People always ask me "how do you get them to stay so still?' when they look at my cat photography. I laugh and tell them that it is not easy, but takes a lot of patience, fast hands, and impeccable timing with the camera. With the help of a "cat wrangler" (yes, there really is such a thing!), I try to pose the cat in a manner which flatters the cat and shows off the attributes of the specific breed. Sometimes kitty is a trouper and actually "holds" the pose, which is every cat photographer's dream, and other times, I must move quickly to capture the shot as soon as the wrangler takes hands off the cat. Of course, my style is to capture as many "candid moments" as I can during each shoot, attempting to show each cat's personality or specific beauty trait.
Perhaps the single-most important skill a cat photographer must have is a natural rapport with the cat, which is easily detected by each feline. Cats know that I love them, so they relax a bit and take on a level of trust and performance for me that is hard to come by. I don't go as far as to call myself a "cat whisperer", but I admit that I try to connect with the cat on a higher sensory level than what is seen in the "here and now" realm. It boils down to that the cat senses love, admiration and respect and we start to build a bond during the photo shoot.
I enjoy doing the clean "regal pose" shots on a blank canvas with kitty as the only adornment. But it really gets fun when I throw in a prop or two for a little distraction for kitty to play with. For some cats I stage the entire scene from snow and sleighs to hanging tulle canopies.
