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Shoot: William and cat “Herbie”

How are you guys? America? Thank you for being here, Herbie. Herbie. All right, let's actually come off for just a second. I'm gonna not do the ottoman even though you're so comfortable. Hi, sweetie. Yeah, let's pick up. You can just relax for a second if you want to even just have a seat on the orange couch right there. Um, the thing with cats to what? What makes them comfortable? A lot. That's why I was trying the basket in the beginning. But I was a little bit unstable. If you can surround them a little, because sometimes you just like cats be on a background. It's too much. They're just too much open space. So if you can put something behind them, whether that's pillows or a couch like this where they can kind of muscle in the corner, it makes them a little bit more comfortable. So let's actually use. Let's use the chair that you're sitting in. Yeah, and I'm good with the I'm good with the muslin and doing a blanket, so we'll get rid of the Ottoman. But this is just a show. You guy...

s, that's kind of the same set up. We just had. But thank you. Okay. And this is her be I'm gonna do orange this times. I think orange is gonna look so pretty with you. All right, so we're just gonna have a backing so and hold on one second. Let's get this little bit straighter. Cool. So we doing okay, everyone? Yeah. Good call. All right. All right. So if I was by myself, I would make the client help me with this. That's the answer there. Okay. I'm just doing this for a pop of color. Just so it's not so plain. All right. So, William, I'm gonna have you stand. If you don't want to send anyone to Neil, you can kneel on this just so you have to kneel in the hardwood. Um, yeah. If you want to come right on the side here, we're actually going to do her be alone first. There you go. And I'm gonna try the same thing. Hi, baby. So we always want the animals heads closer to us in their bottom. We never went there, but closer. So you want to turn them? Hey, Herbie's. The boy s okay. Look around for a second. No, try a bigger. He's good. But if I do get his attention, just make sure your hands you're out. Perfect. Awesome. The museum in closer on that. You're okay, sweetie. In this second go and well, it's OK. And And he's actually doing, like, a really good job looking around. So I'm totally good with that. You guys see in that? But just having that pop of color that orange just makes him pop out a little bit more just instead of being on the plane, we see that tethering It's pretty. All right, let's have Are you down for being in some shots? Okay, but does he hang out, like, on the back of the couch? Is the Indian you that not really know if he doesn't next to me here. Okay, Now let's have you guys sit together. So if you want to sit here, he's going to come upon the arm. So you're gonna kind of be holding him too, just so he doesn't feel unstable on the arm there. But what kind of put his? That's what I want. And I'm gonna kind of shoe. This is a hedged about what you're gonna do. You kind of roll forward because I don't want you like lounging back too far, so, yeah, turn your shoulders towards me as much as you can. Your body and your shoulders and everything in the post, in your legs and everything on turn, turn, turn, turn, turn. Yeah, and the nice and close. Perfect. And then this arm can go right in his back is perfect. This one? Yes, there is. All right, Sweet. And Lena really close. I want your heads close together. All right, so, you know, just a touch shot, and we don't want your hand right by his neck. Erica, hang in there. Pretend like you're having fun. Every Sweeney and you're looking at me. Lean in real close. Really Perfect. Hey, come on, sweetheart. You know what we're gonna do for you? We're gonna switch this. I don't like how far apart their heads are. So have a seat right here. So you can still kind of put your arms around them. His legs, like hanging off and sit all of in your bottom, making you do yoga school. Know you're in for that. There we go. That's very we got their heads a little closer together, but Yeah. Okay. Terrific. In the second, and you're gonna lean in real close. Awesome. Okay. All right, dude. And I was not one shot with you guys looking at me first thing in there. And just relax your hands just to your hands out right by his face. More on his back would be better. Yeah, And further back if you could go. I'm sorry. Your hands Because they look like Gerry Goffin. Yeah. Perfect. All right, let me shake the treats. See if that does it for one shot looking at? Yeah. One shot. That's what you gave me One. Put that. Okay, sweetie. Yeah. Is there a certain way that you hold him? Hold like a baby? Tried that for me because he's not, like, super comfortable upon the arm there, So sit. Perfect. Perfect. All right. Yeah. And yes, kind of. Scoot to the edge of this chair. I'm not You're so cute. Holy look at you. Okay. You're looking at him on these. Not at me. Perfect. Even if he looks at me, it's OK. Keep looking at him. Don't you keep looking at him that at me. Here we go the whole time. Keep your face. Feel close to him, and they're speedy. Guys want one shot with him looking a bit, But keep looking at him, sweetheart. Try more noises. Yeah, keep your face real close to him. You know, that's, like, awkwardly close. No, it's OK. Hang in. There is not one shot with him looking at me, so just make sure your hands aren't blocking him. Here we go. No, I don't care about that. All right? We're gonna pretend he's a dog for a second. I'm gonna try a toy. Very good. Works perfect, but hi. I'm happy with that. Perfect. Keep looking at. And I want your faces real close together. Real close together in your face is even though you say probably out of focus, cause your face is so close Yeah, I want you guys like cuddling and come here in their blood And keep your face on. Keep looking at him. Look down, look down, Look down. That's the shot on the smile. All right. I'm good with that. All right? I'm gonna flip back and kind of show you guys. I like this shot. Even though the owner's hands air in it like you were asking earlier when the dog's head was down on the background and your said, Why don't you shoot that with this? I think it's totally different with the cat, and he's cute and he's upside down. I'm not sure if we would get that shot with him on a background by himself. So I'm OK with it in the owner's arms like that. So let's just try one more thing. You could stand up. I'm gonna see if we can kind of surround him a little bit more. I kind of see it was digging this. That's kind of the same look we had before. But we'll see if we can kind of get him settled. Kind of curled up in there. Honey, you know, you always they don't care about that. And in this situation, he's staying so well. I'm actually