Tips on photographing young cats?

[praline3001]

I love photographing our kittens. They are so much fun and they work for cat treats which is a heck of a lot cheaper then what my kids charge!

I know I need to crank up my shutter speed but are there any other tips for photographing young cats? I just tried to take photos of them playing with the Da bird and not one of them came out. For those who don't have cats, the Da bird is the best toy but its a serious action toy. My kittens leap a good 4 feet off the ground and *fly* to get to it. Being young, they are quick with their movements and most of my photos show the tail with the rest a blur or mostly off camera lol

Here is a photo example of the action. I took this photo back when they were still little on my G10. Now when the Da bird comes out its like a rodeo lol
Da Bird | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

What are some of the things you do when photographing any young, very active animal?

[wulf]

Set a trap! If you control where the toy starts, you can focus on that area so then all you have to do is release the kitten and start snapping when it gets in the zone. If you are trying to compose, focus and get the exposure right it becomes much harder to capture the action.

Wulf

[praline3001]

Thanks Wulf. I tried the staging/trap thing and it doesn't work with this particular toy.

The toy is on a fishing pole and dances (via person holding it) all over the place on fishing line. When the feathers move, they make a very soft whirling sound, much like a small bird or dragon fly. This is what creates the rodeo effect.

My kittens are 7 months old and WILD with this toy. They will jump off the top of the couch to try and grab this thing.

Here is a link someone did about Da bird. There is a youtube video with it. These cats are old and lazy however. My young things attempt to hit the ceiling.
Da Bird Cat Toy

I am not good enough to get the shot without massive blur. I am going to wait a few more weeks when it warms up and take them outside (on their leashes) and attempt it with outdoor lighting.

[wulf]

If the toy moves over quite an area, you just need to get a greater depth of field. Use a calculator to figure out how to get the DoF you need by adjusting aperture and distance from the "trap". You might find that the latter approach, moving further away is a better choice. You've got 14.7 megapixels to play with, which means you can still get a decent sized final result by cropping. You can also try pushing the ISO up - if the final result is well exposed, then you can go beyond the lowest setting without bad side effects.

Wulf

[arlon]

I like to use a 50mm f1.4 or 55mm f1.2 on a D700 near wide open with the ISO cranked around 1600 so I can catch them in as natural of light as possible. Then sometimes by the time I get the camera the action is over. )-:}





Take LOTS of shots and eventually you'll get that perfect one with an unusual expression. I favor the shotgun approach.

[praline3001]

That's an adorable photo!

I am pretty good at catching them when they are sleeping. I am also good at getting shots of our 16 year old cat. Its my daughter's two adorable kittens from hell that give me such issue. They never learned to walk..just run 100mph.

I am still really new to photography and limited on talent I do have the 50mm 1.4 lens.

I tried it once and couldn't get spot on with the focus. I am working some things through my head and taking what Wulf said and putting it into practice.

I am going to set up a studio area with my new backdrop cloth. I am going to try and have one of my kids standing behind the cloth with the Da Bird and swinging it out that way. I am going to pull out as far as I can and go with as closed aperture as possible ~ something like f/10 maybe. I am also going to set up several desk lamps and a few floor lamps near this area to help with the f/10. Then I am going to try and use the shutter speed as fast as will allow with ISO at 400/800.
Of course these numbers will totally depend on the set up and checking the lighting once its set up. This way I can just keep snapping until I get one of them in the shot lol

[arlon]

Maybe use some CHEAP remote flashes too. I use those $8 IR slave remotes from ebay on any old flea market hot shoe flash I can find. They work great and breath new life into old flashes for very cheap. There is also the cheap 110v variety that simply screws into any light socket you can find (I use those aluminum clamp on trouble lights from the hardware store). Haven't tried them on the cats but the have worked well on freezing the motion of humming birds. I think you are going to need a LOT of light to freeze the cats in motion and get enough DOF for sharp images. Maybe shoot for them at the top of their trajectory where motion will be at it's minimum. Good luck and do post up some results!