Pets Bengal Cat

Stevizzy · 11-15-2012, 07:55 AM

This is my cat, Keela looking out the window. She has a small battle scar on her nose from an encounter a few weeks ago with her angry sister.

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BrianR · 11-15-2012, 08:39 AM

Hi! It looks a little blurry to me, I'm guessing some cat and/or camera movement as you were set at 1/20s and the blur seems to get worse as you move away from its left ear. It looks like movement blur to me and not due to a shallow depth of field (especially see the blur on the cats right side whiskers). So I'd crank up the iso on that spiffy k-5 to get a faster shutter. f/8 is probably a good place to be for a close up kitty like this, so I probably wouldn't sacrifice DoF for shutter speed here, but that's another option.

One rule of composition that's made to almost never be broken is to either include something in the photo or don't. Here, the tip of your kitties right ear is just so close to the edge of the frame. You could lop it off like you mean it- try a crop with the top 3rd of both ears removed and some of the space on the right for a more intimate feel. Or you could give it more breathing room and make it a definite part of the photo.

Otherwise, very pretty cat with a nice intent expression and a great complimentary colour for the background. The hint of blue in kitties right eye is also nice- it lets us know there's another world outside the frame she's looking out without being an overpowering clash of colour temperatures.

**crewl1** · 11-15-2012, 08:53 AM

I love the colors and feel of the shot.

I'm no pro so take this for what it's worth:
At first glance I get the sense the image is too crowded on the left.
If you have more to work with I'd try shifting it so there is less open space on the right and more to the left of the image, to where the kitty is looking.

Also the kitty's left eye (actual) is in focus but the right is not, I'd want to get both eyes in focus so as suggested above a deeper DOF is needed.
If you intended the soft focus feel then perhaps you should blur out the hairs in the left ear that are too sharp and distracting by themselves.

Stevizzy · 11-15-2012, 12:23 PM

Thanks for the critique. I knew the D/F should have been better so I cut off the out of focus body of the cat in the direction she was looking. I wasn't sure about the blue light reflecting on her eyes and whiskers. Some of my friends said it gave the picture an electric look, others didn't like it. Personally, I'm just not sure. The defects are there with the D/F issue so thanks for the suggestion to use more ISO on the K-5 to improve the shot. I'll keep trying, the cat is awesome and always ready to pose. She's just a very willing cat subject who takes pretty pictures.

smf · 11-17-2012, 05:38 AM

Quite nice as originally posted, but I'd like to see at least a tiny bit more space above the ear at left and sharper focus on the eye at left. Perhaps you could achieve that with software, such as Nik Software's Viveza 2.0 or (if you use a Mac) iPhoto.
I hope to see more of your photos.

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11-15-2012, 08:39 AM	#2
BrianR Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Ontario Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,332	Hi! It looks a little blurry to me, I'm guessing some cat and/or camera movement as you were set at 1/20s and the blur seems to get worse as you move away from its left ear. It looks like movement blur to me and not due to a shallow depth of field (especially see the blur on the cats right side whiskers). So I'd crank up the iso on that spiffy k-5 to get a faster shutter. f/8 is probably a good place to be for a close up kitty like this, so I probably wouldn't sacrifice DoF for shutter speed here, but that's another option. One rule of composition that's made to almost never be broken is to either include something in the photo or don't. Here, the tip of your kitties right ear is just so close to the edge of the frame. You could lop it off like you mean it- try a crop with the top 3rd of both ears removed and some of the space on the right for a more intimate feel. Or you could give it more breathing room and make it a definite part of the photo. Otherwise, very pretty cat with a nice intent expression and a great complimentary colour for the background. The hint of blue in kitties right eye is also nice- it lets us know there's another world outside the frame she's looking out without being an overpowering clash of colour temperatures.

11-15-2012, 08:53 AM	#3
crewl1 Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,807	I love the colors and feel of the shot. I'm no pro so take this for what it's worth: At first glance I get the sense the image is too crowded on the left. If you have more to work with I'd try shifting it so there is less open space on the right and more to the left of the image, to where the kitty is looking. Also the kitty's left eye (actual) is in focus but the right is not, I'd want to get both eyes in focus so as suggested above a deeper DOF is needed. If you intended the soft focus feel then perhaps you should blur out the hairs in the left ear that are too sharp and distracting by themselves.

11-15-2012, 12:23 PM	#4
Stevizzy Inactive Account Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 132 Original Poster	Thanks for the critique. I knew the D/F should have been better so I cut off the out of focus body of the cat in the direction she was looking. I wasn't sure about the blue light reflecting on her eyes and whiskers. Some of my friends said it gave the picture an electric look, others didn't like it. Personally, I'm just not sure. The defects are there with the D/F issue so thanks for the suggestion to use more ISO on the K-5 to improve the shot. I'll keep trying, the cat is awesome and always ready to pose. She's just a very willing cat subject who takes pretty pictures.

11-17-2012, 05:38 AM	#5
smf Pentaxian Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Midland, MI Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,083	Quite nice as originally posted, but I'd like to see at least a tiny bit more space above the ear at left and sharper focus on the eye at left. Perhaps you could achieve that with software, such as Nik Software's Viveza 2.0 or (if you use a Mac) iPhoto. I hope to see more of your photos.