Hi Petra - your cats are great subjects. But, shooting cats can be tricky, let alone in high contrast situations where you have black and white together. Try simplifying the background first, then move back just a bit. Have you tried shooting them in natural light situations without the flash? Room light (if possible) may be just the ticket for reducing contrast and bringing out the detail in the white fur portions. If anything, try underexposing just a little by adjusting contrast (or brightness) controls on your camera if you have them. My Sony does, and it helps a little. Good luck!
the root of your focus problem with yer kitties is most likely the same one i had back when i used to do alot of black cat photography. Problem = the cat is just a black mass thats nearly impossible for AF systems to grab onto. Autofocus (AF) needs edges with contrast in decent light (lines and so forth) to work properly, and when it doesnt have it the performance drops to zilch. Manual focus would be the obvious solution, but if you're like me then you'll have as hard a time that way as u will with the AF, the damn things are just black and solid colors are very difficult to focus on~
Hi, Petra! Welcome to USEFILM! If you want to learn about photography, this is the place to do it. I can't believe how much my skills have improved since I started reading the comments and articles offered on this site (and I still have a LONG way to go). When people critique others' photos, they're learning as well as teaching. You see things in other people's photos that you may come across in the future. I also recommend checking out the photo articles links (located at the top of the page) as a starting point.
You have some cute cats here and the timing on your photo is good. I have two cats myself, and when I try to take a picture of them relaxing together, they both stop and stare at me like I've completely lost my mind. It seems to be "cat universal"!
It looks like you might have been just a little too close when you shot this because Meike is out of focus and the white fur on Snickers is a "blown out" so that there are no details to be seen. It's nice having a digital camera, so that the cost of getting practice is nice and small.
Keep shooting, Petra, and again, welcome to Usefilm.
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