gonna have you walk behind me. Get over here, Herbie Todo one. Watch, Herbie, I am not a dog. Stop squeaking toys. All right, sweetheart. All right. Small cat toy again. He's cool. He's actually comfortable, so I'm OK with it. Even though he's not looking at me, he's not uncomfortable. Some I'm cool. Okay, You don't care. We'll give him a second. If he looks around Swee'pea, we go. I'm good with those eyes. Yeah. So I think some of the shots that we took earlier were good of him, but he's still I like the look on his face on that one. Thank you. Yeah, he's so sweet. You're just chill, bud. And I was just, like, chillin. You feel the whole basket is? You do? Yeah. He's a lap on a sweetheart. Okay, cool. So when I'm photographing cats, it's definitely not a system. Like when I'm photographing dogs. I'm just kind of waiting for them to kind of do their thing and get comfortable and find something that they like. Do you have cast questions? Her cats, Of course, ways. So I want a question that just keeps coming up over and over is having animals that are shocked by flash or if they react to flash poorly or run out of set. The only time that I've ever seen an animal be bothered by, um the strobes is very, very old animals who are losing their sight when they start getting cataracts. They kind of bounce because in the flight slash the kind of bounce like that. But no, no other animals have ever been bothered by it, so the strobe doesn't bother them. It's just those older animals who are kind. Losing their sight in that light is popping. So in that case, I mean, if that was happening, I might just keep doing until they get used to it. And they might just be like, Oh, whatever. Or I would just crank my eso up and leave my modeling lights on and shoot it with modeling lights and no stroke. Great. More of a general question pick. Nancy had asked, How do you handle shy or scared cats? That was a shy, Just patients. I mean, just trying different things and, you know, having more time. I would have just sat there and just wait, only having the owner walked behind me, which I don't do with dogs. That's a cat thing. I don't let on owners behind me with dogs unless it's absolutely not working. But with cats, some like he's cool. He was staying there. He wasn't like the first cat was trying to run away. The owner can't come behind me cause the cat's gonna jump off the background but in this situation, he was staying. So just patients. And just even like maybe having someone come back here and kind of scratching that little because all you need is that split second of them to just lift their head up and look at something. So as long as you get their body comfortable. So yeah, and Linda Duck had a question that sometimes cats don't travel so well, yeah. So how much time you give them to chill out? Well, what we dio? I actually recommend a lot of clients shoot their sessions of their cats in their home. So I do go to homes. It's the same fees or outdoor session fee. So for me, if I'm leaving the studio, I don't care if I'm going to your home or if I'm going across town or to a park. It's all the same fee to me. So I do. You recommend for people who their cats don't travel a lot because they usually think they're just going to the vet. I've had cat clients call in there like there under the bed. Can't get him out, need to reschedule some like, let's reschedule it. Your house to give its that bad. It's that traumatic for them to get into a carrier. Let's do the session at your house. And when we get to the house, I actually wouldn't start. I wouldn't start by grabbing the animal in the studio because the lighting is set up. We actually put the cat where we want them, but in someone's home, I usually be shooting with natural light. And I would just let the cats roam and kind of capture them until we need a group shot or need a shop with the owner and then would physically grab them. So the question from sees reflecting Starlight. Who is from Hawaii? Great name. How do you handle extremely squirming cats, as in so squirmy? They are difficult to hold and don't like to sit still for more than a few seconds? Well, it just depends if they are interested in the toy. They could be square me all they want. If they're square me and not interested, that's when it's really tough, because if they're square me and like want to get a toy, you have their attention. Half your shots might be out of focus, but you at least have their attention. You have them engaged, but the squirmy ones who want to just get away, I would say Build something around them. So don't just let them be free on the Ottoman or a couch. So put pillows around them so they can kind of nuzzled up against it and just have the owner there the whole time, putting them back, put a pillow under them if they're really moving. So that was one of the tricks to get animals. Toe sitter lay. So try and flip him over on a pillow, so give him something cushiony cool, so future framed as. And this is going back to dogs. But do you ever ask if a dog is afraid of storms? So they have one that's afraid of lights because of the lightning? I've never seen animals even, and I have one who, when it's thunder and lightning, he hides in the closet and he just terrified. But I shoot him all that. I wanted to shoot my dogs all the time, but when I have photographed him, it's in my studio lights, and it's never been a problem. So again, if that's an issue, when we start shooting, and it's scaring them. Just I would kick the lights off, crank the ISO up modeling lights, but it's really I've never seen it be a huge problem with animals. Great with the strobes. Yeah, all right. I think we're gonna bring in our next pet. But I have another question from this is from a builder photography who says you are moving very quickly, talking quickly, etcetera. Is this always how you work? Or are you hurrying a bit because of the presentation? And does a fast paced work best for animals? And if so, do clients ever feel put off by that pace? I'm a pretty fast shooter if I get the shots. I mean, like I said with, like, the puppy that was here. I cut that session short. Yes, but the pace of the session, that's how fast they shoot. So I don't want pets to get bored. If you give them too much downtime, dogs are just going to get bored and not be as interested as much. So I just kind of like to keep things moving. So I do shoot pretty quickly, and sometimes it takes like 10 minutes to set up the light and in the background. And then you get the people pose and like, how do I look? And the shot takes 10 seconds and they're like, Really, you got it. And I'm like, No, I got it. Let's move on. I don't want to overshoot on oppose, because if the animals air hearing those noises over and over, I can't use them for the rest of the session. So I'm cutting the session short now, but this is the pace that I shoot at.