How to Photograph Kittens Like a Professional

Learning how to photograph kittens will attract attention to your cattery. It’s pretty important to present your kittens in the most beautiful, professional fashion. After all, they are the result of all of your hard work and should represent that in high-quality photographs.

Some breeders feel challenged by the thought of taking photographs of kittens for various reasons. Most of the time it’s because the kittens won’t cooperate, or it’s hard to get them to pose. Both of these statements are very true. Kittens DON’T cooperate and it’s impossible to get them to pose for a photo. So it’s up to you to learn how to work with kittens and be able to capture them in their best moments.

Episode 30 of Cat Breder Sensei Says podcast reveals some tips on how to photograph kittens and capture the best expressions on camera. This makes raising kittens and “picture day” even more fun than it already is.

Patience is Key when it comes to Kitten Photography

Nothing is more important than having patience when it’s time to photograph kittens of any age. Their primary goal is to jump around, snigg everything, and bat their paws at even the slightest bit of dust flying by. Making noises and using distractors are a good way to get them to “spike the lens”, which is exactly what you want.

Set aside one day at a certain time to tackle the task of photographing your kittens. designate a space that has a clean background and minimal distractions. It usually takes about an hour to photograph, download, edit and publish photos for a litter of 5 to 6 kittens.

Resources for Kitten Photography

Several items were mentioned in the podcast that will seriously help you step up your photo game. All of them are in the show notes below!

Perhaps you’re trying to figure out how to watermark cattery photos. It’s super easy! You should be using a watermark to prevent unauthorized use of your original photos.

What is a Watermark?

A watermark is an image, text or pattern that is used on photographs and videos to claim ownership of original work. Some breeders use full-color watermarks, and others choose to use nearly transparent watermarks. They can also be used for branding purposes.

Why Watermark Your Photos?

There are several reasons to watermark your photos.

• Scammers will steal photos off of your website and social media accounts and use them on your website. Unfortunately, this is a very big problem that is occurring right now on social media and across the internet. It’s happening all over the world. New scam website for every breed of cat are popping up offering kittens for “cheap”. The price lures in uneducated buyers and sucks them into a hole of theft and disappointment. Watermarking is a deterrent, since it’s branded with your cattery name or logo.
• Watermarks help you brand your cattery and your image.
• Watermarks claim ownership of your original photographs and videos.

When To Use a Watermark

Any time you post a photograph or a video on the internet, be it your website or any social media platform, you should use your watermark. Just get into the habit of always adding your watermark before you post anything.

How to Make a Watermark

Most watermarks have a transparent background (.png files), and are nearly transparent in color. The idea of a watermark isn’t to take over the image, but to leave a hint no matter where it’s seen. Sometimes you may even “miss” the watermark if you’re not looking for it.

• Have your custom cattery logo created.Keep your watermark logo simple, with only one or two colors. Otherwise, it may be distracting on the photo and that’s not the intent of a watermark.
• Save the watermark logo as a .png file (transparent background). If your logo has a white background, use Canva.com to save the image with a transparent background.

How to Watermark Photos

To be able to watermark photos, you’ll need the original image, the watermark image, and an application to apply the watermark.

The instructions below are using the app called iStamp.

• Open the app and choose the photo(s) that you’re ready to watermark.
• Click on “Add Logo” and then choose your watermark logo image from the photo library on your mobile device.
• Adjust the size and transparency of the watermark. you can also drag it to any spot on the image where you think it looks best.
• Save the image and export it as a new photo.
• It’s ready to upload to website and social media!

If you don’t have a watermark logo or an image with transparent background you can also simply use plain text and type the name of your cattery and use it as a watermark 🙂

Example of a Watermarked Photograph