Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Trump should be leading, not lying.

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

The revolution will be supervised.

Fight them, without becoming them!

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Beware of advice from anyone for whom Democrats are “they” and not “we.”

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

The arc of the moral universe doesn’t bend itself. it’s up to us.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

T R E 4 5 O N

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

You are here: Home / Photo Blogging / On The Road / On The Road – Cheryl – How to take better cell phone pictures of your pets

On The Road – Cheryl – How to take better cell phone pictures of your pets

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On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.

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Cheryl

When I’m not at the local shelters taking glamor shots of resident kitties available for adoption, I run a small cat-sitting service on the side. You may think I’m a crazy cat lady (and maybe I am) but I promised myself when I retired I was going to do something to help animals and showcasing cats was where I found my calling. They are all furry little works of art and I try to present them that way.

Following are a few cell phone pics I took of some of my cat clients. I use an iPhone 8+. You can get decent bokeh with this model and that shallow depth of field is what makes even a cell phone shot look interesting and professional.

My first piece of advice is TURN OFF THE FLASH! Wait for your pet to present herself in natural light, even an iPhone can get good shots in fairly low light. All this helps you avoid the reflection in the retina. Second, learn how to use the native editing functions on your phone and third, crop, crop, crop. Showcase your pet, not all the clutter around her. The first thing I learned in photography school was “You are responsible for every square millimeter of your photograph. Take everything out that doesn’t add to the story” The second thing I learned was “Always go to art openings. Free food.”

On The Road - Cheryl - How to take better cell phone pictures of your pets 6
Portland, ORJanuary 31, 2021

This is Mimi…..not only does she have interesting markings, her people had a rug that really added to the general sense of surprise on her part. Look for unusual backgrounds to place your pet against…..this one kind of has an album cover kind of feel.

On The Road - Cheryl - How to take better cell phone pictures of your pets 5
Portland, ORFebruary 28, 2021

This lovely gentleman is Willie. He very cooperatively draped himself over the back of a sofa in a large bay window. I often hold the camera in one hand and to attract his attention, I have a crinkle ball in the other which I hold near my face so he will look directly at me.

On The Road - Cheryl - How to take better cell phone pictures of your pets 4
Portland, ORMarch 31, 2021

This lovely lady is Olive. She is inspecting a bug. It’s not always necessary to have the pet looking directly at you….sometimes just a pic of them doing something kind of silly says a lot about her personality.

On The Road - Cheryl - How to take better cell phone pictures of your pets 3
Portland, ORMay 31, 2021

This sweet gent was Jupiter. Sometimes I do end-of-life photo shoots for clients so they have lovely portraits of their much-loved friends. He died soon after this photo session.

On The Road - Cheryl - How to take better cell phone pictures of your pets 2
Portland, ORJune 30, 2021

Camilla here is an older, mellow lady. When you have a cat with eyes as amazing as hers, zoom in close! The cropping tool is going to be your key to better pictures.

On The Road - Cheryl - How to take better cell phone pictures of your pets 1
Portland, ORJuly 31, 2021

This is a case of using your cropping tool to create a frame around your portrait. Teddy in his cat tree, a classic pose.

On The Road - Cheryl - How to take better cell phone pictures of your pets
Portland ORAugust 30, 2021

I thought the piano bench was an interesting prop. I snapped the photo and darkened most of the image with a vignette to give the painterly quality to the shot.

Reader Interactions

22Comments

  4. 4.

    Rusty

    Thank you for the photo suggestions, my pet pictures have always been less than thrilling.  Now I feel inspired to try again with our trio of fuzzy critters.

  7. 7.

    Starfish

    What is our fundraising goal to send you to John’s house to teach him how to take better photos?

  8. 8.

    tandem

    Thank you for these tips; you’ve given me the impetus to try again! And again, and again . . .. And what great photos; I feel as if I know these cats.

  9. 9.

    Jerzy Russian

    Nice kitties! Camilla looks like she is ready to fuck some shit up. Mimi has the best cat face ever.

  12. 12.

    citizen dave

    Thanks very much for the pointers! We used to have 4 cats so I had 4 models. Now down to one Male outdoor-loving black cat, and I’ve been lax in taking his pic. This is a good reminder.

  13. 13.

    Miss Bianca

    These are great, thank you! As the World’s Worst Photographer, I need all the help I can get with pet photos!

  14. 14.

    JeanneT

    OK, these are amazing. Real portraits of these animals. I must try again with my pet photagraphy!

  16. 16.

    Joy in FL

    I love these photos. The cats are each wonderful.
    Thanks for sharing your tips. I will enjoy practicing them on Hermes and Aziraphale : )

  19. 19.

    Cheryl

    Thanks for the nice comments! Next up I plan to post cell phone shots of a trip to Peru….you can do so much with these simple cameras

  20. 20.

    Ms Apricot

    Gorgeous cats beautifully shot!

    Is there any chance that last black and white kitty is a Manx? They look so much like my (now passed on) Manx who was also from Portland, makes me wonder if they are related.

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