Cats are cute, and we’re actually hardwired to find their big eyes, tiny noses, and round furry faces absolutely adorable. But what makes them so photogenic? Well, it turns out it’s a combination of things. 

They have expressive features, graceful postures, diverse coat patterns and colors, and display intriguing behaviors. This heady mix has made them a favorite subject of photographers basically since the camera was invented.

Bored Panda reached out to professional wildlife photographer Ian Malone to get his insights on capturing the essence of the feline form. 

When we asked him what inspired him to start taking photos of cats and other animals, he had this to say, “I’m from South Africa, where we have a huge abundance of wildlife and wild places, so growing up in a place like this, I’ve always wanted to capture what was around me and share it with other people.” 

“Cats come into that quite a lot, more specifically the wild ones you find in sub-Saharan Africa, but the more time you spend with them, the more you realize the similarities between them and their domestic cousins in terms of physiology, behavior, and mannerisms,” says Malone.

We asked Malone if he could share any memorable experiences or challenges he’s had while photographing cats. He says every encounter he’s had with cats has been memorable for one reason or another, and certainly at the moment of contact, his heart tends to skip a beat because of how graceful, majestic and mysterious the cats are, qualities he thinks they share with their domestic counterparts.

In terms of experience and challenges, he says it can vary tremendously in wild situations. Often there’s a lot of waiting around for explosive moments like a cheetah hunting a springbok across the plains or the time he captured a leopard stalking and killing a baby waterbuck about 15 feet away from him in the almost pitch black.

“That was just a question of keeping my mind on the technicalities of it because what you actually want to be doing is capturing the moment,” he says of the breathtaking experience.

When we asked Malone how he approaches capturing the interplay of light and composition when photographing cats to convey mood and narrative, he had this to say, “My approach when photographing anything is to show not just what something looked like, but what it felt like as well. For me, feeling and personality and a certain element of storytelling always help to make a photograph stand out.”

Malone goes on, “In my particular genre of photography I don’t always have as much control over those elements in the wild as you might in a domestic situation. but the principles are the same.”

“So, for example, if you have a cat that is facing directly towards you or walking directly towards you, don’t hesitate to put it in the middle of the frame, preferably with the light coming from behind you towards the cat or from the side, which gives a visually appealing kind of 3D effect and provides a bit of contrasting light.”

Malone says if you want to have a broader or wider scene where you want to show more of the environment, you might have the cat positioned on the side of the frame, He says it’s helpful to have it looking into the frame to guide the viewer’s attention into that scene, and, in a case like that, it becomes a little bit more about balance of elements.

Finally, we asked Malone what advice he’d offer to aspiring photographers wanting to capture the essence of cats, especially when dealing with the unpredictability of animal behavior.

 He says, “With cats, I’d say unpredictability is very much part of the essence of capturing them so it’s something to be encouraged and embraced. Obviously, because of that, patience is a virtue and the longer you stick at it the more likely you are to find those magical moments. 

Malone adds that there are some things that you can do to put yourself in a better position for success. For him, probably the most important would be to get low if the cat happens to be on the ground. Lie straight on the ground and get eye level with it. If it happens to be on a counter or on a windowsill also try to get on eye level with it - simply by doing that you find that you’ll enter its world far more than if you were photographing it from below or above.”

Malone concludes, “I think it’s important to realize that there’s no right or wrong necessarily and you don’t want your photograph to look like a million other cat photographs so don’t be afraid to experiment and find your own style.

Arguably the world’s most famous cat photographer, Walter Chandoha, dedicated decades of his life to capturing kitties in all their glory and published over 30 books, perhaps most notably an archive of his work spanning 1942 - 2018.

“I relished the challenge of mak­ing photographs of cats and quickly saw the potential of attempting to capture their naturally expressive personalities,” he wrote in the book’s foreword. “The photo­graphic possibilities and challenges seemed endless.”

Of course, the Internet loves cats and, with the advent of social media, they truly found their stage. In 2015, 15% of all web traffic consisted of cats and cat-related content. Over 2 million pieces of feline footage were posted on YouTube in 2014, which accounted for more than 26 billion views. By 2022, the number of cat videos on the site had reached tens of millions and, today, TikTok is also exploding with cat content

The @cats_of_instagram account boasts 13M followers and features over 18 000 posts of cats doing their thing, whether they’re being adorable, derpy, or just plain crazy. The hashtag #catsofinstagram appears on a whopping 178 million posts and is a treasure trove of adorable kitty content.

In an interview for Bored Panda, pop culture expert Mike Sington explains that cats’ independent personalities often lead to unintentionally funny situations that we can't help but chuckle at. “They can be grumpy, sassy, and independent, or cuddly and affectionate. We see ourselves or our moods reflected in these furry internet stars," he says. It’s no wonder then that photographers find them so utterly captivating.

So, who is the world’s most photogenic catto? According to reliable sources, that title goes to Smoothie, a petite British Longhair owned by Dutch citizen Arvid Van Boekel. At the time of writing, Smoothie had 2.3 million fans on Instagram and is celebrated for her golden fur (she’s been dubbed the Queen of Fluff) and striking emerald-green eyes. 

Smoothie’s not the only cat in the spotlight though. Celebrity pets like Lil Bub, Maru, Grumpy Cat, and Monty are perfect examples of cats going viral for all the right reasons and absolutely coining it with their own lines of merchandise fans can’t get enough of. There’s even a New York Cat Film Festival dedicated to displaying the best cat cinema of the year while supporting cat charities wherever they tour.

Have you ever been inspired to capture a kitty in a window? Upvote your favorites in this picture-perfect list of kitties and don’t forget to leave a comment if the cat power compels you!