Cats’ Eyes Close Up

I’ve always found cats’ eyes beautiful. Unlike larger members of the cat family, domestic cats have elliptical pupils. This helps them in their ambush approach to catching low level prey; the pupils open and constrict more quickly than round pupils do, allowing the eye to react to rapid changes in lighting conditions and suiting the low light situations in which the cat might be hunting. Larger cats tend to stalk and chase prey during the daytime, a hunting style to which their round pupils are suited.

To create some different memories of a group of cats, I used a macro lens to take a selection of close up pictures of their eyes.

This particular cat clan are all ex-rescue animals. Coming to rescue from different backgrounds they are now well integrated into their new family. I spent some time, as usual, playing with them before starting to photograph. This pre-shoot time is important as it helps to build trust and understanding between photographer and animals. Many people don’t like having a lens aimed at them, and pets are no different, so any time spent getting to know them is time well spent. These cats were all great with the camera, even when I was working very close to them.

I used natural lighting for the shoot and photographed the cats at home so they were as relaxed as possible. As with all pets, the animals had very individual characters and, although only showing a small part of the face, the pictures convey elements of the depth of these personalities. As the saying goes, “the eyes are the windows to the soul“.