Animal photographer Mitsuaki Iwago teaches “How to take cute photos of cats”

On a TV show, an animal photographer Mitsuaki Iwago, who is well-known on Japan’s NHK BS TV’s cat show, talked about the secrets to take cute photos of cats.

 

To take cute photos of cats, first you need to get along well with cats.
In order to do so, you need to,
1. First, greeting
You can say “Good morning” or “Hello”. Your local language is better.
When Iwago greeted a cat in London with “Good morning” but it ignored him.
Because the greeting was American accent!
2. If there are kittens, you should say hello to their mother cat first
Where there are kittens, there must be their mother cat and is watching them.
So you need to greet the mother cat first.
3. Praise
Every time Iwago meets a good cat, he praises it “You are a good boy”
or “You are beautiful”. It seems that cats don’t feel bad hearing those words :)

 

After you became friendly with cats, it is time to take photos.
Iwago said,
1. First, greeting again with the eyes of cats
2. When you pet a cat, you should show your hand and pet it
(Don’t pet its head from above suddenly)
3. Use camera lower position, and take photos with praise
4. When you take photos of a black cat, it depends on light.
So you need take photos according to the light.

 

And now you might be able to take nice photos like Iwago?

 

By the way, Iwago doesn’t take photos by using a smartphone. One time when he went to a cell-phone shop to get one without camera, and its woman staff told him “I will show you how to take cell-phone photos :) （H.S）

 

My cat “Gil”. This angle is unusual.

 

The most popular cat “Mofu Mofu” in Gotanjoji Temple in Echizen City, Fukui Prefecture.
The Zen temple is well known as a “Cat Temple”.

 

Its back shot is pretty good too. Mofu Mofu is a Norwegian Forest Cat.