For the photographers...

[Wildspirit]

Wasnt sure where to post this but I have been into photography for a few years, ive got a Nixon D80 and i usually do location shoots and some portraiture/studio work with humans. Now again I dabble with photos of my cat and friends animals however in a few weeks im doing a shoot with someones horse, they want pictures over jumps and stuff too and just wondered what the best advice for shooting horses was. (photographing horses that is!) And getting good shots from jumps and gaits, obviously speed and a quick eye.

Any help you guys could offer would be very gratefully recevied. You can reply here or by PM if you like. Thanks so much in advance. x

 

[Sessle]

I'll give some advice, but I generally do my own thing when it comes to the world of photography! but hey ho, each photographers different!!

Anyhoot, I've noticed the following when it comes to taking and selling equine photos:

In terms of gaits, most people like the upside down W, if that makes sense, so that all four legs can be seen!? Does that make sense?

In terms of jumping, try and get the take off, or whilst there going over the jump, these tend to be preferred and some people prefer it if you can see there face (personally I wouldn't cuz I pull stupid faces when jumping!

)

But have a play around, sometimes the ones you don't think'll work come out really well, just keep clicking away

Hope that helps a bit!!

 

[LittleSoph]

My main advice would be continuous shoot

Cheating? yes... do we care? Nooo!

Secondly, never stand directly in front of the horse, square on... makes the horses head look huge and heavy.

Take off, strreeeetch jump photos or 'rocking horse' style, right above the jump are good...
For photo shoots close ups of horses jumping, with just head and knees, or slightly under the jump, or if you can get the riders head and horses head in, that's great...

Bareback photos are always nice.

Legs at an 'M' in trot and in canter it's easy to get the horse looking on the forehand so try to capture one fore leg raised (knee up)...

Head shots with majority sky in the background are effective

Owner squating or on one knee, in front of horse, with back to horse and a treat in hand to make horse's head come down are nice

'Kiss' photos, (see my sig) are nice, use the hand the camera can't see, with a treat in, to make the horse 'kiss'

Tictacs, keys or paper to make the horse put ears forward...

Freeschooling in just a bridle with no reins can make lovely photos...

Errrm... I'll come back if I think of anything else...

 

[NeilM]

Remember to shoot big shots, it means you don't cut a head or a leg off, and then crop them to size later.

Continuous focus is helpful and nice high speeds keep everything sharp.

If you are shooting low aiming up, then you need to overexpose the shots, otherwise the sky will dominate the meter and the subject will be too dark to see any detail.

Landing shots can be interesting too, it is just a matter of timing. Why not go to some small / local events and just spend the day messing about with framing, speed etc. I have done this at dressage, sj and xc events and got some really nice shots for the portfolio.