Some of Our Favorite Photos on #PhotographyDay aka #WorldPhotoDay

Logo stolen from the World Photo Day website

What is World Photo Day?

"From everyday life to incredible landscapes, our global gallery is an evolving mosaic of images captured by photographers of all skills levels living in a diverse range of countries and cultures.

No matter who you are, where you are or what equipment and skills you have, World Photo Day can help open your eyes to the possibilities of photography, and enable you show us the world as you see it."

I never have, (nor will I probably EVER) consider myself to be a Photography pro. One of my goals with this blog since I first started blogging in 2009 was to improve the quality of my photos.  I would say I am accomplishing that, but it remains a work in progress.  My photos are nowhere near where I would like them to be, but do I take some semblance of pride in a number of them that have appeared (particularly one that was a BlogPaws photo finalist in 2015), YES!!

This photo appeared January 7, 2015

  When I was a new blogger, (and sometimes even now), I would find myself feeling intimidated that I didn't have some fancy, over-the-top-expensive equipment to make my photos the best that they could be. I would find myself apologizing for photos that might be somewhat inferior in the aspect of their technical professionalism. What I often fail to acknowledge, (and I have a feeling that YOU are the same, is that often it isn't the technique that is the most important aspect of a photo, it is the EMOTION that is evoked from a MOMENT that has been captured. A moment that will NEVER happen again), to me, that is what matters most.)

From Days Of The Year:

"the medium is never as important as the memory or moment caught" 

Many of us, including ME, need to focus (pun intended), on that thought. STOP feeling intimidated by others who take photos that you feel are superior to yours. STOP being ashamed that you take photos with your phone, (that is why there are a plethora of photo sites that have been created that can help you take your photos to a whole other level! My all time favorite and most-used, because in my opinion it is the most user-friendly and easiest to figure out for those who are less technologically gifted, as I am,  is Ribbet. But there are those that swear by picmonkey and pizap just to name a couple more.). STOP APOLOGIZING FOR YOUR PHOTOS!!! KEEP LEARNING! KEEP STRIVING TO IMPROVE!!

In that spirit, I would first like to share with you some of my favorite photos that I have taken that have appeared on Instagram, some are pet-related some are not, what is important is that I have posted things that interest me and that I LOVE! (TIP: Contrary to popular belief, I do not think that your Instagram account or your Pinterest account have to be just about pets, even if you are a pet blogger. I know I do not follow the popular belief, but to me, I prefer following people with a bevy of interests rather than those who post just one thing.....just sayin' You will see the same thing reflected in my own favorite Instagram photos below. With 6.1k followers on Pinterest, I think I know what I am talking about!)

Follow me on Instagram!!

Tip for Photographing Pets


Believe me, even after having come a heck of a long way with my photographic "skills", I often seek out tips from others who take photographs that I admire. I recently saw this on My Pawsitively Pets and received some great ideas for items I could use as photo backdrops for photographing my boys!

Visit the original post here

Whether you consider yourself to be a photography professional, armed with enough lenses and cameras to open your own store, or if you are more like me, a "grab-my-phone-take-50-of-the-same-photo-and-pray-you-get-one-good-one" kind of a person, who then dashes off to their favorite photo editing site praying they can edit it into something usable, the main thing is to STOP beating yourself over your photo quality (or the lack thereof), and HAVE FUN!!!! (Yes, that was a run-on sentence,  and I apologize, but I feel strongly about this!!  I am tired of feeling as if my photos are inferior and many of YOU should be tired of feeling that way as well!!!) I have seen many, many photos that I view as being superb from those who think they have the photographic skills of a flea and some truly "meh" photos from those who tout their expertise to anyone and everyone who will listen!!!! Just HAVE FUN!!!

Hoping you enjoy this compilation of some of my favorite photos that have appeared on our blog.

Are they superior photo quality images? No. Is an emotion evoked when you look at a number of these photos? I would have to say yes.....I might be biased, but I feel that most of you will find even just one that strikes an emotional chord. Which one is it? Let me know below, then go and take some pawesome photos of your pets, your food, YOUR LIFE and have a blast doing it!!


