabina edwards says
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQGbL7yDjmt/?taken-by=ferret_binabug although I do have a fluffy butt cat, I am also a ferret mom (my daughter has moved so we have hers as well) Gizmo is our albino (he’s the alpha male) Bruce Wayne is my husbands ferret, and I have Naughty (alpha female) and Waffle (who lives on his own as he’s very timid) All of our ferrets had been previously owned by someone else and only Bruce Wayne was not renamed (we named them by their personality…NAughty previously had a anime name that I could never remember) And waffle had been found outside, abandoned.
Kristen says
I love that you are taking care of them. I am sure they are each so fantastic!!!!!
Tiffany S. says
I’d like to say that it would be of something artistic, but let’s be honest… It would be of my son!
linda cassidy says
well obviously Lou needs her picture taken… gorgeous pictures
Allie f says
My sweet kitty Maddie!
Jeannie Pratt says
I love kitty cats. I have two doggies myself and will love to win this to take as many pics of them as possible. My cheap phone camera is hideous.
LUZVIMINDA GUNTER-SMITH says
I WILL BE TAKING PICTURES OF MY FAMILY,OUR DOG, CAT AND THE OUTDOOR
.
Catherine Mellon says
We foster Rescue dogs. It seems there is always a moment that needs photographing! So that’s where most of my photo taking efforts would go.
Jennifer Lucas says
I would take a picture of my two great neices
judy says
well … my cat …of course 🙂
Valerie Darsigny says
Well I will take a picture of my beautiful 3 daughters and bring it with me on my military basic training that will be in march 🙁 lol
Cathy C says
Winter in the Capital and Winterlude is on now. Be great to take some pics of the skaters on the canal.
Sarah Jackson says
It would be my kids …im that mom ! pics pics pics lol
robin rue says
These are such great tips for someone starting out. Animals can be hard to photograph, but this is a great start.
Jeanette says
These are some really cute pictures. My husband is photographer but he has never really done any pictures of pets. It would be kind of fun to see what he come up with these are some great tips.
Stacie @ Divine Lifestyle says
Those are such great tips! I don’t have cats, but I’m sure I can use them to get some great shots of my puppies. Thanks!
Tara says
Your cats are gorgeous. You can really see their personalities shine through in your photos.
Vera Sweeney says
That’s really cool! Now I know how people are getting all of those super cute cat pics.
Amy Desrosiers says
What a great bunch of gorgeous cats! I love the eye color and fur patterns on them all.
Jenna Wood says
Great tips! Cats always have the BEST expressions, especially if you surprise them or they hear a funny/sudden noise!
Lisa Favre says
I imagine capturing the moods of cats would be so much fun. They are so full of personality – each one unique to each feline friend!
Liz Mays says
This is great advice. I’d like to be able to take more stylish shots of my cats. It’s hard to get them to stay put.
Heidi Gray says
Beautiful cats and kittens you have! The pictures are amazing too!
Claudia Krusch says
These photos are all so cute. I love to look up funny cat photos and videos online.I will have to try these tips for taking my cats photo.
Sarah says
These are some great tips. I think the hardest part of photographing a cat would be getting the cat to hold still, since cats have a mind of their own.
Kelly Hutchinson says
I have two cats and I love to take photos of them. The smaller one will run from me if I have a camera! The other, Hazel, is a big ham! She loves to post for the camera!
Nellie Blazina says
This is super interesting. I’m assuming taking pictures of Cats is just as hard if not harder than taking pictures of children. These are fantastic Tips
Jocelyn @ Hip Mama's Place says
Those are awesome tips! I’ve never tried taking a photo of a cat before and I think it’s amazing that you managed to share tips and tricks on how to get that perfect photo!
Autumn Reo says
So fun, I could look at your pics all day!
kathy downey says
Just found out today our little Turbo has arthritics real bad in his legs one of the front joints has already twisted a bit.Boy boy he was a stray born outside ,vet said that didn’t help and maybe interbreeding
Kristen says
Oh no! Turbo is such a sweet boy. Would pain medication help ease the pain?
kathy downey says
I will have to practice and get some good shots
kathy downey says
I swear my Cat knows,soon as i take that camera out he rolls on his back it hard to catch him!| lol