Photograph Pets with a Long Lens

If you've been reading this blog for a while you know that my cat is one of my favorite things to photograph. (She sleeps next to me while I write, so she's an easy target.) The problem I have in photographing her is that the minute I see her in a cute pose and then I lift up a camera or walk toward her, she thinks it's time to eat or play and so, of course, she walks over to me. End of shooting session!

I've learned that the best way to get candids of her is to keep a long zoom on my camera and photograph her from across the room. In fact, I keep a 75-300mm Nikkor zoom on one of my older D70 bodies all the time and I can shoot full face shots like this one from at least 10-feet away. She barely even notices that I'm photographing her. If she's in front of a window (which is one of the places she sleeps) or is on the screened porch, I also use the flash to provide a little fill and to keep the pictures very sharp. Photographing pets with a long lens is a great way to get candid close-up shots without having to follow them around for hours--and the shots are usually very relaxed and natural looking.