Happy Photography/World Photo Day!!

LIVE with GLOGIRLY – A BlogPaws Sneak Peek

GLOGIRLY:  Well hello Cody, Caren and all the Cat Chat fans! Thanks so much for inviting us to your blog today!

WAFFLES:  Where’s the snacks? I was told there would be snacks.

GLOGIRLY:  I’m super excited to be speaking at BlogPaws this year and I’m thrilled to share a little about my session with you today!

KATIE:  Don’t you mean to say you’d be thrilled if anyone ATTENDS your session?

GLOGIRLY:  Maybe my session should be called, “Everything you wanted to know about living with two opinionated cats but were afraid to ask.” 

KATIE:  Opinionated? Everyone’s entitled to an opinion … as long as it’s mine.

GLOGIRLY:  Alright, that’s enough smack talk. On with the show!

“A picture’s worth a thousand words.”

My absolute favorite part of blogging is visual storytelling. Taking great photos is not only fun, but for me it’s what defines my blog. Through photography I can give a voice to my cats and make people laugh. It’s also something that comes in very handy when working with brands.

“I wish I could take better pictures.”

I hear this from friends, readers and fellow bloggers all the time. And this is exactly what my session will focus on. Whether you’re taking photos with an iPhone, a small point & shoot or DSLR (that’s photographer-speak for a camera that has a detachable lens) you’ll walk away from this session with simple and actionable tips that will enable you to immediately improve the photos you take of your pets.  Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, I promise to deliver some “aha” moments.

A Sneak Peek

The session, called Photography Tips, Tricks & Product Reviews, is divided into two main chunks –

1.    How to take a better photo of your pet

2.    How to take better photos for product reviews

Some of my tips are technical. Some are creative and artistic. And some will even help you wrangle your pets!

Get Down!

Better start practicing your deep knee bends!  One of my absolute favorite tips is something that EVERYONE can do right now. Get down! WAY down! Get down to your pet’s level when taking their picture. Some of the best shots will happen when your lens is looking right into your pet’s eyes at their level.  

And if they’re lying on the floor, well I hope you have soft carpeting.

Eye contact is where some the magic happens and when you’re on the same level as your pet, it’s as if you can see into their soul. This is Waffles’ soul saying, “I’m bored…is it snack time yet???”

Lighting, Lighting, Lighting

It’s probably no surprise that lighting is a big deal. If eye contact is where some of the magic happens, good lighting is where the rest of the magic can happen. I always try to take advantage of natural light whenever I can.  Inside the house, I like to position myself with a window behind me and a cat in front of me.  That way the light from the window illuminates the cat, and gives them a nice sparkle in their eye.

If you do the reverse and shoot your cat with the window behind them, the view out your window may look nice, but all you’ll see is a dark shadow of your cat.  

  Product Reviews with WOW

For bloggers, photos can make or break product reviews.  Brands will sit up and take notice when you feature great shots of your pets interacting with their product.  They LOVE seeing their products put to use in a home environment and it will make writing your review a piece of cake… or as Katie & Waffles would have it, a piece of chicken.

And guess what? Great content and great photos are the name of the game when it comes to attracting sponsors. This session will walk you through how to get the best possible photos for whatever type of product you’re reviewing. 

A Purr-sonal Invitation – TONIGHT 7PM CST!

Come hangout with me and the BlogPaws gang at BlogPaws Live|365:2. This episode, Thursday, March 27, at 8pm EST / 7pm CST will feature three of the BlogPaws 2014 Conference speakers:

·         Dino Dogan, “Pet Blogging Business” Keynote Panelist

·         Carleen Coulter, Top Legal Issues Faced by Bloggers

·         Debbie Glovatsky (ME!), Photography Tips, Tricks & Product Reviews

Click HERE to join the conversation on Google Hangouts.

Join Me at BlogPaws!

So if you’re attending BlogPaws, I’d like to purr-sonally invite you to join me for Photography Tips, Tricks & Product Reviews on Friday May 9 from 2:00-3:30 pm.

And if you’re not attending BlogPaws…well what are you waiting for! This will be my third conference and I can guarantee you’ll have a blast!

