A Christmas Day Cat Photography Session in London with Anthony and Melantha
On Christmas morning, while most people were still at home opening presents, I was in Covent Garden with two cats, my camera, and a very happy sense that this was exactly where I was meant to be. Yiwei had booked the session for Christmas morning so the streets would be as quiet as possible, and for a little while, central London felt like it belonged to Anthony and Melantha.
When Yiwei first asked whether I would photograph her cats on Christmas Day, a few people understandably questioned my life choices. Why would anyone choose to work on Christmas Day? But the more I thought about it, the more it made complete sense. Empty streets in central London are a gift at the best of times. Empty streets dressed in festive lights, with two very confident cats and a human who absolutely adores them, felt even better.
And honestly, it was worth every second.
This was a session with Anthony and Melantha, two cats with very different energies, very different ways of moving through the world, and one very devoted mum behind them. We started in Covent Garden, where Yiwei hoped for some festive atmosphere in the photographs, then moved into the more minimal, moodier urban look I love, using the architecture and quieter corners of the city to create portraits that felt cinematic without ever losing sight of who these two cats really are.
From the beginning, this session felt special. Not because it was unusual, although photographing cats in central London on Christmas Day does tend to turn a few heads. It felt special because everything about it was led with care. The timing, the choice of location, the way Yiwei understands her cats, and the way Anthony and Melantha themselves moved through the morning with confidence and curiosity. It all came together in that lovely way sessions sometimes do, where the planning matters, but the personalities matter even more.
Every photo in this session holds a story - and some of them felt wonderfully still and timeless. → Explore Outdoor Sessions
Anthony, a six-year-old Siberian, has a calmness about him that makes you stop and look properly. He is studious in the truest sense of the word. He doesn’t just pose, he seems to consider. He sits comfortably, still and self-possessed, taking in the world around him with the kind of expression that suggests he may know more than he is willing to share. He is the sort of cat who makes portraiture look deceptively easy.
Melantha, now five, has a completely different rhythm. A tabby with endless curiosity and a lovely spark to her, she is always in motion, always clocking something, always ready to explore. She reminded me a bit of myself, if I’m honest - slightly ADHD, easily fascinated, moving from one thing to the next with complete commitment and no intention whatsoever of pretending otherwise. Where Anthony brought the poise, Melantha brought the comedy, the spontaneity, and those tiny unpredictable moments that make a session come alive.
That contrast between them was one of the absolute joys of the morning. There was so much laughter, partly because they were both fabulous, and partly because they were fabulous in such completely different ways. Anthony would settle into a pose as if he had personally arranged the composition himself. Melantha, meanwhile, would notice something else, pivot towards it, and remind us all that the world is far too interesting to spend too long doing the same thing.
That difference never felt like difficulty. It felt like the truth.
One of the things I always come back to, whether I am photographing dogs or cats, is that the best portraits happen when you work with the animal in front of you, not against them. I am never trying to force a performance. I am looking for a good frame, a clean line, strong light, and then I guide the subject into it as naturally as possible. With Anthony and Melantha, that meant staying quick on my feet, watching their body language, and letting their personalities set the pace.
Cats are often assumed to be harder to photograph than dogs, and sometimes they are, simply because they are not always inclined to offer their attention in the same openly generous way many dogs do. You cannot bluff your way through that. You have to pay attention. You have to know when to wait, when to move (or in my case, perform a graceful tactical roll in a gutter), when to use a toy, a rustle, a feather flirt, or a treat, and when to simply let them watch the world because that, in itself, is the moment.
Anthony and Melantha were already very comfortable outdoors in their harnesses and leashes, which made a huge difference. I’d actually met them before at dog events, which says quite a lot about them already. They are used to exploring in a stroller, confident around dogs, and clearly accustomed to seeing more of the world than the average house cat. That kind of enrichment shows. They were not overwhelmed by the city. They were interested in it.
Yiwei has given them that confidence. It is obvious within minutes of meeting all three of them together.
The best portraits are rarely about control - they are about noticing who they already are. → Explore Outdoor Sessions
Yiwei loves them in the sort of wholehearted, unmistakable way that changes the atmosphere around a session. She knows them deeply. She notices the little things. She understands their individual personalities and has built a life around giving them rich, enjoyable experiences. She takes them to new places, even abroad, and she has clearly put time, thought, and care into helping them feel safe and engaged with the world. It never felt performative. It just felt like devotion.
She is also studying photography herself, which I found so lovely. Not in a detached, technical way, but because it speaks to how much she wants to document them well, to honour them properly, to keep making beautiful images of them. That kind of love always lands with me. It says, very simply, these two matter enormously. In many ways, it reminded me of how I started, too - teaching myself photography alongside training my new puppy Theo, all those nine years ago, because loving an animal deeply enough tends to make you want to remember every little thing about them.
Covent Garden on Christmas morning gave us the festive softness Yiwei had hoped for. The lights turned to beautiful bokeh. The streets had that rare, almost-private feeling, as though London had stepped aside and made room only for us. There is something particularly magical about photographing animals in a city when the usual visual noise has dropped away. The decorations were there, the atmosphere was there, but there was space around it. Space to breathe, space to compose, space to take everything in.
Then, as we moved towards Bank and into the more minimal urban style I love, the session shifted slightly in mood. The festive charm gave way to cleaner lines, more grit, more stillness in the frame. Less clutter, more shape. It suited both cats beautifully. Anthony looked every bit the composed city monarch. Melantha, despite her tendency to keep things lively, slipped beautifully into those moments too, especially when something just outside the frame caught her attention and gave her an expression full of curiosity.
