PICTURE PURFECT PURTRAITS By Louise Vessey, MPA, SPA
SPRING 2021 | GALLERIE MAGAZINE | 30
I’M SORRY IN ADVANCE FOR THE CAT PUNS (NOT SORRY). EIGHT YEARS AGO, OUR LIVES CHANGED FOREVER WHEN WE ADOPTED A TINY FLUFFY RAGDOLL KITTEN NAMED NEKO (JAPANESE FOR CAT). PRIOR, THE CLOSEST THING TO A PET, AFTER MUCH BEGGING FROM OUR CHILDREN, WERE FISH, CATERPILLARS, AND HAMSTERS, YOU KNOW, THE GATEWAY PETS. MY HUSBAND INSISTED THAT WE WERE NOT ‘THOSE’ PEOPLE. I COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND WHAT THE BIG DEAL WAS. LIKE WHY WOULD PEOPLE INSIST THAT THEIR PETS BE INCLUDED IN FAMILY PORTRAITS? NOT TO MENTION I WAS, AND STILL AM ALLERGIC TO CATS. I FOUND OUT FROM A WONDERFUL PPOC FRIEND THAT CERTAIN CAT BREEDS LIKE RAGDOLLS AND SIBERIANS DON’T AFFECT PEOPLE AS MUCH AS OTHERS DO. TURNED OUT THAT THE BROTHER TO HER RAGDOLL KITTEN WAS AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION. FAST FORWARD TO TODAY AND WE HAVE FOUR LONGHAIRED, FLUFFY FELINES! NOW I TOTALLY GET IT AND AM HAPPY TO BE AMONG “THOSE” PEOPLE. THE DAILY PUFFERS ARE WORTH IT! I’ve definitely developed somewhat of a ‘Crazy Cat Lady’ persona and I’m ok with it, although I prefer ‘Passionate Feline Female’! Over the years I’ve learned a thing or two about photographing these fiercely independent creatures. Luckily, cats are naturally beautiful and photogenic with no hair and make up required. The real challenge is to coerce them to sit where and how I want for that ultimate click of the shutter. My approach is not to spray and pray, but to be more intentional and to capture that decisive moment that shows the kitty’s personality. In my studio I have a bright northern window so will often use natural light as well as strobes.
