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A smiling older man in glasses and overalls leans in for a close-up selfie with a white cat on a wooden porch. 19 / 35

Grandpa Tried Taking His First Selfie With the Cat. It Didn't Go as Planned.

AI imagewhite catselfiefront porch

Hank has the camera held out at arm's length, and he is beaming into it with the proud, slightly sheepish grin of someone still getting the hang of selfies. His glasses sit a little crooked and his work shirt is rumpled, but nobody is looking at that, because Cotton has filled most of the frame. The white cat sits front and center, her face so close that every whisker shows, with soft pink ears, a pink nose and wide golden eyes gazing just past the lens. Behind them, the porch railing, potted plants and an overgrown backyard glow in late afternoon light.

Taking good photos of pets mostly comes down to patience and light. Natural daylight, like the soft glow on this porch, is far kinder to animal eyes than a camera flash, which can startle pets and cause that eerie eye shine. Getting down to the pet's eye level creates a more personal picture. Many people make a small sound or hold a treat just above the camera to catch the animal's attention for a split second. Cats in particular tend to cooperate on their own terms, so short sessions and plenty of rewards work better than trying to pose them. Burst mode on a phone can help capture that perfect moment between yawns and wiggles.

Hank may have meant to take a picture of the two of them, but Cotton clearly knows who the star of this porch is.

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