Critique these photos for ad please :)

Paint Me Proud

Paint Me Proud

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trying to update my advert and have decided to make some composite photos so i can show more images of her.

Can you critique these please before i use them incase i have included something unflattering (like that gelding jumping ad!!)

What do you think?

rubyshowing.jpg


rubycomposite.jpg


rubyadvertphoto.jpg


rubyblackoutcopy.jpg


(please i am not trying to advertise the mare here - she is advertised with H&H so i have done it the proper way)
 
Wouldn't personally use the one of her being shod :)

The last photo is very arty, but not really one for an ad, although beautiful photo :)
 
Wow she is very pretty!!! The pictures definitely show off that she is good to do, if I was looking to buy none of them would put me off at all (obviously if she fitted the description of what I would be looking for!)
 
The only one of those (and they are all lovely, I just mean for an advert) is the one of her stood at the show with handler to the left. I would get a couple of better ridden pics, sometimes (and I don't mean this in a rude way at all) is to ask a very very good rider to ride for 15 minutes and take a couple of videos of her. Then you can play through the video and take still shots of when she looks particularly good.

She looks a sweet mare though and I love the pic of her trotting in the snow :)
 
The one with you (?) leaning forwards on her neck is a space filler (in the nicest possible way!) and the one with her being led towards the camera makes her look a bit on the porky side.
 
I agree with what's been said. For a horse I had to sell a few years ago I paid a professional rider to first trim him up nicely & then ride him for 25 minutes & I had a friend with a good camera to take LOADS of pictures & a bit of video too. She rode all the trot in sitting-trot so that there weren't any pictures of her 'rising' which doesn't look good in photos. GOOD LUCK finding her a lovely new home.
Yes, I prefer the above picture :-)
 
She does look lovely and you've done a nice job with the compositions, however, I am looking to buy a the moment and what I want to see from photographs are:

side on confo shot & ridden in the school trot and canter.
bonus: jump, ridden in open space, front and rear confo shots

any ad with a video I will look at provided it's in my price range (sometimes even if it's not :D)

Whilst your pics are lovely to show off your horse on a forum or on facebook for example, I don't think that there is one composition there that is really good for an ad. You have to remember there are hundreds of horse ads put up everyday, buyers need to sift through and find the ones that stand out as what they are looking for. Without a side on confo and a ridden (which I can see you do have, but not in the same composition) I personally might pass over it as I might think there is a reason you are not showing me everything, does that make sense? Like for ads that only have a pic of the face, well thats rubbish as no matter how sweet a face a horse has, if you're not showing me it's legs I'll assume theres a fault with them. Then I want to see it working with someone on it's back (if advertised as ridden of course) otherwise I assume it's a nutcase, and so on.

Hope I've been of some help :)
 
Santalover said:
The only one of those (and they are all lovely, I just mean for an advert) is the one of her stood at the show with handler to the left. I would get a couple of better ridden pics, sometimes (and I don't mean this in a rude way at all) is to ask a very very good rider to ride for 15 minutes and take a couple of videos of her. Then you can play through the video and take still shots of when she looks particularly good.

She looks a sweet mare though and I love the pic of her trotting in the snow :)
Click to expand...

^^^this^^^^ the rest is faultless but would like to see some better photo's, perhaps get one of your ned loose schooling over a jump and a nice ridden one on the flat in trot or canter (no poles) I do understand what you are trying to do with the one of your horse being shod but I don't think its necesarry :)
 
thanks for the advice.

I will have to take my camera to the yard tomorrow for some of those photos you advise.

We arent really allowed to free school in our menage but i will ask yard owner for permission this once to try and get a jumping photo.

My main problem is that all my photos are on my other laptop that is currently broken (i dropped it on the floor - oops) and i can only work with photos that i had uploaded to the internet (facebook, photobucket etc) so I have limited photos to select from.

But as i said i will try for a side on confo shot tomorrow - and see if i can get someone to take some photos of me while i ride (that'll be the hard part - finding a willing stooge that is, not the riding part!)
 
Paint Me Proud said:
thanks for the advice.

I will have to take my camera to the yard tomorrow for some of those photos you advise.

We arent really allowed to free school in our menage but i will ask yard owner for permission this once to try and get a jumping photo.

My main problem is that all my photos are on my other laptop that is currently broken (i dropped it on the floor - oops) and i can only work with photos that i had uploaded to the internet (facebook, photobucket etc) so I have limited photos to select from.

But as i said i will try for a side on confo shot tomorrow - and see if i can get someone to take some photos of me while i ride (that'll be the hard part - finding a willing stooge that is, not the riding part!)
Click to expand...


