Todays question is shooting black cats
Dec 28, 2016 08:43:56 #
Dec 28, 2016 08:44:53 #
Lots of tips concerning the cat, but cats won't pose for you, and the younger the cat, the quicker and more frequent they move. Take some sort of 'flippy' toy attached to a long (2 or 3 feet). Hopefully you can get his attention long enough to snap a reasonably good picture. There are pros that specialize in cat photography and, in my opinion, they earn their fee.
Dec 28, 2016 09:28:25 #
If you are using an incident flash exposure meter your exposures should be right on. If you use ambient light close 1 stop from the exposure indicated by your meter and check the histogram.
Dec 28, 2016 09:34:34 #
catchlight..
Loc: Wisconsin USA- Halden Norway
"I was asked to come to a shelter and just shoot the black cats." Sounds inhumane to me...lol
Here's something to consider...
If you want to get the exposure perfect in camera and not worry about post-processing, you can fill in the shadows by using a reflector (this can even be a piece of white cardboard) to bounce light toward your subject and fill in the shadows. This is a way to bring in just a touch of soft light to break up the contrast and let the details stand out.
Use a softbox as a slight filler if needed but the reflector is most effective when used up close will bring out the detail.
A Flash used alone will change the texture of your subject’s coat depending on how specular or diffused your light source is. It will add distractions and catch the shiny highlights of the coat, the wet nose and create nasty catchlights on the eyes.
Here's something to consider...
If you want to get the exposure perfect in camera and not worry about post-processing, you can fill in the shadows by using a reflector (this can even be a piece of white cardboard) to bounce light toward your subject and fill in the shadows. This is a way to bring in just a touch of soft light to break up the contrast and let the details stand out.
Use a softbox as a slight filler if needed but the reflector is most effective when used up close will bring out the detail.
A Flash used alone will change the texture of your subject’s coat depending on how specular or diffused your light source is. It will add distractions and catch the shiny highlights of the coat, the wet nose and create nasty catchlights on the eyes.
Dec 28, 2016 09:39:47 #
bdk wrote:
I was asked to come to a shelter and just shoot th... (show quote)
Use spot or center focus and adjust. Watch your histogram so the cat is not so black you can't recover in post. I'm sure the lights will piss off the cats. Use a tripod, set it to manual for shutter and aperture and use auto ISO. You can manually set your ISO but once you move to another cat, the light may be different and you spend you time playing with settings and potentially missing the shot. let the camera do the work. I would imagine you would want the aperture wide open f/2.8 or 4.0 to minimize DOF, and shutter speed to cover any movement. Spot focus on the face or eyes.
Dec 28, 2016 10:02:24 #
You might try to spot meter for their eyes. Black cats typically have yellow or green eyes that could get blown out if the camera is metering for their black fur. Also, make sure the flash is off camera to avoid the feline version of red-eye.
Dec 28, 2016 10:18:27 #
1Feathercrest
Loc: NEPA
Use natural light. Black cats photograph very well for their contrast with whatever white fur that they contain. Tuxedo cats are a joy to photographically capture.
Dec 28, 2016 10:23:55 #
In the medical literature there is a paper on clinical photography of black skinned subjects by Salthouse TN in Med Biol Illus 8:150-159 (1958). The basic finding was that texture lighting was essential and to bring out any changes in surface topography as increased exposure will generally not reveal any more detail. A lot of the variation in tone and color in light colored skin is from light which has penetrated the outer layers of the skin (dermis and epidermis which includes the pigmented "layer" and is then reflected back, off the vessels and other tissues in subcutis).In black cats the only things to show are the major anatomic features of the body e.g. shape of head and as so nicely pointed out in the above posting, hair.
Dec 28, 2016 11:01:01 #
Gene51 wrote:
That only works with negative media. If you are using the camera's spot meter on the cat's fur, then you would remove up to one stop to bring the value of the black fur down from gray.
Reflective readings off black cats are unreliable. A gray card is a reliable reference.
I've used two large umbrellas and two large white reflectors with good luck. Some cats tolerate flash quite well. Others recoil from it and go berserk. I prefer CFL.
Dec 28, 2016 11:07:39 #
1Feathercrest wrote:
Use natural light. Black cats photograph very well for their contrast with whatever white fur that they contain. Tuxedo cats are a joy to photographically capture.
I "own" one, or serve him, not sure which. He's lots of fun to photograph. Outside on a completely cloudy day, the light "wraps around" all the fur strands for maximum texture and definition. Indoors, large sources do the same.
Dec 28, 2016 11:12:21 #
I do shelter photos weekly and the black cat is absolutely the hardest to shoot. My background is an off white and I use a Rogue flash bender. Even with this set up I still need to use Adobe camera RAW with fill light to get detail from the cats. My camera set up is ISO 320 1/200 f9 on my D810. I hope this helps. One of the worst cases for me is for two black cats to be in the same "condo" and I have to let them know which cat is which. The all look a like. Keep the focus sharp and you will do great.
Dec 28, 2016 11:18:04 #
ole sarg
Loc: south florida
All of the above is good advice, my question is how are you going to get the cat(s) to stay still and in one place?
Dec 28, 2016 11:18:57 #
Rick from NY
Loc: Sarasota FL
WessoJPEG wrote:
Shoot in black and white. Problem solved.
Not sure if you were being "tongue in cheek", but in case you were not, the same exposure rules would be required in either B+W or color. Even in B+W, a black cat will look gray if one allows the in camera meter to expose the frame. Look at an Ansel Adams photograph and observe the many, many shades of black.
Dec 28, 2016 11:19:53 #
Rick from NY
Loc: Sarasota FL
ole sarg wrote:
All of the above is good advice, my question is how are you going to get the cat(s) to stay still and in one place?
Taxidermy?
Dec 28, 2016 11:23:42 #
ole sarg wrote:
All of the above is good advice, my question is how are you going to get the cat(s) to stay still and in one place?
You don't! You wait patiently for the cat to strike a pose.
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