[Solbom]

Very good you got photo. I have no good wide-angle lens. Only regular zoom - 18-55 f 3.5-5.6 AL. Photograph only when the cats sleep. In some cats autofocus can not set because of the color cat. Cat completely uniform gray.

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Last edited by Solbom; 03-20-2014 at 09:41 AM.

[Nightwatch]

I have recently been hired as lead photographer for a rather rambunctious black Maine Coon kitten . As many of you have pointed out, black cats are rather difficult to shoot. Aside from the near constant movement have noticed that they have a tendency to either blend in with their environment, or plop down in areas of extreme contrast (sun beam.

I shoot this cat with a Sony Nex-3n (my carry everywhere camera) fitted with the 16-55mm kit lens and a Pentax K-01 fitted most of the time of late with a Tamron 90mm macro. Neither camera has the best autofocus speed, but I am slowly getting more and more adept at using the manual Focus on the Tamron lens for photos such as these.

[frogoutofwater]

I love photographing cats:

Mine:
Tonks

Shelter cats (I volunteer as a photographer for one):
Adoptable Cats at Ollie's Place - frogoutofwater

Other peoples' pets:
Other Peoples' Pets - frogoutofwater

Random cats on my travels:
Borneo and Singapore Adventure 2014 - frogoutofwater

And big ones:
Zoo animals - frogoutofwater

If your cat wants to come close, it sometimes works to stroke the cat with one hand while snapping a photo with the other (experiment with a macro lens - the first one was taken with a LensBaby):
Tonks
Adoptable Cats at Ollie's Place - frogoutofwater

Wait for the golden hour (in cat photography, that's when kitty is sleepy enough to stay still but not so sleepy that its eyes roll back into its head):
Tonks

Get her a box or some other container, set up your shot and wait:
Tonks

Let her play, and wait until she takes a break (I feel like she's saying "was it good for you, too?" in this shot):
Tonks

Give him a toy or a prop:
Adoptable Cats at Ollie's Place - frogoutofwater
Tonks

Sing to them (I've heard harmonica works well, too):
Borneo and Singapore Adventure 2014 - frogoutofwater
Tonks

As for focusing, try focusing on an ear at the point where there is some contrast with the background. You might have to try several times (because sometimes the camera will focus on the background, not the ear). It can also work to focus on the point in the eye where you get contrast between the eye and the black fur. I try to use at least f/4 (preferable f/5.6) to get enough depth of field to have the near eye and nose in focus on a cat. With a black cat, it also helps to photograph against a mid-toned but contrasty background (as opposed to something very dark or very light) - blue, green, mid-purple or red for example can work well.

I have used flash with cats but I dial it down a bit and put a Gary Fong light diffuser on it.