What I would do (If you don't have a Twizzle - forum member who is fab at photos :D ) is set your camera to take some continuous shots, that would be your best chance of getting the right one both ridden and free schooling, for free schooling I would see if you can get a helper and have the 2 of you standing at both ends of the school with a lunge whip, no chasing is needed, just bold strong body language. A channel is good for the jumps and make it a cross to begin with so its nice and inviting. Keep it steady and smooth, you will probably find that the latter photos are the best because your horse will relax and will bascule over the jump a lot better once he is used to what he is being asked to do. Relax, its not rocket science, I am sure you will be fine :) good luck
 
I wouldn't put a shot on free schooling because it's : a) hard to get a good one
b) makes me think why is it not being ridden?
c) I hate to see photo's of anything going riderless over a fence. It tells you nothing and really its how a horse approaches a fence and lands (with a rider thats important)
A good side on shot showing all four legs standing sqaure and perhaps a nice one of it being ridden.
My bug bears are, photos with rugs, I am not buying a rug. Nose shots, makes the horse look stupid and the head out of proportion. Someone sat backwards on it, this says more about the person selling it than the horse.
People will always say they want more photo's but really they can only be a guide and if your paying for a advert one or two good shots and a concise discription are the important bit.
Lovely horse and good luck in selling it.
 
I have had a quick look at your ad and I think you have spent far much time telling people what she won't do.
The fact she is safe to hack is a plus point. Someone else may think she's well schooled, or be able to get more out of her, never point out a negative. You've done some shows with her, what has she done?
Then you go on to tell people what you want from them and what you want them to do with her. I would leave that out. Get people to phone about her and then screen out the unsuitable ones.
By the looks of her she would do PC or do a mother daughter share and I think you should be aiming for that market. The PC web site is an excellant place to advertise and you get people wtho are knowledgable respond to ads.
She looks lovely and she will sell but think about your target market a taylor your ad to that.
 
honetpot said:
I wouldn't put a shot on free schooling because it's : a) hard to get a good one
b) makes me think why is it not being ridden?
c) I hate to see photo's of anything going riderless over a fence. It tells you nothing and really its how a horse approaches a fence and lands (with a rider thats important)
A good side on shot showing all four legs standing sqaure and perhaps a nice one of it being ridden.
My bug bears are, photos with rugs, I am not buying a rug. Nose shots, makes the horse look stupid and the head out of proportion. Someone sat backwards on it, this says more about the person selling it than the horse.
People will always say they want more photo's but really they can only be a guide and if your paying for a advert one or two good shots and a concise discription are the important bit.
Lovely horse and good luck in selling it.
Click to expand...

Just what I was thinking!
 
Great photos but I would use:

show in hand - you standing to the left
tiny one in the middle of you riding to the left
one in snow in blue rug trotting to the right.
and one showing her other side just because she is a coloured

Good luck - she looks lovely - dont think you will have any problems selling - I would however do some jumping with her as that is just another string to her bow...
 
To be honest I think the montage looks unprofessional. I'd want to see a side on picture of her STOOD SQUARE to see her confo - chose the side with the best markings to photgraph. I'd want to see 3 ridden photos - one in trot, one in canter and one jumping. The fence doesn't need to be big, but big enough for her to make a nice shape rather than just canter over it. I'd like to see her in an outline in the ridden pics or I'll just skip past it. So that's 4 individual pics, if it was a montage I'd just skip past it as I think it looks childish.

There are so many thousands of ads out there that it is only the best that get my attention. As the photos are the first thing you see, it is the photo that makes an advert.

Sorry to be blunt, but I'd take all new photos and pay the extra to have multiple photos rather than make a composition to get them all in one! If you can't get a jumping photo, fair enough - maybe just say unproven over a fence in the ad
 
All very lovely photos, and a very lovely horse! :)

I would say include a photo of her being being ridden as people can be put off!

very nice horse i'm sure you'll have no trouble selling her! :) :p
 
I think you have some good pics to choose from but would not bother with the composite. The most useful one for a buyer is the one from side on where you can see most of her conformation so go with that one. The one being led is also good as although she is a bit round good view of front legs. A face shot is okay but only if its with the others. If you can then include some of her being ridden and in the best outline and showing her off to the best then you should add these. If you can do a short video even better - but you must make sure it shows her best points in a few minutes (you might need to cut it or re-shoot bits until you are ok with it).

hth
 
thank for the feed back.

As for it looking unprofessional - i'm not a professional trader so people will see she is a loved family horse.

How is this?
rubystoodconfo.jpg


I free schooled her (with lots of whispering from the other liveries :rolleyes:) but she wouldnt go over the jump!

I have got videos of her moving in walk trot and canter and lots of photos too - what is best to use?
 
I wouldn't use a montage either and it would put me off the advert a bit to be honest.

I would rather a picture of her stood up properly, a picture of her working on the flat and a picture over a fence- if you need someone else to ride her to get the jumping picture as you don't jump much I would as it could make someone ring or not.
 
when you tried free schooling her over a fence did you put a little lane up to guide her and stop her running round the side of the jump?

She is very lovely but echo what the others have said - a side on, square confo shot - she looks better in the one at the show though than the fluffy one in the school :) And at least 1 ridden pic (preferably in an outline but if she doesnt yet work in one then not to worry!!)

I wouldnt bother with loose pics, headshots or rugs etc!!!
 
Suzie86 said:
when you tried free schooling her over a fence did you put a little lane up to guide her and stop her running round the side of the jump?
Click to expand...

yes i made a channel but she just turned around around when she got near it and i didnt want to stress her out by forcing her over it.

I want a photo like this one but with a rider on, lol!

rubytroting.jpg
 
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