By the time we reached Bank, there were more people out than we had expected for early Christmas morning, but that turned out to be part of the fun. People stopped. They smiled. Some laughed in delight at the sheer unexpectedness of what they were seeing. Two cats, out in central London, being professionally photographed before most people had even opened presents. It was brilliant.
It also helped the cats. All that little human intrigue gave them something to look at, something to observe. Instead of trying to manufacture interest, we often just had to let the world do its thing.
That is something I love about urban sessions with confident animals. The city becomes part set, part co-star. It gives you mood, texture, and atmosphere, but it also gives the subject something real to engage with. I always tell people that my favourite subjects are those who are genuinely happy to sit in a place and look around at things, because that is what makes the images feel authentic. It is a real moment, in real time, in their real lives. There is never any mask.
If you’ve ever wondered whether your own pet could enjoy a calm, personality-led portrait session in London, this is exactly why I love working this way. Every session is tailored around the animal in front of me, with patience, planning, and space for their real character to shine through.
Anthony was especially wonderful for those stronger, more composed portraits. He has this regal softness to him, all fur and focus, with a face that seems made for being photographed. He could hold a pose in a way that made the whole scene feel effortless. The kind of cat who allows you to build around him, because he is already there, settled, watchful, entirely himself.
Melantha gave us a different kind of magic. She was all movement and interest, the sort of subject who keeps you alive as a photographer because you have to be ready. Ready for the turn of the head, the bright-eyed pause, the little seconds where curiosity becomes connection. Her energy made the session feel playful and open. Never chaotic in a negative sense, just full of life.
Being with both of them was, truly, a Christmas gift.
They also modelled some of their harnesses from Momoji in a few of the images, which felt like a natural part of their story rather than an add-on. On cats like these, the harnesses are not there to create an illusion of confidence. They are simply part of a lifestyle they already live, part of how they safely explore the world with Yiwei. That distinction matters to me. Ethical pet photography is always about meeting the animal where they are, not pushing them into something for the sake of an image.
That is one of the reasons I enjoyed this session so much. Nothing about it felt forced. I was not trying to persuade nervous cats into tolerating the city. I was photographing two cats who genuinely enjoy observing, exploring, and being out with their person. My role was simply to read them well, create strong compositions, and be quick enough to catch what they offered.
And they offered plenty.
There was humour in it, too. The contrast between Anthony’s composed seriousness and Melantha’s constant interest in literally everything was enough to keep all of us smiling. There was also just something undeniably joyful about spending Christmas morning this way. Not in the conventional sense, perhaps, but in a very honest one. Outside, in beautiful light, with animals who were clearly loved beyond measure, making photographs that would go on to mean a lot.
That, to me, is a lovely way to spend a day.
Yiwei’s response to the photographs made that even clearer. At her viewing, she fell so deeply for the images that she ended up choosing almost her entire gallery and took up one of my payment plans so she could bring home more of the collection. I always find that incredibly meaningful, not because it is about sales, but because it tells you the images have landed where they were meant to. They feel like her cats. They feel worth keeping.
Her testimonial says it better than I ever could:
“Amie is one of the best pet photographers! She has been super patient and friendly throughout the whole process. I wanted a photoshoot on Christmas Day and she was happy to do it even though it was a public holiday. We had the photoshoot for hours as my cats don’t always comply with instructions. She was really patient waiting for my cats to pose. The final products are also too stunning to choose! I ended up having to set up payment plans because I love all of the photos. Amie is also super nice in agreeing with the plan. Cannot wait for more of the products in the following months!”
- Yiwei’s 5* Google Rewiew
What I love about that is not just the kindness of it, but the reminder that patience is not an extra in pet photography. It is the work. It is the thing that allows a session to stay respectful, enjoyable, and ultimately successful. Whether I’m photographing dogs, cats, or any other much-loved animal, I am always paying attention to what they are comfortable with and what is actually fun for them.
That is especially true with cats. They are not small dogs, and I think the best cat photography happens when people truly understand that. Cats bring their own pace, their own rules, and their own kind of brilliance. Trying to iron that out would miss the point entirely. Anthony and Melantha were wonderful because they were themselves, not because they behaved like some imaginary ideal version of a pet in a city photoshoot.
And perhaps that is what stayed with me most.
This was my first urban cat session, and I absolutely loved it. It confirmed something I had already suspected, which is that there is so much room for cat photography to be expressive, stylish, and emotionally rich when it is done with the same thoughtfulness people often reserve for dogs. These two belonged in the city that morning. Anthony with his quiet gravitas, Melantha with her curious spark, and Yiwei beside them, so obviously proud and so clearly in tune with both.
They made people stop and smile. They turned heads. They invited delight. But more than that, they gave us images that feel personal and true.
If you’re looking for a cat photographer in London, sessions like this are exactly why I adore this work. And if you're looking for a dog photographer in London, you can learn more about my outdoor sessions here.
Christmas morning in Covent Garden and Bank gave us festive lights, moody streets, and a surprising number of amused onlookers. Anthony and Melantha brought the personality. Yiwei brought the love. I just had the joy of documenting it.
I came away from this session desperate for more urban cat stories, more confident cats in beautiful places, more humans who are willing to build a life rich enough that their pets get to experience the world alongside them. Not because it looks interesting, although it certainly does, but because it says something lovely about trust.
That is what these photographs hold for me in the end. Trust, curiosity, patience, and the quiet delight of being known well.
And that first photo of Anthony you saw? That won an award with The Guild of Photographers in January, so that one is extra special to me now, too.
If this story reminds you how much your own pet’s quirks, expressions, and way of moving through the world mean to you, you’re very welcome to visit my portrait page and see what a session of your own could look like.
The goal is never just beautiful photographs. It’s to create something that feels like them, and something you’ll still be grateful to have years from now.