Save 10%! Register HERE for the 2024 BlogPaws Pet Blogging & Social Media Conference. Enter promo code BlogPaws2014-Speaker-Glovatsky-10.

  

About Debbie Glovatsky:

Debbie is the creative, funny-girl behind the award-winning GLOGIRLY.com cat blog. Voiced by cats, Katie & Waffles, GLOGIRLY delivers daily doses of humor, cuteness and spiffy, new cat products. She’s an accomplished photographer and graphic designer and visual marketer. Through her online business, GLOGIRLY DESIGN, Debbie has partnered with brands and bloggers to help them find their own visual identity. Her signature style is sprinkled across the blogosphere like sparkling pixie dust.

FROM CAT CHAT WITH CAREN AND CODY, thanks so much to Debbie Glovatsky for being our SPECIAL guest today!!!! I know I am hoping to sign up for your session at BlogPaws 2014! Oh and Waffles, I will bring SNACKS!

Michigan! Last Chance For Holiday Photos!

Photo courtesy of www.NorthernLightsPhoto.Biz
www.northernlightsphotography.zenfolio.com

PLEASE CALL STORES FOR APPOINTMENT

Kalamazoo 269-342-5020 Saturday, December 1

Clinton Township 586-228-0090 Sunday, December 2

Ortonville 248-627-7900 Friday, December 7

St.Clair Shores-Harper 586-771-3277 Saturday, December 8

St.Clair Shores-Greater Mack 586-771-1710 Sunday, December 9

Photos by Northern Lights Photography

Dear Sparkle: CAT-TO-CAT advice from the world's foremost FELINE columnist-Sparkle The Designer Cat

Dear Sparkle,

I kicked my Mom off of the computer because I think that it should be ME writing the book review today.

It only seems right that I should write the review and not my Mom because you wrote this advice book for CATS ONLY.

Mom is not a CAT. I am a CAT, so I do the review.

Love, Cody

Dear Sparkle,

I would like to thank you for taking the time to sign my book. That was pretty darned cool of you. Especially being as famous as you are.

Love, Cody

Dear Sparkle,

I really like how you have the replies to the letters seeking advice from assorted kitties broken down into various CAT-egories such as:

GAMES KITTIES PLAY

STRANGE INVASIONS

CAT VS. HUMAN

EPI-CURIOUS

LITTER BOX LETTERS

MIXED MAILBAG

I can see how you are famous. You organized this stuff really well. If a kitty has a problem that purr-tains to a certain CAT-egory. All they gotta do is put their paw on the right chapter.

Love, Cody

Photo courtesy of Janiss Garza

Dear Sparkle,

The photos that you have in this book are of superior quality. I understand your human captured your beauty by herself? Wow! She is purrty darned talented. I like how she put your sagacious words under each photo.

You have trained her well.

Love, Cody

Dear Sparkle,

I liked the advice letter about “Playtime Time Out” Wanna know why? My Mom is super lazy. She doesn’t play with me enough. She says she has BLOGS to write, BLOGS to read, it’s all about BLOGS, BLOGS, BLOGS!

When she does try to play with me, I go through my “cobra-routine” on the carpet. I stretch out and barely move. This frustrates Mom and she stops playing with me.

I guess I need to follow  your advice and show some enthusiasm when I play and maybe she will play with me longer.

Love, Cody

Dear Sparkle,

Thanks for printing the letter about “Housekeeper Havoc.” I could really relate.

I have a housekeeper who comes to my house and moves things around and makes everything smell AWFUL! She even has the nerve to tell me that she knows when I have POOPED! She tries to cover up the smell after I have worked so hard to make it smell like ME in my litter box.

You are right about the sucky monster dust inhaler not being dangerous, as long as I stay out of its’ way.

Thanks for the advice.

I could really relate to “Scared for my life” who wrote that letter.

Love, Cody

Dear Sparkle,

I want to thank you for answering the age-old question of why cats have expressive ears. I am sure a lot of kitties and their humans wanted to know the answer. You said, “it’s because we don’t have eyebrows”

You aren’t just beautiful, you are brilliant.

That’s why you make the big bucks.

