Photographing cats

A friend wants me to photograph their 2 cats sitting side by side.  I was just over at their place and couldn't get these cats to sit up, let alone together.  Any tips you can share please?  

OMG, good luck with that!  ha ha ha, most of my immediate family have cats and not a single one would be easy to photograph.  Cats are so tough to get to do anything that isn't part of their agenda 

Rick Larin wrote: A friend wants me to photograph their 2 cats sitting side by side… 

Are you sure these are "friends"?   
I think only someone that hates you may come up with such a request!  
Cats are what they are… most interesting creatures to observe but lost of time
must be invested… or luck comes to your rescue.

Good luck, Rick!

We have 2 cats in my home and the only time you can photograph them in a non chaos setting, is when they are sleeping.  

So true!  We have one cat and she is in her own world most of the time.  All I can say is good luck.  

My wife and I picked up a cat for our son 3-4 months ago, and the cat walks around as if she owns the place.  Then falls asleep with her belly and feet in the air like a boss  .  I had a dog back in the day that would once in a while sleep on her back, never seen a cat do this.  Regarding your question, cats, from my experience are so independent, and difficult to get to do anything.  

Cats don't have owners....They have Servants.

Charley

From a household with 3 cats, I have learned over the years that you take photos of cats on their terms, when they are ready.  They will never listen, not without continuous training.

Right. We think we own them, but they consider us to be their servants and allow us to live with them in what we think is our house. They do whatever they want and are friendly, but only as long as we wait on them, let them in and out, and feed them. They don't really care if we want them to do something like "pose for a photo". They always do whatever they want to. Kings and rulers like to be up high and command their surroundings. Cats do too for similar reasons. That's why they climb up to high places where they can keep track of everything around them. We think we own cats, but it's really the other way around.

The last cat that owned us entered our house one day when my wife opened the door for something, and he immediately walked up to our Alaskan Malamute (big dog) and rubbed on her, putting her into shock. He then walked into the living room and climbed up on the sofa and took a nap. He allowed us to stay, but claimed us, the dog, and our house as his, and we could stay if we wanted to. None of us, or even the neighbors, had ever seen him before he showed up here. He ruled the house, the dog, and our other cat from then on, for the remaining 14 years of his life. Dogs consider us to be their leaders, but cats have exactly the opposite feelings about us. They consider themselves to be the superior beings and we are their servants to take care of their daily needs.

I think your best chance of getting a photo of the two cats together is to collect many shots of each cat and then do a composite to make one photo out of the best shot of each cat from your previously taken single cat shots. 

Charley

CharleyL wrote: Right. We think we own them, but they consider us to be their servants and allow us to live with them in what we think is our house. They do whatever they want and are friendly, but only as long as we wait on them, let them in and out, and feed them. They don't really care if we want them to do something like "pose for a photo". They always do whatever they want to. Kings and rulers like to be up high and command their surroundings. Cats do too for similar reasons. That's why they climb up to high places where they can keep track of everything around them. We think we own cats, but it's really the other way around.

The last cat that owned us entered our house one day when my wife opened the door for something, and he immediately walked up to our Alaskan Malamute (big dog) and rubbed on her, putting her into shock. He then walked into the living room and climbed up on the sofa and took a nap. He allowed us to stay, but claimed us, the dog, and our house as his, and we could stay if we wanted to. None of us, or even the neighbors, had ever seen him before he showed up here. He ruled the house, the dog, and our other cat from then on, for the remaining 14 years of his life. Dogs consider us to be their leaders, but cats have exactly the opposite feelings about us. They consider themselves to be the superior beings and we are their servants to take care of their daily needs.

I think your best chance of getting a photo of the two cats together is to collect many shots of each cat and then do a composite to make one photo out of the best shot of each cat from your previously taken single cat shots. 

Charley

  OMG, so true!