This little cat has been hanging out in the parking lot of my building for about three years now. His name is Shamuni and he’s a quiet, affectionate little boy who is adored by all the neighbors (except the ones who hate cats). I love taking photos of cats, but he rarely stands still long enough to get a decent shot, and when he does, he’s usually purring against my leg. But for once, he gave me the perfect opportunity, and here’s the shot.
Composing the Perfect Cat Image in Okinawa
There are lots of stray cats in Okinawa. Some of them hang out by the ocean, or other scenic places where framing up a passable shot is just a matter of pointing the camera. But not all cats inhabit such opulent surroundings. Most just claim whatever nooks and crannies they can find, which most often consist of little hidey-holes between buildings or temporary lodgings under parked cars. This can render them difficult to shoot.
Of course, this is not to say they never present themselves in ways that make for shots worthy of the cat edition of National Geographic. Yes, I know there’s no cat edition of National Geographic, but there should be, and my work should be featured on its cover. But in all seriousness, while shooting in parking lots does not offer the same scenic punch as beaches, parks or rustic laneways, there is still a lot of story to be told by framing street cats in their element amid mundane objects in innovative ways.
Shoot from a Low Angle
Cats are tiny compared to humans. That means, if we shoot them from a standing or even a kneeling position, we’re shooting down at them. Framed from above, the background will always be something like pavement or grass, or perhaps the hood of a car. In other words, nothing interesting.
That’s why when I shoot cats, I try to get down low. I don’t kneel. I lay right down on my belly. Sometimes the camera body is right on the ground. If the cat’s head is close to the ground, my lens might be right on the ground too. This allows for significantly more interesting backgrounds, and often greater depth and texture in the frame. This shot is an example of exactly what I mean.
Shoot Through Something
Background is vital and the red car adds color and tells a lot of story, but in my opinion, what really makes this shot is the bicycle in the foreground. On top than providing another layer of visual interest, it speaks eloquently of the cat’s daily environment. The fact that it’s out of focus allows it to be present without being distracting or competing with the main subject of the image.
It isn’t always possible to frame every shot with soft foreground, but when the opportunity presents itself, it can turn a relatively bland shot into photographic gold. The object can be a branch, a stone, a tire or anything in the environment. Just make sure it helps to tell the story of the image instead of just getting in the way.
This was shot on my Canon 5D Mk4 with a Tamron 70-200mm lens. It is lightly cropped, meaning it was framed almost exactly as you see, with some minor straightening. I wasn’t much more than 2m from the subject and I was laying on the concrete.
Dealing with Camera Shake
It can be difficult to hold a camera with a large lens steady in this posture, so some shots were throw-aways owing to camera shake. Fortunately, I took many shots, always in bursts using multiple-shot mode. The lens is quite good at counteracting movement, and it’s 3rd VC (vibration control) setting give it several stops of power. This was a vital feature because I was shooting at full 200mm zoom at 1/30sec shutter speed. I couldn’t go much faster because the aperture was already wide open at f/2.8 and I didn’t want to compromise the clarity of the image with too much noise from the sensor and other electronics. So, on top of doing my best to hold still, the VC capabilities of the lens were most welcome.
Focus and Depth of Field
This image has a fairly shallow focus. At such a close focal distance, the depth of field is barely a centimeter, and the tiniest ‘miss’ amounts to a culled shot. This makes acquiring focus vital. To make sure I got at least one National Geographic quality image, I purposely focused on something else, then reacquired focus on the subject between bursts in order to give the camera a chance to focus precisely on the cat’s eyes. This reacquisition technique helps prevent the disastrous situation in which a whole series of dozens of frames has to be thrown out because not a single one is in perfect focus.
Finishing the Image in Post Processing
This image has a fairly shallow focus. At such a close focal distance, the depth of field is barely a centimeter, and the tiniest ‘miss’ amounts to a culled shot. This makes acquiring focus vital. To make sure I got at least one National Geographic quality image, I purposely focused on something else, then reacquired focus on the subject between bursts in order to give the camera a chance to focus precisely on the cat’s eyes. This reacquisition technique helps prevent the disastrous situation in which a whole series of dozens of frames has to be thrown out because not a single one is in perfect focus.
Final Remarks
Post processing is important for any image, but when shooting street cats, 95% of the image is in the acquisition. Sometimes it takes a lot of shooting to even one keeper, and I’ve thrown out entire series of dozens of images that just didn’t cut it, either for creative or technical reasons.
Good photographers shoot a lot. Great photographers shoot even more. The best photographers throw out the most, partially because their standards super strict, and partially because they shoot so much that they don’t have time to process, let alone publish everything they acquire.
I don’t know if I’m a ‘great’ photographer, but I think I’ve got a winner in this image, and I hope talking about my process will help you get even better results than you do now.
Editor’s Note: This image was taken close to Awase Seawall. I cannot identify the building because the neither the landlord nor the agency are ‘cat friendly,’ so I will provide a map to the general area. It’s a great place to photograph cats.
Awase Seawall
Map link to Awase Seawall where the image was shot.
Google Maps Link to Awase Seawall
