look at my gorgeous furbaby!

cameragirl21 wrote: so i told you all that we had a big cancer scare with my furbaby which luckily is over and she is happy and healthy. so as a gift, i decided to make some custom notecards for the internist who found that she doesn't have cancer, using a picture of my cat and customizing them with her name, etc as this is a product that i offer my clients.
so i opted to take some new pictures, as opposed to using pictures i've already taken, so check out this pic of my beauty!

seriously, have you EVER seen such a beautiful redhead, ever?!
so here's where i have a slight dilemma--i took the pic on my bed, where she was chilling and put my black background behind her so i wouldn't get the headboard and anything else in the room in the pictures. i really like the black background, my ga really likes the white background...i'm thinking of making the white sheets black, so all you see is black and her. my ga prefers to make it all white. what do you all think? or do you like it with both colors?
and really, isn't she a beauty? i keep telling her that if i were just half as cute as she is, i could rule this world...idk if i'd want to do that but if i looked that good i bet i could....

gr33n3y3z replied: I hate cats but your furbaby is so pretty and those eyes she has

Kaitlin'smom replied: she is a beauty, glad she is okay I had 2 cats die of cancer

in answer to your question I guess I would have to see it to really decide, I do like the idea of black better it woudl rally make her pop, but the white might be nice, guess I am really not much help huh?

Calimama replied: She's pretty! I like the all black idea.

Sam & Abby's Mom replied: She's a beauty !

I'd say all black or part black and part white - like it is now.
For some reason, I cant picture the all white looking that great.

Good luck.

gr33n3y3z replied: I like the pic the way it is
And how old is your furbaby? she looks like a baby

cameragirl21 replied:
believe it or not, she's 12...doesn't she still look like a kitten? especially in that picture.
i think we are going to keep the pic the way it is because i prefer the black to all white and if i make it all black, because of the position she's sitting in, it will look like she's flying in outer space so we'll keep the black and the white.
thanks for your kind words about her, everyone, i'm so relieved she is healthy.

Kaitlin'smom replied: Wow 12 she looks really young, my oldest cat is 12 also, but she looks more like 12 than yours does. I do love that picture.

grapfruit replied: She's beautiful! My kitty wouldn't of sat still to put up the background like that...also you wouldn't be able to see him since he's jet black!

Speaking of which. Do you have any tips on taking pictures of him?? I have a heck of a time making them look nice. Usually you can't see any features. If you want I'll post a picture of him so you can see what I mean.

cameragirl21 replied:
yes, please post a pic and i'll give you some tips. there is a trick to photographing animals.

Kaitlin'smom replied: forgot to ask whats your kittys b-day? my oldest is May 8th 1995, or there abouts we are nto sure the exact day she was born just approx what week so we picked the day

cameragirl21 replied:
i found her Memorial Day weekend 12 years ago and she looked to be about 3-4 weeks old so i estimate her bday to be 30 April, 1995 but idk for sure. so yeah, i picked the day also, just based on estimates. it's hard to believe i've had her for so long, seems like just yesterday i brought her home.
ETA--i forgot to ask, how many cats do you have, Di? i remember you mentioning a Calico and some others. you seem to like cats. i was more of a dog person till i got my cat.
maybe you could post some pics of your furbabies as well.

Kaitlin'smom replied: I currently have 3

Tia is 12 she is a gray tiger
Staci is 9 she is a long hair black with white under belly (dh calles her the tuxedo cat) she was rescued from an empty store.
Cami is 6 she is the calico

I will post some pics of them, I dont think I have any on my work computer.

I only ever had fish growing up, yes I do love my cats even when they are a royal PITA. I guess you could say we all have our own, Tia is mine (she took to me) Staci is DH's he was the one who brought her home, and Cami adopted Kaitlin, she is so gental to her and will aloow her to pick her up and carry her around and she has never tried to claw her, she kinda go limp when Kait carries her, but if DH tries the same thing she uses her rear claws to get down.

grapfruit replied: Here's two. I don't have any good "full body shots" on this computer.








edited b/c I ALWAYS choose the wrong code!

cameragirl21 replied:
oh, that's a gorgeous cat, i LOVE black cats, they were my faves till i got my cat and when i did, everyone was surprised i didn't get a black cat but then again, she came into my life and i didn't get to choose colors.
ok, does s/he go outside? a cat like that is best photographed either in the grass or on a slab of concrete, without too many distractions from the background.
if s/he is strictly indoor, as my cat is, then get a gray background, all you have to do is go to the fabric store and buy a piece (about 4 foot by 4 foot) of gray or cream colored velvet...velvet works best, i pretty much only use velvet backgrounds.
put him/her on your bed (or something similar) and drape the velvet over the head board. open alll the window shades so you don't need flash because i can see the glare of the flash on your cat and it looks harsh on black fur. i did use flash in my pic but i bounced if off a dark (wooden planks) ceiling with a lightsphere attachment and a diffusion filter so you can't see the flash on my cat and it didn't flash in her eyes, thereby distracting her.
don't force him/her to pose, just set the background and lighting and then put him/her into place and let him/her just hang out and then take pictures while your cat chills. that's how i get most of my shots of my cat.
let me know if you have any other questions.
and Di, that is so cute how each of your cats is attached to someone in the house. a cat is usually a person's familiar, like a black cat is to a witch.
can't wait to see pics of your cats too.

grapfruit replied: Jennifer, thanks for the help! I will try the grey background, that should look better b/c it wouldn't be as contrasty as a white might be, right? And yes, he's usually an indoor only kitty, especially right now w/3 HUGE hawks flying around the neighborhood!