Love, Cody

Dear Sparkle,

It’s about time that SOMEONE addressed the issue of “Nickname Nightmare” as you did in your book.

Humans need to realize that we don’t like nicknames. I hate being called “Codester”, “Jelly Belly”, “Co-Dependent” and a host of other ridiculous names.

Thanks for your advice of telling us “when your human mangles your name, make yourself scarce.”

Keep up the great work!

Love, Cody

Dear Sparkle,

4-paws up on your idea for Vet Care Reform: “put the vets into carriers and bring them to US, instead of vice versa.”

PURR GENIUS!!

Love, Cody

Photo courtesy of Janiss Garza

Dear Sparkle,

I think your book is a MUST HAVE for any kitty worth their kibble. Who better to go to for answers to our burning questions than ANOTHER CAT?

You are right, about humans possibly not liking some of what they read. Sometimes the TRUTH HURTS!

I showed your book to my Mom and in a few instances you helped her see the error of her ways. Will she change? One can only hope.

You pointed out some impawtant issues that my Mom and other humans need to pay attention to!

Thanks for taking these impawtant matters into your own paws.

Love, Cody

Dear Sparkle,

Last but not least, I couldn’t agree more with your “Sparkle Says tidbit: the fact that dogs are so trainable does not make them smarter than us cats. Since when has being easily manipulated become a sign of intelligence?”

Love, Cody

 Dear Kitties,

Sparkle wrote this book to solve all of your “kitty conundrums!” There are 70 Questions and Answers, “Sparkle Says” sidebars and full-color photos throughout.

It is “definitely NOT your usual human-written cat book!!”

It is available at booksellers everywhere!

Also, if you haven't already, be sure to visit Sparkle on the web at www.sparklecat.com

Love, Cody

Friday Fun! Great for the Holidays! Picture Day is coming to a Pet Supplies Plus near YOU in MICHIGAN!

Photo courtesy of:

www.northernlightsphoto.biz

www.northernlightsphotography.zenfolio.com

A professional Pet Photographer will be coming to:

PLEASE CALL

THE STORE OF YOUR CHOICE

FOR AN APPOINTMENT

Mt. Morris 810-686-2400 Saturday, October 20
Owosso 989-725-7686 Sunday, October 21
Farmington Hills 248-932-3113 Saturday, October 27
White Lake-Cooley Lake Rd. 248-360-1400 Sunday,  October 28
Toledo (Ohio) 419-269-1622  Friday, November 2
Bay City 989-891-9597 Saturday, November 3
White Lake-Highland Rd. 248-889-4131  Sunday, November 4
Bloomfield Hills 248-333-7545 Friday, November 9
Woodhaven 734-671-6936 Saturday, November 10
Washington Twp. 586-752-2800 Sunday, November 11
Canton 734-981-9191 Friday, November 16

Photo courtesy of:

www.northernlightsphoto.biz

www.northernlightsphotography.zenfolio.com

Novi 248-380-0007 Saturday, November 17
Petoskey 231-347-1250 Sunday, November 18
Livonia 248-615-0039 Tuesday, November 20
Dearborn  313-278-4799 Saturday, November 24
Dearborn 313-278-4799 Sunday, November 25
Portage 269-341-9252 Thursday, November 29
Portage 269-341-9252 Friday, November 30
Kalamazoo 269-342-5020 Saturday, December 1
Clinton Township 586-228-0090 Sunday, December 2
Ortonville 248-627-7900 Friday, December 7
St.Clair Shores-Harper 586-771-3277 Saturday, December 8
St.Clair Shores-Greater Mack 586-771-1710 Sunday, December 9

Photo courtesy of:

www.northernlightsphoto.biz

www.northernlightsphotography.zenfolio.com

GO TO THEIR WEBSITE

FOR COMPLETE PRICE LIST,

SAMPLES AND CHRISTMAS CARD DESIGNS

www.northernlightsphoto.biz

www.northernlightsphotography.zenfolio.com

Mom isn't sure if I am going to be there or not but Dakota will DEFINITELY be getting HIS pictures taken! That doggy just LOVES smiling for the camera. Me? Not so much!

Love, Cody