Cute. Damn Cute.

[scott77777]

Most of you probably know Tiki's story from other threads (sick little feral girl now "daddy's little girl") but here's a "Gallery Of Cute..."

She loves a little hide-and-seek...

"Don't Cry For Me Argentina"

A few little cat-naps...

And back when she had some challenges to overcome....

 

[pamela]

Gosh!! She's GORGEOUS!! Makes me want to fly out there and give her some cuddling but I don't think my 4 cats would like that at all!

U're doing an excellent job of raising her, rescuing cats and finding homes for them. U're a great role model to me and others. Keep it up!

 

[sweets]

Oh how sweet! You've done a wonderful job with her!! You can tell she's a spoiled little girl...just like she should be!!

 

[sicycat]

She is adorable. Great pics. You must have a nice digital.

 

[purrfectcatlove]

OMG how cute she is , great pics of her .

 

[slipstream]

That is one of the most gorgeous calicos I've seen (except for my Pixel of course

).

 

[cookie]

what kind of camera do you have? I am lookng into getting one, and your pics are amazing!

 

[scott77777]

Hello Cookie,

Actually, I use a professional digital SLR (without naming numbers, let's just say $$$$$ - I'm a photographer by trade).

At least one of the images above was taken with a $300 point-and-shoot Canon S230, however, so you can do a great deal with less expensive equipment.

I generally recommend cameras in the Canon line. You can find reviews in the DP review forums:

http://www.dpreview.com

The Canon line (particularly the G-series, and for size, the S-series):
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/


The main drawback of point-and-shoot cameras tend to be the small, harsh flash. To get the "best" light possible, you want a diffuse light source.

BEST LIGHT:
Bright (but not sunny) overcast days (the sky is like a big softbox)
Sun coming through a white curtain
Morning light (orange-tinted glow)
Bright white rooms
Cameras that use removeable flash units, which often can be tilted so the light is bounced off of the white ceiling.
Sunlight (if you have to)

WORST LIGHT:
Any type of flourescent (causes color cast)
Mixed flourescent and incandescent (small table lights)
Dark rooms where the flash is the sole source of light

The brighter a room is, the better the images will be. The less light there is, the more harsh shadows you'll have, because the tiny flash is made to do all of the work.

Also, think focus. Many cameras have a two-step focusing process where the user is supposed to depress the shutter release (button) half-way to focus the image and set the exposure, then a full press on the button takes the picture. To avoid camera shake and blurry pictures, steady your arm/elbow against your side whenever taking a picture. And realize that most point-and-shoot cameras weren't meant to take extreme closeups, so they probably won't be able to focus for very tight shots.

For example, the photo below:

I was in a car. I purposefully turned my flash OFF to avoid harsh light and harsh shadows. I wanted ambient, soft, natural light. A flash would have reflected off of her white fur. But then my shutter speed was too slow to take the picture without showing blurriness from the natural shake of my hand. The camera wants more light to properly expose the image, so it leaves the shutter open longer so more light can come through the lens. But then the film (or digital chip) records any movement as well. So I turned the flash off, but held my hand REALLY steady.

More light = higher shutter speed = sharper photo
Less light = needs flash to simulate sunlight = harsh shadows ***OR***
Less light + no flash = slower shutter speed = more camera shake = blurry photo

I hope that makes sense! (Everyone tends to have a different level of understanding of these things, so forgive me)

 

[louse76]

I also recommend the canon cameras. We started with the elph s100 and are now on to the 230. Awesome quality with these babies! And the fact that one can make movies with the 230 is awesome!

And those pictures are really great! I'm sure you know that already though...

And glad to see such an improvement!! He looks a million times better than he did originally!

 

[daisey's mum]

OMG Tiki is soooooooo beautiful

....those gorgeous gorgeous big eyes:kitty5: ....could just fall in and melt looking at them. Wow you have done an amazing job looking after her Scott....she is such a lucky little kitty.

 

[scott77777]

Who's the lucky one?

That would be me...

 

[creepyowl]

I love her. She is perfect. good job on making her all better

 

[chelle]

Awwwww she's a darling! what a honey bun she is

 

[hopehacker]

Tiki is THE CUTEST cat in the world, I think. It's just so amazing to see her now, and before. She is truly adorable, and truly blessed that you came into her life. You are one excellent photographer, as well. I really admire your talent behind the lense.

 

[scott77777]

A few more of the Tik-ster....

Sometimes you've got to show the boy who's boss....

Possibly the only photo where she's not EATING the blinds

"Somebody say DINNER???!!!!!!"

For pooping! Not for sleeping!

#1 Playroom: the tub.

 

[stardust]

She's adorable!!

Your photo's are Great!!

 

[brocken]

Originally posted by Scott77777
Actually, I use a professional digital SLR (without naming numbers, let's just say $$$$$ - I'm a photographer by trade).

That explains the consistently high quality and polish of the photos in your posts. It's apparent that skill, experience, and a quality macro lens (100mm?) were needed to produce the beautiful eye close-up in this post: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...981#post348981

Was the "Don't Cry for Me..." shot taken using a softbox or other specialty lighting? Or maybe a shoe-mounted external flash unit bounced off the ceiling?

I believe that the focusing speed of a dSLR such as the Canon 1D or the Nikon D2H is ideal for capturing action pictures of kittens on the run. But it's not only investing thousands of dollars in equipment - from what I understand, it can take years of concentrated effort to develop the skills and experience that goes into making those great shots.

Actually Scott, would you have some time to write an article for this site on pointers on taking pictures of your cat? I think your reply in this thread provides a good basis for such an article; perhaps add some more example shots with explanations. I've not seen any such information on the various animal welfare sites I've visited, and I'm sure that such an article would be very welcome.

Best,
b

 

[shell]

OMG! Scott....she's beautiful! She reminds me so much of my little Echo when she was a baby!

You definitely got the title right...too damn cute!

BTW, I've got a little spunky girl named Tiki too!

 

[scott77777]

Thanks for all of the replies.

Brocken -

Most of my shots are with a D1X, though I do shoot with various Canon point-and-shoots.

Whenever possible, I try to bounce my flash off of the ceiling to soften the light (creating a big white diffuser from the ceiling) or I try to use natural light and keep the camera steady.

Shots like this are natural light, I believe with a Canon G-series camera:

Whereas shots like the one below, I'm actually bouncing the flash off of the ceiling.

But again, people should try to look for natural light to see how they can leverage natural light to their advantage. I'd hate for people to think, "Oh sure, I can't make a nice photo because of my camera." It really helps to work with what you've got and look for situations in which the light will be to your advantage.

For example, natural light from a skylight:

Natural light on an bright, but overcast day:

The BIGGEST advantage of a 35mm digital SLR, other than the ability to bounce your flash off of the ceiling or push it through a diffuser, is the ability to press-and-execute a picture. Most consumer digital cameras have some lag from pushing the button to taking the picture, which makes that "perfect moment" possibly too quick to capture.

The other thing is finding a camera that allows you to turn off the flash (so you don't always have that automatic flat, contrasty fill-flash). And try to find a camera that will set the focus and exposure when you depress the shutter, so it will read the right part of the picture for the exposure.

For example, taken in mixed (dappled) light, but correctly exposed for the central subject of the kitten:

But there are still film cameras and having a good scanner...which is much less expensive than 35mm digital

 

[slipstream]

Scott if you don't mind me saying I think you should start up a side business for cat or pet photography. You seem to do such nice work it should at least be displayed on a website. If you need any help with that, contact me.