Chapter XXIX: Cat Photography for Amateurs

All lovers of the cat who are also amateur photographers must have
seen with envious admiration the lovely cat pictures by Madame Ronner,
the more racy and amusing sketches by Louis Wain, and the many
beautiful photographs which so greatly enhance the instructive and
pictorial value of this “Book of the Cat.”

To the amateur wishing to take up this fascinating, though somewhat
difficult, branch of photographic art, I venture to offer a few
suggestions.

The subject naturally divides itself into two distinct branches—the
commercial and the artistic. By the “commercial” I mean all
photographs taken with the special aim of showing the shape and points
of the cat from the fancier’s, owner’s, or purchaser’s point of view.
In the “artistic,” I include all those pictures where the cat is used
as a model only.

In either kind of work almost any sort of camera and lens will do,
providing it will yield a fair definition and admit of rapid
exposures. If one possesses a portrait lens all the better. At all
events use a lens which will give you good definition at a large
aperture. A good make of roller-blind shutter is an important
accessory, with a sufficient length of tubing to the pneumatic release
to enable one to move about freely while holding the ball and to get
close up to the cats while making either time or instantaneous
exposures. The camera stand should be very firm and rigid.

I like best to work in the open air, my studio being the small open
run of my cattery. If the light is too direct or strong I diffuse it
by stretching light blue art muslin curtains above the table or stand
upon which the cats are arranged. These curtains run with rings upon
cords stretched from the boundary walls on each side, so that they may
be moved in any way the lighting may require. For background a dark
plush curtain will be found useful. Avoid figured backgrounds, as they
detract from the value and crispness of the cats and accessories. An
example of what I mean will be seen in my picture on page 158 of the
present work, where the feathers in the hat, one of the _motives_ of
the composition, are almost lost in the scrolls of the curtain used
for background.

Three things are absolutely necessary to successful photography of
cats for either commercial or artistic purposes—time, patience, and an
unlimited number of good _quick_ plates. Of all animals the cat is
possibly the most unsatisfactory sitter should we attempt by force to
secure the pose we desire. By coaxing we can generally get what we
wish. Patience is the keynote of success. Before commencing, make up
your mind as to what points you wish to show; then pose your cat
gently and wait patiently until the pose becomes easy. She may jump
down or take a wrong pose or go to sleep a dozen times or more, but
never mind, give plenty of time. It is here where patience tells. Wait
and coax until you see just what you desire, then release the shutter
and make the exposure. At this point never hesitate or think
twice—especially with kittens—or the desired pose may be gone, and
will possibly cost you hours of waiting again to secure it.

Before photographing a cat for its general appearance or for any
special points, it is essential to have it thoroughly groomed and got
up as carefully as for show. Speaking generally, the coat of a
long-haired cat should never be roughened; it altogether spoils the
shape of the animal, and does not in any way improve the appearance of
length, quality, or texture of the coat. In all cats where their
markings are one of their chief points—such as tabbies and
tortoiseshells, etc.—this roughening should be specially avoided.
There is, possibly, one exception to this advice, and that is in the
case of smokes, where it may be, and sometimes is, desirable to turn
back a small patch of the fur to show the quality and purity of the
silver under-coat. In such cases the turning back must be done only
for this purpose, and in such a natural way as not to interfere with
the general flow of the fur or the shape of the cat. In posing a cat,
it is well to remember its faults as well as its good points, so that
the former may be hidden as much as possible and the latter displayed
to the best advantage. Let us take this somewhat extreme example: A
friend has a domestic pet—a so-called Persian, but with weasel head,
long back legs and tail, large ears, small eyes, short coat, but some
slight pretence to a frill. What can we do? To take him in profile
will result in a very sorry caricature of the noble Persian; so we
coax pussy to bend her back by sitting on her hind legs, and so partly
hiding them as well as apparently shortening her back, inducing her
also to curl her long and scanty tail round her feet. We brush out the
ear tufts, if she has any, and press up the fur at the base of the
ears, for this will tend to make them look smaller. Having placed the
camera well in front of and nearly on a level with the cat, so as to
foreshorten the nose and head, while showing what frill there is, a
sharp squeaking sound will make pussy open her eyes to their full
extent; we press the ball, the exposure is made, and we have secured a
fairly presentable photograph of our friend’s perchance charming pet,
yet most indifferent Persian cat.

A few good examples of cats taken for the purpose of showing points
should prove useful, especially to the novice, and many such examples
are to be found in this present work on the cat—for instance: p. 29,
“Litter of Siamese Kittens”; p. 100, “Champion Jimmy”; p. 138, “Star
Duvals”; p. 139, “Omar”; p. 145, “A Perfect Chinchilla”; and p. 150,
“Dossie.” With these examples and the many others that are to be found
scattered through the pages of “The Book of the Cat,” the would-be
photographer of the cat for her show points should have little
difficulty in setting up a standard to work to, and by patience and
perseverance succeed in attaining it.

“Turning now to the more artistic side of cat photography, we find our
real difficulties begin, for in photographing for the showing of
points we seldom have to deal with more than one cat at a time. It is
when we attempt deliberately to pose two or more cats or kittens, to
carry out a preconceived idea, that our real troubles begin, and also
that the patient skill of the amateur wins its best reward. Looking
through the pages of “The Book of the Cat,” we find many good examples
of how the cat should be used in picture making. The reproductions of
Madame Ronner’s charming pictures show how they may be handled with
palette and brush; but, alas! here we photographers labour under an
immense disadvantage. However artistic our taste, however good and
pretty our intended composition may be, we cannot, as the artist with
pencils and brushes can, make individual sketches of pussies in the
different positions needed and bring them together in the finished
picture. Whether we use two or more cats, they must each be kind
enough to take the pose we desire simultaneously; hence our greater
difficulty. However, the illustrations on pages 1, 37, 49, 88, 128,
199, and many others indicate the wide field open to the photographer
with a little taste and vast patience. In this class of photography it
is of no use to go to work in a haphazard fashion, snapshotting our
cats in all kinds of positions, trusting to mere luck to yield
something worth keeping; then to give a sounding title to it, and so
hope to make a picture. Accident does occasionally present us with
something worth having, but far more often it offers us results only
fit for the waste-paper basket.

AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHERS.

(_Photo: Mrs. S. F. Clarke._)
]

Before commencing, be sure you have _an idea_ to work out in your
picture, and of the lines you hope to follow in giving it expression.
If possible, make a rough sketch—no matter how rough—of this idea,
showing the position not only of the cats, but also of the accessories
needed. Be careful to keep the composition simple and not to overcrowd
it. This sketch will greatly assist you in arranging your picture and
posing your cats. Before you attempt to pose the cats it is absolutely
necessary that all accessories should be fixed so that they cannot be
knocked over, or the cats will get frightened and be useless as
sitters for a long time to come. That cats are nervous should never be
forgotten, and any chance of startling them strictly guarded against.
When your background, table, and accessories are all in their places,
put your camera in position, arrange the picture on the ground-glass,
and see that you get all well within the size of the plate; it is
safer to have the picture on the ground-glass a little smaller than
the plate will allow, as, if one tries to get it to its utmost size,
one may find in developing that one of the models has moved back on
the table an inch more, perhaps, than calculated upon, and as a result
have half a cat on one side instead of a whole one. The background,
however, should be large enough to fully cover the ground-glass. Focus
the foreground and nearer accessories, stop down to F. 8, set the
shutter to about ¹⁄₃₀ to ¹⁄₅₀ second (according to light and nature of
subject), insert the slide containing the rapid plate, draw the flap
_under_ the dark cloth, and if at all windy tie this last to the
camera. Now you are ready for the cats and a suitable moment of light.

As I have already remarked, I do my photographing out of doors. I
therefore choose a bright warm day, when there are plenty of fleecy
clouds about; so that by taking advantage of their position in front
of the sun, and by the help afforded by my muslin curtains, I am able
to modify the harsh contrasts incidental to working in broad daylight.

“The Artist” (page 128) was, perhaps, one of the most difficult
subjects I have attempted. Without apparent life and go such a subject
would be worthless.

PLAYING AT WORK.

_(Photo: Mrs. S. F. Clarke.)_
]

The rough sketch of the cat in the basket was first prepared, and the
brush attached to it in such a manner that it would move freely up and
down for about an inch or so; then it and the rest of the accessories
were _firmly_ arranged upon the table. The cat in the basket was then
made to take her place, but keep in she would not; as soon as the
brush moved to attract the artist paw, out she would jump; so for the
time she was allowed to run, until the artist was posed and an
endeavour made to infuse life into him by moving the brush. But it was
“no go”; sit down he would, until the introduction of a feather woke
him up. His companion was then slipped into the basket; but, alas!
success was not yet. For about two hours we had to begin over and over
again, when at last the pose of both kittens was obtained
simultaneously and the picture taken in ¹⁄₅₀ of a second. Such a
subject with the kitten tamely sitting at the handle of the brush
would not in any way have realised my intention.

I must again point out the great convenience, especially in this class
of work, of the extra length of tubing, which allows you, while
holding the release in one hand, to pose your models with the other,
and then expose without the fatal loss of time that would be entailed
by having to step back to the camera or by giving the word to an
assistant.

A subject suggestive of a picture will often turn up when least
expected and, at the time, impossible to take. I always make a note of
these, and they come as a basis for future use and to be worked out at
leisure. “Thieves” (page 79) was suggested by noting the fondness of
two of my kittens for melon, “Amateur Photographers” by a group of
kittens playing round some photo frames put out to print, and
“Mischief” (page 88) by a frolicsome kitten overturning a small bottle
of ink and playing with the little black pool.

Isochromatic plates should be used in all cases where there are mixed
colours in the cats’ furs, as in tortoiseshells, brown tabbies, etc.;
mixtures of red, black, and yellow cannot be truly rendered with
ordinary plates. The only extra precaution necessary in their use is
_absolute_ freedom from actinic light in the dark room. Double ruby
glass in the window, or, if artificial light is used, an extra
thickness of red tissue paper round the developing lamp, will answer
the purpose and make everything safe. With this little extra care,
nice crisp negatives are obtained, while the relative value of the
red, yellow, and black seen in our furry friends are well defined in
the resulting picture.

Cats used as models should, if possible, be in the pink of
condition—the prettier the model the more pleasant the picture. The
best time to photograph a cat is about one hour after a light meal.
Immediately after a meal most cats want to wash and sleep. A hungry
cat or kitten makes the worst of sitters; its thoughts are too much
turned towards the inner man. Never overtax your cats, give them
plenty of rest during a sitting, and never lose your temper and
attempt by force to secure a pose; it only frightens the cats, and can
never result in satisfactory work. Time and patience should always in
the end achieve what you desire.

Artistic photography having been for some years a pleasant and
recreative hobby with me, I can assure my friends who keep cats for
pleasure, and those who find pleasure in the camera, that by uniting
the two hobbies they will discover a field of enjoyment and artistic
possibilities which neither pursuit alone can afford. To all such the
preceding notes are offered as humble finger-posts, indicating rather
than assuring the road to success.

LUCY CLARKE.

IN THE STUDIO.

(_Photo: Mrs. S. F. Clarke._)
]

TABITHA’S AFTERNOON TEA.

(_Photo: C. Reid, Wishaw, N.B._)
]