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Todays question is shooting black cats
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Dec 27, 2016 10:37:32   #
bdk Loc: Sanibel Fl.
 
I was asked to come to a shelter and just shoot the black cats.
Im told they cant get a good pic of black cats, they say the never look good. They just use pop up flash on a point and shoot

so IM taking my soft box and the small softbox that fits my speedlight and im going to give it a try.

anyone have any suggestions on other lighting, positioning the lights etc...
and of course IM sure some of you will suggest heavy gloves, or bolting the equipment to the floor when the cat takes off from the flash...

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Dec 27, 2016 10:43:17   #
boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander
 
2 suggestions. Use a grey card for metering, and whenever possible, natural light

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Dec 27, 2016 10:46:59   #
TheDman Loc: USA
 
Make sure your background is on the darker side.

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Dec 27, 2016 10:47:56   #
BebuLamar
 
Don't bother to meter! Just shoot, chimp, adjust and shoot again.

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Dec 27, 2016 10:53:51   #
Marionsho Loc: Kansas
 
bdk wrote:
I was asked to come to a shelter and just shoot the black cats.
Im told they cant get a good pic of black cats, they say the never look good. They just use pop up flash on a point and shoot

so IM taking my soft box and the small softbox that fits my speedlight and im going to give it a try.

anyone have any suggestions on other lighting, positioning the lights etc...
and of course IM sure some of you will suggest heavy gloves, or bolting the equipment to the floor when the cat takes off from the flash...
I was asked to come to a shelter and just shoot th... (show quote)


You will need to add exposure so the cats will look black as apposed to gray.
Have fun.

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Dec 27, 2016 10:54:10   #
Marionsho Loc: Kansas
 
BebuLamar wrote:
Don't bother to meter! Just shoot, chimp, adjust and shoot again.



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Dec 27, 2016 10:58:41   #
Kuzano
 
No flash
Open compensation 1.5 to 2 stops to make black truly black. Without compensation black cats will be grey.

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Dec 27, 2016 10:59:36   #
cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA
 
The proper way to shoot a black cat is to use an incident light meter and/or make a shot that includes a grey target and adjust in Lr. Exposure is more important with straight black or straight white or you will not get what you want. Chimping will not work anywhere near as well.

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Dec 27, 2016 11:17:14   #
burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC
 
bdk wrote:
I was asked to come to a shelter and just shoot the black cats.
Im told they cant get a good pic of black cats, they say the never look good. They just use pop up flash on a point and shoot

so IM taking my soft box and the small softbox that fits my speedlight and im going to give it a try.

anyone have any suggestions on other lighting, positioning the lights etc...
and of course IM sure some of you will suggest heavy gloves, or bolting the equipment to the floor when the cat takes off from the flash...
I was asked to come to a shelter and just shoot th... (show quote)


Use flash or PHOTO GRADE CFL or LED lights in large soft boxes. The light needs to wrap around the hair shafts so they shine. Meter a calibration target or use an incident flash meter that is precisely calibrated to your camera. DO NOT METER THE CAT. Use a custom white balance off a gray card or a One Shot Digital Calibration Target.

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Dec 27, 2016 11:21:26   #
rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA
 
Bring treats.

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Dec 27, 2016 12:36:24   #
rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin
 
boberic wrote:
2 suggestions. Use a grey card for metering, and whenever possible, natural light

If you don't have a grey card, try metering using a grey cat...

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Dec 27, 2016 12:46:43   #
Yackers Loc: Norfolk, UK
 
My preference would be to shoot the cats indoors. I would keep the flash on camera, point it upwards to bounce it and use it in TTL mode. When I take photos of animals I like to be free to move around (closer to/away from/to the side of) to vary the shots. Using the flash in TTL allows me to do this and not have to faff around setting the flash power manually. I wouldn't use a softbox and point it directly at the cats as this is likely to "wash them out".

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Dec 27, 2016 12:53:54   #
bdk Loc: Sanibel Fl.
 
So far I'll shoot my grey card first, and I'll bring my largest soft box, but I dont have LED lights for it, which has been on my list of things to get.... I do have 4 large CFL lights which would come to about 600 watts, I'll set them up and take out the strobe, any other suggestions? what about background colors? They have Maroon and dark blue, I have brown , white, black, grey, and camo , of course the black is out.......

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Dec 27, 2016 13:04:26   #
Golden Rule Loc: Washington State
 
I have a tuxedo cat so her white chest helps but I have used one or two soft boxes to get some highlights to dance off her black fur. A dark background is challenging but can look really nice. I have also used a very light background and that makes the shoot easier to adjust my camera settings. I would take some test shots and chimp.

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Dec 27, 2016 18:10:01   #
Marionsho Loc: Kansas
 
rgrenaderphoto wrote:
Bring treats.


Good idea.
And a noise maker, like a bell or clicker, to get the cat attention right before you click the shutter.

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