Li Ward photographer of pets and weddings. Fat Orange Cat Studio is a fresh and candid boutique photography service in Boston, Massachusetts.

The craziest thing happened last week. Rik Fairlie, a contributor to the NYTimes.com personal tech blog section called Gadgetwise, contacted me. First he said Hi. Then How are you. Then he asked if I had any tips on taking good pet photos. And then he inquired whether or not I’d be willing to share those tips in an “informal” Q&A for the blog.

I thought, !!!!!

Do I have tips? Um, maybe? I think I got some tips? I’ve got some here in my back pocket, and maybe some more at the bottom of my purse….rummage rummage rummage.

But I mean really, for the New York freaking Times, I’ll make up as many tips as you need.

So here’s some insight to how I shoot. A lot of it might seem obvious or easy, but then again if that were so, there’d be a lot more pet/children photographers out there.

No, I’m not a self-proclaimed expert.

But yes I am totally passionate about what I do, have learned some things in my short tenure so far as a “professional,” and I am trying to get better every day.

And no, the 17-55mm is not a kit lens. Seventeen to fifty-five people, not eighteen to fifty-five. f-stop 2.8, mkay (had to clarify, just had to).

However YES, I totally submitted a blurry photo to the Times.

The point is: Good photography – wedding, travel, baby, pet or otherwise – is not lazy. It’s not all about the camera body, it’s not about standing around waiting for Something to Happen. It’s all deliberate, it’s all work, even – and especially? – the candid ones.

And this is kind of how I feel about the whole interview going up:
(link to video here)

Thanks Rik for the write-up! Sha-day!

From Elinor:
How long have you had pets? Since you were a kid? Or did you get them when you lived on your own?
I’ve had pets all my life, mostly cats, and most of them were orange tabbies. My first was a humongous fat orange cat who eventually died of feline leukemia. I cried my eyes out. I had at least 4 orange tabbies in succession after that. Each of them were named “Meow” (I was so creative), all were outdoor cats and all ran away/got hit/whereabouts became unknown. Then I entered the what is known as The Snowball Era. I had two white cats in succession, named Snowball I and Snowball II. Both barely entered adulthood when they met their demise. One was hit by our neighbor’s car, the other just never came home. I cried for weeks and determined that from now on, no remaining pets shall roam out of doors. That proved difficult to enforce. During the era of Snowball II there were two other cats, a long-haired named Pepper who had poor eyesight and respiratory problems and loved everyone, and Tammy who was a gray short-hair and shy and loved only me. In the house, Pepper was only called “xiao mao” (Little Cat in Mandarin) and Tammy was “da mao” (Big Cat).

AND during this period we adopted an older Pomeranian named Beau. We had him for only several years. He enjoyed coming and going via the cat door in the basement, would roam indiscriminately, never looked both ways before crossing the street…you’re seeing a horrible pattern here. Poor Beau. Soon after, we got another puppy, a Poodle mix that I named Candi (haha what a terrible name). Pepper and Tammy were still around. By now they had moved with us 3 times, across 2 different states. In fact they were the only pets that managed to stay with us for more than 3 years, and who did not die from violent or unknown circumstances. Both passed away from old age while I was in college. Candi wasn’t the only pet for long: while I was back from summer break I got the cutest apricot Poodle, just 8 weeks old, and named her Mocha. When I returned to school she officially became my mother’s dog. Candi and Mocha were pals with a new scrawny cat named Mouse that my dad brought home, until Candi died of kidney failure at age 10.

The only quiet period in pet ownership was when I was in college. But as soon as I graduated and settled into my own place in Boston, the first thing I did was to visit shelters for my next pet. Eventually I took in two cats named Sam and Pumpkin.

Mocha is 12 now and currently in Beijing, where my parents are living these days. It’s so strange to think of her there. Mouse has gotten really fat and is still in Altanta, given to the neighbor next door. Sam and Pumpkin are Baxter and VanBuren, aka Bunny and Veebs, and both are doing very well. As 100% indoor cats, I’m hoping they’ll stay with me for quite awhile.

From Guin:
If you could photograph an animal in any setting, what would it be?
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE.

