Cats - Emma Lord Photography

As a pet photographer, Emma talks about cats and what it's like to work with them in this interesting blog post!

Working to free up some memory space the other day (photographs take up such a lot of room!), I came across some macro work I did last year. The subject was cats’ eyes, which was rather apt as my most recent big assignment involved photographing cats too.

I’ve always found cats’ eyes beautiful. Unlike larger members of the cat family, domestic cats have elliptical pupils. This helps them in their ambush approach to catching low level prey; the pupils open and constrict more quickly than round pupils do, allowing the eye to react to rapid changes in lighting conditions and suiting the low light situations in which the cat might be hunting. Larger cats tend to stalk and chase prey during the daytime, a hunting style to which their round pupils are suited.

Whether working in close up or portrait, it’s very important to build trust and understanding between photographer and animals. Many people don’t like having a lens aimed at them, and pets are no different, so any time spent getting to know them is time well spent. The most recent assignment at the cat show meant working quickly while the cats had a break between judging. There was still time to play with them before taking pictures though, and they’re used to the busy environment so were very calm from the outset.

I don’t share photos online until the pet guardians have had a chance to view them. The pictures below have been approved by the cats’ families. It really was a wonderful weekend spent working with such lovely animals.