[ In The Beginning: The Whiteboard ]
Every great photoshoot starts with a vision, a plan, and, if you’re photographing a cat, an enormous dose of wishful thinking. My star model is Joey: orange, three-legged, and fully convinced he runs this household. While I’ve got whiteboards, Pinterest boards, and a carefully chosen studio setup, Joey has… naps. This should be interesting.
Subject: JOEY THE CAT
[ Joey the Cat: Three Legs, Infinite Sass ]
Joey, my three-legged orange tabby, is fast on those three legs and endlessly determined. Over the past seven years, I’ve watched him learn to climb boxes, tables, and anything else I put in his path. He always figures out a way to get where he wants, and when he perches high above it all like a king, the pride on his face says it all. I can’t help but delight in his triumphs.
“Three legs, four times the attitude. Do the math, human.”
Shooting Environment: STUDIO
[ SET DESIGN FOR JOEY THE CAT PORTRAIT SHOOT ]
[ The Studio: AKA Joey’s New Kingdom ]
Because of the Florida heat, Joey’s session will be indoors. My studio pops might test his patience, but since he often lounges there while I work, he may be more cooperative than most cats. The plan: place him on the stool, hope he stays put, and cross my fingers he doesn’t leap off mid-shot.
“Oh, you set up a stool? Cute. I’ll sit on it… right after I knock over that light stand.”
Design Ideas: PINTEREST
[ Pinterest vs. Joey’s ‘I’ll Do What I Want’ Pose ]
In my early days as a commercial artist, I collected clip art books for design ideas. Now, Pinterest fills that role. The board above is packed with cat portraits that feed my mental image bank. I’ve highlighted a few favorites, not to copy them exactly, but to spark direction. Think of it as practice swings before stepping up to the plate.
“Pinterest cats are posers. Me? I’m going full abstract performance art.”
Tools: FILM & DIGITAL
[ Gear List: Fancy Toys for a Furry Diva ]
Choosing tools was easy. Lighting has always been about simplicity for me. Joey will be lit with a single Profoto D1 500 strobe in a Westcott Halo, placed center-left. A mirror opposite will bounce light, softened with translucent material. I’ll shoot both black-and-white film on my Hasselblad with a CFi 180/4 and digital files on my Sony a7R IVa with a Sony FE 90/2.8 Macro G OSS. Ambitious? Absolutely. Photographing cats in the studio is pure wishful thinking—LOL!
“That strobe better flatter me. I want dramatic shadows. Think ‘tiger in the jungle,’ not ‘fat housecat.’”
Shoot Area: CHAOS & SPEED
[ Chaos Management: Herding Cats, Literally ]
With the subject, tools, and ideas lined up, the last step is setting realistic expectations. Cat photography is chaos. My plan is to shoot film first, pause, then switch to digital. I’ll be working solo (and unpaid), so no assistants—just me, Joey, and maybe his mischievous brother watching from the sidelines. Dogs are easier; cats, not so much. This will be Joey’s first time under strobe lighting, and I doubt he’ll sit on the stool like a trained pup. Still, with patience (and a little luck), I’ll capture something worth keeping. Film will be developed in the coming days, once I recover from the session.
“Film first, digital later? Ha! I’ll be gone before you even load the roll.”
Ready, Set …
[ Joey Composite: Framed as I imagine it through the Hasselblad ]
So that’s the grand plan: lights, camera, chaos. Joey’s first studio portrait session will either result in frame-worthy art… or a blurry streak leaping off a stool. Either way, the film will get developed, the story will get told, and Joey will probably get more treats than he deserves. Because let’s be honest, he’s the boss here, and I’m just the human with the camera.