From Cirilia:
When you meet new animals, what do you do? Kneel down to their level? Talk to them in high-pitched baby talk? Extend your hand for their sniffing purposes? Basically, how do you Dolittle it up?
Yes, all those things. Plus treats, if the owner has any on hand. I never attempt to pat a dog unless the owner tells me it’s OK, and then I don’t do it until the dog tells me it’s OK, through the ritual of kneeling down, letting them sniff my hand, talking to them in a high-pitched – but soft – baby voice. I’m not really sure if baby talk actually puts a dog at ease. I do it because hi! it’s impossible NOT to.

Sometimes the body language is very clear. Take this Bernese Mtn Dog (love!) for example:

Not the dog in the middle with the soft brown eyes, but her sibling in the back, looking as if she’s just seen a ghost.

She’s standing as far back as her leash would allow, with so much worry in her eyes. No amount of introductory baby talk or sniffing of hands was going to put her at ease.

I don’t baby talk to cats. No wait, that’s a lie. I make this “tseh-tseh-tseh” sound first to get their attention, and then I baby talk. And I just now spent 15 minutes trying to decide how to spell tseh-tseh-tseh. It’s a soft clicking sound, and all cats seem to respond in one way or another by either looking at or coming towards you. When I make that sound to Veebs from across the room, he comes flying over. It’s very cute.

From Amber:
If Veebs and Bunny had cameras (and opposable thumbs, AND the interest in photographing you) what aspect of your personality do you think that they would try to capture?
This isn’t so much as a personality rather than an event. I’d like them to capture the expression on our faces when we’re playing Mario Kart on the Wii. It gets very, very intense when the MK is fired up. They love our laps, and so it greatly disturbs them when they’re sitting there and suddenly they’re getting jostled about, or whacked in the head with controllers. And then there’s all the screaming, cursing, punching. I won’t lie. I hit Dan sometimes. I’d like to see what that whole scene looks like.

Some online friends have been kind enough to send me questions so that I could beef up my “About” page, and give me something to write about this new biz of mine in general. I’ve gotten some really, really great questions, and the plan is to answer all of them, in a series of “Q&A” posts.

For the first post, I’ve picked a few of my favorites. Here are the first 5…

From Caitlyn, who wins the Most Favorite Question Award
Q: If you could photograph one famous animal, who would you choose? (regardless of whether s/he is currently alive)
A: The First Dog, in a heartbeat. I’ve been thinking about this a lot, actually. As far as I know there has never been an Official White House Pet Photographer. A gross oversight if you ask me, and one that can be easily rectified. Call me.

I’m waiting on pins and needles for the Obama girls to pick their new puppy. Last word was they were deciding between a Labradoodle and a Portuguese Water Dog.

Look! A Labrador, a poodle, and a Portuguese Water Dog! Coincidence, or qualifications? Hmmmm.

In case you’re wondering, the first photo shoot would take place aboard Air Force One. Hopefully when lobster’s on the menu.

The next famous animal I’d photograph is Howard Stern’s English bulldog, Bianca Romijn-Stamos-O’Connell.

From Vicki:
Q: Was there a particular moment when you realized you wanted to become more serious about photography?
A: Yes. It was April 2008, in Atlanta, at my parents’ house, at the kitchen table, in the evening. I was helping them to pack up the house for their move to Beijing. During a break strolling through the internet, I stumbled upon this wedding photographer’s portfolio. I had kind of been a lurker on an older blog of hers a long time ago, when she was a graphic/print designer. Her foray into professional photography seemed fairly recent – and to me, very sudden, since I didn’t know the backstory – so between that and the quality of her photos, I was just blown away. The fact that someone had the ability to not only recognize that natural talent within them, but to do something about it! A new career path! I was both inspired and envious at the same time. I might have even been a little sad. Sad for me and my lack of insight/ambition/courage that I never saw it in myself to do the same.

It’s scary chasing your dreams. But people do it all the time, with much happiness and success. And I suddenly realized, So why not me? WHY NOT??

I called up Dan back in Boston. Enough of these shenanigans, I said. I’ve had quite enough of the flitting from one uninspiring career choice to the next, tired of merely tolerating a job rather than exulting in it, sick of the complacency. Photography could be something more, more than a for-fun thing, on-the-weekends thing, while-traveling thing. It could be the real thing.

