Royal cat portrait

Cats have an unfair advantage in this style, and it is worth understanding why before you pick a photo. A dog in royal costume is funny because the dog is visibly delighted to be there. A cat in the same costume is funny because it is not. The flat stare and the slight backward tilt of the ears read as barely tolerated obligation, which is precisely the expression a lot of real aristocratic portraits have.

That means you should not wait for a cute photo. The unimpressed one is better. A cat looking directly at the lens with no particular enthusiasm produces a far stronger royal portrait than one caught mid-play, because the style is asking for composure and your cat is already supplying it.

Long-haired cats take the robe best (Persians, Maine Coons, anything with a ruff) because the fur and the velvet collar blend into one continuous mass and the costume stops looking pasted on. Short-haired cats end up with a sharper line between animal and clothing, which is not worse, just more obviously a costume.

One thing to watch: cats photographed from above, which is how most cat photos happen, give the portrait a foreshortened head and a body that vanishes. Get down to their level, even once, and use that frame. The whole style depends on the shoulders being visible enough to put a robe on.