Hi everyone, Katie here.
Many of our friends and readers have cat blogs of their own. And if you do, you've likely heard about the 2014 Cats of the Cat Blogosphere Calendar that is currently in the works. Our friends Truffle and Brulee of Sweet Perfections are heading up this project and are currently accepting photo submissions for the calendar. Specific details can be found HERE.
We thought it might be helpful to share a few tips and tricks to make your photos purrfect for the calendar and for anything you might want them for. We'll also explain a few things about how to size your photos specifically for the calendar.
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| Our 5 photo submissions for the CB Calendar |
⓵ Lighting is your BFF
Choose a spot in your house that has as much natural light pouring in from a window or door as possible. The model (kitty) should be facing the light and the photographer (your human) should have their back to the light.⓶ Flash is not your BFF
The best photos are almost always taken with natural light. Us kitties have a tendency to close our eyes when the flash goes off or if we manage to keep our eyes open, they don't look nearly as pretty as they really are. Tell your human to leave the flashy turned off.⓷ Get Down
Your human needs to get down. And I don't mean to boogie. They need to get down to your level. If you're sitting on the floor, they should be laying on the floor with their camera as close to the floor as their flexibility will allow.⓸ Clean Up
Your human should pay attention to the background. Put the dirty shorts away, remove the pizza box and keep the background simple and clean. Too much clutter takes away from your feline beauty.⓹ Be patient, Be ready
Some of the best photos are never staged. It's a matter of being in the right place at the right time. WITH the camera ready.
⓺ Advanced Tip for Blurring the Background
This one applies to those of you using a DSLR. That's photography-speak for a camera that has detachable lenses. Many of your humans have asked us how we get the backgrounds in some of our photos to be blurry while still keeping the subject in focus. This is something that can turn an ordinary portrait into a stunning one. Glogirly uses a slightly longer lens, like a telephoto or a zoom lens. Her current favorite is a 35-85mm zoom. With the lens fully extended, she gets as close to me as the camera will allow her to focus. The better the lens, the more dramatic the effect, but it works beautifully. Just be careful to focus right on one of the subject's eyes. That will keep the most important part of the picture in focus and let the rest become soft. This takes practice, but you'll love the results.
The CB calendar is a page-a-day calendar, so that means a LOT of pictures! Each blogger may submit up to 5 photos, in order of priority.
Most photo editing software programs will allow you to crop your photos to a specific size and resolution. Using the sizing requirements shown in the above graphic will ensure your pictures print as beautifully as you see them on your own computer screen.
All three sizes are actually the same. Just use whichever is easiest for you.
Important! Your original photo must be at least as big as these measurements though. If you try to make your photo bigger than what came out of the camera, it will not print well. It will likely be fuzzy or pixelated.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments with your email and we'll make sure you receive an answer. We'll also post answers in the comments for anyone who wants to stop back. If you have a question, there are probably others that have the same one, so don't be shy!
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