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Let's pretend to clean up my notes and sundry document and post:
Things I have learned from my crash-course in black cat photography
Never ever use flash. It makes for an obviously artificial shiny white highlights on black fur, as well as squinty eyes of death.
Everything auto must go. Well, not everything—my camera has miserable manual focus, and yours might too—but throw auto light balance right out. Open up the aperture and aim for somewhere between -1 and -2 exposure to get black on black instead of washed-out grays and blown out backgrounds.
Use a tripod, or lean the camera against something—exposure will probably be 1/20 to 4 seconds. Open up the blinds and invite natural light—you can't fake it with artificial light when your subject is so dark.
Find a sweet spot for auto focus. You want the eyes in focus, but shining the focus light in the eyes causes squinty eyes of death. Ideally, you want something on the same plane as the eyes, with sharp delineation that the autofocus can grab onto with both hands; the thin hair on between brow and ears often works well, because white skin showing through dark fur provides adequate contrast.
Take a billion pictures. This is a good rule with all animal photography, especially indoor animal photography where long exposure times easily lead to blur. Lock in your focus, steady your hands, and take six shots instead of one—and maybe one of the six will be between tremors, blinks, and strong breezes.
Play with angles. This is also a good rule for all animal photography. The cute cuddly angle you see from above may look like squinty eyes of death from below; conversely, an animal-level shot can be surprisingly intimate.
With few exceptions, only post one picture from each pose, even if you do manage to get multiple clear shots. As with all photography: take plenty, find the best, post few. No one likes repetition.
Things I have learned from my crash-course in black cat photography
Never ever use flash. It makes for an obviously artificial shiny white highlights on black fur, as well as squinty eyes of death.
Everything auto must go. Well, not everything—my camera has miserable manual focus, and yours might too—but throw auto light balance right out. Open up the aperture and aim for somewhere between -1 and -2 exposure to get black on black instead of washed-out grays and blown out backgrounds.
Use a tripod, or lean the camera against something—exposure will probably be 1/20 to 4 seconds. Open up the blinds and invite natural light—you can't fake it with artificial light when your subject is so dark.
Find a sweet spot for auto focus. You want the eyes in focus, but shining the focus light in the eyes causes squinty eyes of death. Ideally, you want something on the same plane as the eyes, with sharp delineation that the autofocus can grab onto with both hands; the thin hair on between brow and ears often works well, because white skin showing through dark fur provides adequate contrast.
Take a billion pictures. This is a good rule with all animal photography, especially indoor animal photography where long exposure times easily lead to blur. Lock in your focus, steady your hands, and take six shots instead of one—and maybe one of the six will be between tremors, blinks, and strong breezes.
Play with angles. This is also a good rule for all animal photography. The cute cuddly angle you see from above may look like squinty eyes of death from below; conversely, an animal-level shot can be surprisingly intimate.
With few exceptions, only post one picture from each pose, even if you do manage to get multiple clear shots. As with all photography: take plenty, find the best, post few. No one likes repetition.
