7 QUESTIONS WITH
@king_qvist
Norway's adventure cat, Maine Coon.
Meet Qvist, the fluffy Maine Coon from Norway. His Instagram bio claims himself as a 'Gentle Giant Explorer', a title none can refute. Qvist has a whopping 6.2k followers and posts regularly, thanks to his feline-loving mom. The Maine Coon himself looks almost like a miniature bobcat, with tufted ears, bushy grey-white tail, and kaleidoscopic eyes.
How do you pronounce 'Qvist'?
It is pronounced 'kvist' – which means ´twig´ in Norwegian, but size-wise he´s definitely no twig as he weighs 9.6 kg (21.16 lbs) and measures about 100cm (39.37 inches) from nose to tail.
What prompted you to make an account for your cat?
I wanted to show people that kitties can be trained to walk on leash as well as dogs – though they walk shorter and take more breaks. This suits me perfectly because I have been struggling with fatigue due to chronic illness. After being on a few walks and seeing how photogenic he could be when I caught his eye on camera, I let him off leash (put a gps on him) and slowly let him explore the area outside our front door. (on hikes he still
wears the leash for his own safety)
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What do you think are the secrets to maintaining a petfluencer
Instagram account?
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Quality (of posts and captions)
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Regularity (posting time)
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Communication (with followers – never hover and help others grow)
How do you manage your photography shoots? Do you do one big photoshoot or just take random photos throughout your week?
I usually do one or two big photoshoots during the week where I stalk my cat like a real crazy person.
The other day one of the neighbors came out on his front porch wondering who was running around snapping pictures of seemingly nothing (as kitty was laying quietly in front of a bush –
invisible to my neighbor)…
"I stalk my cat like a real crazy person."
How do you define instafame?
For me instafame isn´t just about ´that one photo´, but rather creating a feed that is visually appealing to make people want to see more! But having The Pic/video that makes people notice your account in the sea of all other accounts is crucial! Instafame is about getting noticed and getting credit for the work you´ve put into your feed and account!
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What are some tips for taking pictures of cats in your experience with Qvist? Is it hard to get him to look at the camera?
If it´s hard to get him to look at the camera…? Y.E.S. I´ve tried toys, treats, sounds (like snapping my fingers or clicking my tongue), throwing pebbles in the air (not at him)… what I´ve found out is that I always need to have my camera ready in case there is a ´wow´- moment. These moments usually turn out to become the best pictures.
The reflection shots weren´t planned - he happened to take a nap on top of the (for once clean) table, and I started shooting pictures when he was sleeping and managed to get a few where he was washing up after his nap. I had hoped to get a good yawn with the reflection but wasn´t fast enough.
For action shots like the one with him running and his shadow shaped like a heart I had only a second or two to take the picture – before that, I had prepared a bag of treats, made sure he didn´t suspect anything before I was camera ready and then called for his attention. For these types of pics you only have one – max two chances – to get the shot!
What does your post-photography process look like? Care to share what apps you use to edit?
First I usually scroll through the pics on the camera and delete the ones that definitely didn´t work – usually the ones out of focus… when in doubt I keep them for on-screen editing.
Then I upload them to Lightroom. If it´s a really great shot where the light is just purrfect and the cat is in full focus, I usually just adjust the tone of the picture and enhance the eyes a bit. For other photos, I do some more adjustments. But it´s important to state that no bad photo could ever
become a great photo with editing – you capture the moment and that´s what it´s all about!
I also use Snapseed to add my watermark as I am yet to find a suitable app/editing program that doesn´t empty my wallet right away. I find that it works fine with the type of photographs that I am at the moment.
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