I'll post them if I ever get some good ones.

Last question. To get the short depth of field, you use a larger apature setting right? Like F 1/8 or 1/4 or something?? Am I remembering that right, something like a F 1/22 is going to give you a large depth of field, so thus "all sharp" right?? That always trips me up!! I'm still figuring out my new digital camera (just a "cheapy") so I have to figure out how to make it manual.

I took way better pictures w/a manual Nixon SLR (film) camera. Of course you get a "second chance" to doctor somewhat in the dark room. It frustrates me b/c I can't seem to get the same quality out of my digital. Maybe it'll be different when Tim buys his "good" digital....*grumble, $1300 later*

momtoMegan&Alyxandria replied:
So does that mean Casey is a witch? She is so gonna smack me.




So sorry Casey I couldn't resist.

cameragirl21 replied:
i took that picture at iso (film speed equivalent) 400, shutter speed 1/60, aperture F4. If you want a more blurry background, open your aperture more, i rarely go below 2.8 but on occasion I'll go that low, you won't even have much of a background to speak of. remember i also used a manual flash unit, bounced off the ceiling.
if you have an SLR and a manual flash unit, this works best, just bounce the flash off the ceiling, do not point it directly at your subject, especially if you don't have any form of diffusion over it. it is way too harsh for that, particularly for indoor use.
definitely do not use white, it's WAY too stark. notice in my pic, the sheets are not entirely white, they're more off white. be careful when putting white and black together like that, it's always on the stark side.
i was thinking, maybe instead of gray, try cream or an oatmeal color (like beige)...it will be more lively, the gray and the black may give your pic a somber feel and since there is a stigma with black cats, it may not be as warm and inviting.
also, try not to shoot too close, your cat will relax more and you'll get better shots. don't get me wrong, i was right on the bed with her but i wasn't all up in her face.
please post the pics after you've taken them, i can't wait to see them!
btw, regarding your film vs digital issues--i personally get even better results from digital because it gives me a creative latitude that i could never get from film...if you have a good camera, you'll achieve the same effects. of course it's not just the camera, it's the lens, the filters, the flash, etc...just to give you an idea, the equipment i used to take that pictures comes to well over 6 thousand dollars!
but it's worth it to me if i can get pics like that!
the cheapy point and shoots are never going to get you the same results, they're not made for that purpose. when you have a black cat, it is always harder to capture detail because of the way the light captures his features. pull out your old Nikon, i'll bet you'll get better results. i don't even carry a cheapy, when i travel on vacation (as opposed to business, in which case i bring the good stuff) the cheapy i bring with me (because i worry my good stuff will get stolen) costs over $1800! and that's just the camera, not including lenses, etc. and i don't even use the camera in my cell phone, don't even know how, you get spoiled by good quality.
what kind of camera is your guy getting?

cameragirl21 replied:
the way i see it, every woman has at least a little bit of witch in her, especially when she gets her magic groove thang on....

grapfruit replied:
I'm so walking up there and smacking you!!

grapfruit replied: He is looking at the Nikon D80. He likes a couple of the other ones (can't remember which) but for an "entry level" he's settled on this one. Of course Nikon b/c we already have three lenses, really don't want to go through getting more of those!!

I love his Nikon. We picked it up for $30 at an auction and it take awesome pictures. I can show you a couple (I'll have to scan them obviously). They're not near as good as yours (I only took one class), but I think they turned out ok. I had a great time in the class, but man, it was seriously the hardest A I think I ever earned. You certainly have my respect.

momtoMegan&Alyxandria replied:
I said sorry. Oh, and I haven't seen you up here yet.

cameragirl21 replied:
well, i never studied photography in a class, i am pretty much entirely self taught. it's all about experimentation and that's where my cat has always been a great subject--everytime i buy a new lens or a new anything, really, i always test it out by taking pics of her!
it's not easy and tbh, i still struggle with the technical side of it sometimes, i am way more artistic than technical and if it's a subject that interests you then don't ever let one class get in the way of your dreams.
i have always preferred canon to nikon but if you already have the lenses then it makes more sense to get another nikon. both are good, it all comes down to preference.
i'd love to see some of your pics, please post them.

momtoMegan&Alyxandria replied: Jennifer your cat is adorable. I had an orange tabby that looked a lot like that. But he was huge. I love cats. I have a dog now though. DH hates cats, so we won't have one. I wish we could though.

cameragirl21 replied:
is your dog a german shepherd? i saw the pic of the puppy in your siggy and was thinking it looks like a german shepherd. i had a german shepherd growing up and loved that dog more than anything. i would love to have a dog but i travel too much...one of these days.
cats are easier for those who travel a lot.

momtoMegan&Alyxandria replied:
Well, she is 1/4 German Shephard. Her other 3/4 are Siberian Husky, Australian Shephard, and Bordie Collie. She is a good dog. She is only 5 months old. I really need to get updated pictures of her. She has changed alot. Still has the German Shephard coloring though. We need to start a post (have it pinned) for pics of our pets. Any idea on how that's done?