That said though, I haven’t quit my day job! I don’t think I would have been able to do this venture without it, however “uninspiring” for me it may be. It has reaffirmed what I am good at, and mostly what I am not. Also, these jobs pay. Maybe I’m bleh and meh about it half the time, but at least I have the means to fill those empty spaces with another round of overpriced cocktails without too much remorse, you know?

So by nature I am not one of those entrepreneurs who are willing to risk their 401k to fund their venture, or dive into something so brand new without a safety net that comes in the form of hefty savings. That, and…a working husband. There, I said it. As it turns out, I’m really not that brave. And I’m sexist.

From Allie:
Q: What food do you think tastes the BEST and you would most like to photograph?
A: Taiwanese food tastes the BEST. I just had some this weekend and yep, it was the best. No it’s not Thai food, and it’s not Chinese food, it’s Taiwanese and in a class by itself. I have a hard time describing what that is when people ask. Some choice words that come to mind are “brothy” and “simple,” “shallot-y” and “cilantro-y.” Does that paint a picture? The best dishes have only a few ingredients, and have none of the heaviness of most Chinese food, and are very inventive. Such as:

Shaved ice, topped with mango and sweet red beans, then slathered in condensed milk. It’s really ice cream, but decontructed. Sometimes I dream about it at nights.

I also really like steak.

From Erica:
Q: Why animal photography in particular? Why did you choose to focus on animals instead of just general photography?
A: So after I decided I wanted to become a photographer, I spent a lot of time wondering what kind. I had to have a specialty. Without that, there is no focus, and therefore no viable business plan, simple as that. General photography is just too all-encompassing, and besides, each niche has its own skill sets that go way beyond just taking the photographs.

Of course there is also simply the natural interest towards the subject you’re photographing. I knew I didn’t want to do sport, or catalog, or baby, or wedding. I do love to travel, so travel photography seemed to be an option. I do love to eat, so food photography seemed to be another. But how in the world does one get their foot in the door with respect to either? That was the burning question…along with coming up with the skill sets I could bring to the table as a photographer, aside from the ability to press a shutter. I sat on this for awhile.

Then in July, my friend in Seattle emailed and said she was having her new Cavalier King Charles Spaniel photographed, and would I like to see?

Up until that second I had very little notion of what pet photography was, except that perhaps a dog would be set against a cloth backdrop while wearing clothing in unnatural poses. But this! This was something else entirely. Candid, modern, beautiful -  it was fine art! Of pets! Haha! Wait! I could do this! I HAVE been doing this, all this time! Not nearly to that level of course, but for all intents and purposes I have been the personal pet photographer of VanBuren and Baxter these last ten years. It wasn’t so much a quest for “fine art” portraits as just an unhealthy obsession with the cats and the strange need to document their every expression.

But I’m not the first person who is crazy about their pets, nor will I be the last. Pets + photography = OF COURSE!!!

I couldn’t believe I hadn’t come up with this myself. Look at the neighborhood I’m in, what with all the beautiful dogs and cats in every other rowhouse, dog walkers aplenty, an animal rescue league down the street, a day spa around the corner, a dog treat boutique further down. And the fact that I just. love. pets.  What a no-brainer.

From Elena:
Q: What is the most difficult part of your new business?
A: So far, everything but the photography. Getting all the details in place, no matter how mundane. Coming up with the name was by far the most difficult (how that came about will be in another post). The name sets the entire branding for your business. Everything eventually flows out of that, from color schemes to the design of the logo to the design of the website, business cards, the tone of your business, and who you are as the business owner. Fun? Serious? Irreverent? Obnoxious?

Another difficult aspect would be shutting up the inner demons that make me question if I’m really good enough to do this. I think a dose of self-doubt every now and then is not a bad thing. It propels you to reinvent yourself if need be, and to never stop learning. When it’s really bad though, I turn to Dan who usually sets me straight in a way that only men can do. Dude, he says. Stop it. Have a glass of wine. You’re gonna be fine.

…to be continued…