My Brave little Soliders. . .

[JDG]

Today I made Marty and Minou CAMOFLAUGE Bandanas. . they were very very very good sports about it. . . and as you can see they look adorable!!!

[JDG]

Sargent Marty!

[JDG]

Here is Minou! Giving a high five!

[JDG]

I caught this one of Minou Yawning and Stretching. . .but she looks like she is growling!!! I swear, she isn't mad at me! haha :love:

[Lizzie]

Great pics! They are adorable!

[happycats]

Those pictures are just beautiful!! And I just love those extra toes
Comando Kittie's!

[Extier]

Absolutely delightful photos. They belong on a greeting card somewhere.

[Lucky Rescue]

I LOVE your pics! And it helps to have such adorable models.

[iRONKNiGHT]

Marty and Minou we love you and you

Okay fall in line kitties!!!!!!
Mission Seek and Destory is about to commence..
on my command unleash "Claws of Fury"
ATTACKKKKKKKK!!!

[Cactus Flower]

Wow! You take some very professional-looking photos! And your cats look like they are pros at posing, too! How do you do that?

[Prin]

CUTIES!! Lucky they do have such a good photographer to do them justice!!! That last one should be in the teethy thread..

[Rita]

Great photography JDG!!!
Marty & Minous are just gorgeous !!

[chico2]

Stunning,adorable,beautiful!Cats are such wonderful little creatures,aren't they :love: As are doggies,birds,horses etc.....

[JDG]

Thank you everyone for your positive comments. . . I have been having a ball taking pictures of these two! They are actually 'hard' to photograph - so I do take lots of pictures. . . . .

In the month that I have had them, I've taken over 1000 photos! Its kinda sad in one way, but on the other hand, I've been lucky enough to catch some pictures I am very happy with. . .

I really appreciate that everyone really enjoys the photos I share! Thank you all!

Cactus Flower, I've been emailed a couple times about how I get some good shots by different people. . . . I got thinking about it, and here is my 'rules'. . .most of them are pretty much common sense. . . .

1. Get a digital camera, and Take lots of pictures, eventually one comes out good.

2. Try not to use the flash, animals will sit with you longer if there isn't the lights going off in their faces, same rings true for people! This also doesn't 'wash out' the fur of the animal.

PICTURE 1: With Flash (They look washed out)

http://www.paulgraham.ca/gallery/album27/DSC01254

PICTURE 2: NO FLASH (Nice rich colours, more details)

http://www.paulgraham.ca/gallery/album27/DSC01372

3. For pictures where you want the background or surrounding to help with the 'picture story' follow the Rule of Thirds: Divide your picture into 9 segments (3 across, 3 down) If you can get your pet into the segments it allows for intrest around your subject



4. Get down to their level or Use extreme levels (Like high or low) Shooting them straight on from 'people' levels doesn't always do them justice. .

5. Rattle a toy in the direction you want them to look for portrait photographs.

6.Keep you camera handy for that spontaneous moment.

7. Sleepy or Tired animals are easier to photography and/or pose This is ideal for 'head shots' and portraits

8. Use the Zoom! By zooming into the desired picture you can get those great face shots without ticking your pet off! haha

9. Photoshop is your friend Digital pictures can be darkened, lightened, croped, colours changed and fix red-eye. Don't be afraid to embrase the photoshop! Make sure you reduce your photos down small enough that you can save them at high resolution so they are still crisp looking when you post them.

10. Reward them for a job well done Praise and Treats are yummy!


The camera I use is a Sony Cybershot DSC-U40. Its really small, its smaller than the palm of my hand! Its only 2 megapixels, and there is no zoom! So if you have lots of megapixels, and zoom abilities - use them! I would if I had them

Does anyone else have any good tips????????
Maybe we could make a thread of just photo tips, and see if we can get it sticky??!!

[Prin]

My lens is 28-300mm, and I LOVE it (It has seen better days and is slowly dying :sad: ). You can be SO far away and get really good candid shots. I need a digicam, but I'm waiting for the Canon one that uses normal lenses to come down in price. I will never retire my 35mm. Sometimes you really need film.

When I do action shots, I use the "sport" setting on my Canon and it takes 4 shots per second (my old one was 10!!) If you really want a good shot, there WILL be at least one if you have 8 of the same thing. Especially for you digicam people-- don't be afraid to waste shots. I know someone who works in the photolab for National Geographic and their photographers take as many as 180 rolls of film in one day. You wonder how they get such good shots? In 180 rolls there have to be at least a few breathtaking ones in there. Not to mention all the stuff they can do in the lab...

The other (super basic) thing some people don't get, is in a SLR camera (where the use of mirrors, etc allows you to see though the lens), or in a digital camera with the viewer screen, what you SEE in the box is what you will get. If your dog's head is chopped off in the box, it will be chopped off in the picture too. Sounds logical, but so many pics are chopped and badly composed... What you see is what you get. Take the extra 2 seconds to be sure of your framing.

One more thing-- take all black or all white dogs' pics on cloudy days or in the shade (this applies to wedding pics too). When they have direct sunlight, blacks lose detail, and whites get bleached out.

[Cinnabear]

Gorgeous pics JDG. Natural posers.

[greaterdane]

good ol rule of thirds AHHH GRADE 11 PHOTOGRAPHY IS COMING BACK TO ME

[Shamrock]

Oh, those are great pics! How adorable your two sweeties look!
Thanks for the photo tips, great suggestions. I really need a better camera..and should start using the zoom.

I also try to never use the flash, I dont like the results, and generally breaks the relaxed mood I am trying to create.
I always prefer morning or evening shots.. with lower light for more indepth colours. Overcast days sometimes are good also. ( basically its all we have had here lately anyway

Rewards, yes.... lots of em! Essential tool for pet photos.

[kandy]

Great shots - love the bandanas! They could join the Ninja kitties from "The truth about dogs & cats"!

[JDG]

*update* After almost 2 weeks, Marty is still wearing his bandana!!

I took it off him tonight - and left it on the bed side table. He just brought it to me sitting on the couch. I guess he really likes it, so I put it back on him.

(Maybe its because we keep telling him how handsome he is!!)

Minou on the other hand, is having none of it - does anyone know if they make cat sized tiaras?? :queen: :queen: :queen: