Tips for selecting photos for your listing

A little about size...

These photos are small. They are processed to 1.5 inches square (108 pixels) at 72 dpi. Why are they so small? If you have many of these on a page, it would take so long for the page to download with all these photos, if the files weren't small. One of these photos saved at good quality takes up 7K to 8K of space, which means that the pages still load quickly enough. If these were all 20K photos, imagine how long it would take a page to load if there were ten of these on a page!

So choosing a photo that will work well with the space is very important to a good result.

Photo orientation

Some photos are better suited than others to become small and stay looking good. Here is a great example:

These photos are perfect examples of how photo orientation works beautifully in this space. The cats' poses in the photos are almost naturally square. They also show off how color contrast can work in favor of the cat -- the darker background sets off the light cat very nicely. They are both excellent choices for space and color.

If a square shot doesn't work, a head shot is also a nice way to handle a small photo. A "square" shot doesn't necessary favor the lithe and long Cornish Rex, but this head makes a bold and beautiful statement. Breeds where head shots work nicely also include the Maine Coon (love those lynx tips!), Scottish Folds, Persians, Himalayans, Sphynx . . . well, it works well for nearly every breed. It's always a safe bet.

Professional shots are not necessary. A home photo, carefully chosen, can make a great statement. Kittens are especially good subjects for this kind of photograph. Avoid pictures with busy backgrounds, particularly heavily patterned bedspreads or cage bars, and try to pick a photo that captures the cats' personality and charm.

Photos that are difficult to work with include pictures of multiple cats (unless there's mashed into one space pretty closely; this Devon Rex picture at the right is a good example of how this CAN work). Photos where the cat is stretched out long along a table or between hands is also a poor choice. This is a popular pose for Maine Coons, Bengals, and Oriental-style cats, but it doesn't work here. Munchkins, needless to say, will always present a challenge in this format.

Color contrast

Photos should have good color contrast between the background and the cat.

Black cats are always a problem. Although the color of the background and the cat work well together, the cat's features are almost always lost. This "owl" picture of a black Bombay works well because the eyes are nice and bright, but any hope of features being shown is lost on such small scale.

Avoid red backgrounds if you're planning to have a cat posted on the Web. Red doesn't duplicate well.

The best bet is to pick a color that contrasts with your cat's color. According to the color wheel, the following are contrast pairs: blue and red, green and red, and purple and yellow. This can be applied to cat colors as well. Red, orange, or cream cats look great on green. Blue cats look lovely on pink or peach. Pale cats look stunning on purple. White cats look best on dark colors and dark cats on light colors.

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