Cat Portrait From a Photo
The general advice in what photo works best applies to cats too. A few things are specific to cats.
Cats will not pose on command
Most cat photos happen because the cat chose that moment, not because anyone arranged it. Keep your camera nearby and ready rather than trying to set up a shot — you will get a better result from being ready when your cat happens to be somewhere well-lit and looking your way than from trying to direct them there.
Eyes and pupil size change with the light
In bright light a cat's pupils narrow to a thin vertical line, which can look striking but hides a lot of the eye colour and detail. In low or dim light, pupils open wide and can dominate the whole eye, again losing the coloured detail around them. Moderate, even indoor light — a bright room without direct sun — usually gives the most balanced pupil size and the clearest eye detail.
Indoor low light is the most common problem
Cats spend a lot of time in the dimmer corners of a house, and phone cameras compensate for low light by slowing the shutter, which blurs any movement — including a cat's ears twitching or head shifting slightly. Move to the brightest room in the house, or near a window in daylight, rather than photographing where the cat happens to be sitting.
Photographing a cat that hides
If your cat is naturally shy, working with where they already feel safe tends to get further than trying to coax them into the open. A photo taken at their eye level in their usual spot — a windowsill, the top of a cat tree, a favourite chair — with good natural light nearby is more achievable than trying to get them out into a better spot.
Tabby and tortoiseshell markings
Cats with a lot of pattern in their coat, such as tabby stripes or tortoiseshell patching, need slightly more even, brighter light than a plain-coloured cat, since strong directional light can throw half the pattern into shadow and make the markings read unevenly. Flat, even daylight shows the true pattern more accurately than a single lamp or a sunbeam.