Never work with...

It occurred to me not that long ago that there might be a gap in the market in Edinburgh for high-end pet photography. Only one problem: I haven't taken a photo of a pet since that phase everyone goes through when they get their first camera and take terrible pictures of everything that moves. So I need some practice.

"Go away. I am trying to sleep."

Enter our neighbors' two lovely cats, whom I'm feeding at the moment while their owners are on holiday. This evening, I lugged a bunch of gear downstairs and set up a black seamless, a softbox for a main light and a bare strobe for some furry backlighting, and set to work.

This evening, I have learnt the following things:

1. Herding cats is a bit like herding cats. They do not sit where you want them to sit (this is why there is no furry backlighting. I had time to quickly move my softbox but not the backlight before my subject got bored and wandered off).
2. Autofocus is tricky when your subject is black on black and you're working by the light of a 0.5W energy saving lightbulb.
3. Cats have dandruff, and retouching fur is a proper hassle.

All in all, I made a couple of frames I'm reasonably happy with, one with a cat actually looking where I wanted her to and one that isn't really adhering to the "cat portrait" brief, taken after she'd dosed off on my seamless:

I pretty much failed in my mission to make a well lit, captivating cat portrait, since none of them are either of those things! All in all, I think a bit more practice is needed, and perhaps a rethink on whether I'm the right person to be getting involved in pet portraiture...

That said, I do know someone with a snake that might be up for the next shoot...

About Say Cheese

Given that this is my first post, I'm going to talk about what I intend to do with this blog, rather than coming up with any actual content (although I did take a lovely photograph for the purpose. I got paint in my hair and everything)!

Basically, we're all about photography. I'm going to be talking about my experiences as I try and get started as a photographer, so hopefully you'll enjoy following my journey, and maybe benefit from the myriad mistakes I'll inevitably make along the way. I'm also going to be chatting a bit about lighting, technique, some of my post production, and quite a lot about some DIY projects I've got in the pipeline (as illustrated by our lede photo there - see? It did make sense after all! It definitely wasn't just because I was painting the airing cupboard and felt like taking a photo). Hopefully, if you're anything like me, you'll be interested in getting the effect without necessarily spending all the money!

The other main purpose is to post a shot or two from photoshoots as I do them, and I'm going to try and make photos to illustrate my posts as I write them. The idea there is to help me try some different looks and styles and genres, since I seem to shoot an awful lot of portraits! Variety is the spice of life and all that.

So, in that spirit, I name this blog Say Cheese. May Ansel bless her, and all who stumble over her never to return.

H