Opinions please :)

AmiRobertson

AmiRobertson

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 August 2012
Messages
873
Visit site
Good evening all :)
I went to windsor with my little family this weekend and wanted to share some of my photos! I am a wedding photographer by trade but have been thinking about branching out into equine portraits. However this is only something you can do if you are good at it and that is down to public opinion ;) I am thinking about getting a few of the owners from my yard together to build up a portfolio and hopefully pushing it come winter but I would love to know what you guys think. I am a little bit quirky with my work and it isn't always to everyones taste but I love a bit of cc good or bad :)

923095_10152808988565389_1521231638_n.jpg

935281_10152808999310389_1718625957_n.jpg

923361_10152809012750389_2106424113_n.jpg

283653_10152809014255389_2016521758_n.jpg

945574_10152809019000389_757122563_n.jpg

375113_10152809020140389_1724317994_n.jpg

935784_10152809022250389_1639087781_n.jpg

946507_10152809022875389_836170648_n.jpg

316184_10152809030245389_1566655387_n.jpg

532257_10152809033340389_1580091136_n.jpg

970607_10152809036255389_609249037_n.jpg

971504_10152809034320389_1773588295_n.jpg

942201_10152809054245389_1591439856_n.jpg

601669_10152809054260389_1189831184_n.jpg


Just realised that is a lot of photos sorry! The whole album is here https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152808982520389.1073741829.537320388
Oh for any button pushers I promise I am not advertising just looking for opinions and also all the photos copyright belongs to myself :)
Thank you everyone I have homemade chocolate brownie raspberry cheesecake for you all!
 
The cheesecake sounds yummy thanks:),

I think the photos are good, I especially like the one of the chestnut hunter watching what is going on, if I were you I would send a copy to the hunt along with the ones of the hounds, it could be a useful contact for the future.
 
Thank you :)

Be positive thats a great idea thank you. I have always had this little dream of getting an atmospheric photo of the master on his horse with his hounds around him on a hill on a cloudy day. Not very original but would be something of a personal achievement :)
 
If you are interested in taking hunting photos contact your local hunt and ask if you can go along, a frosty morning during autumn would give you some fantastic opportunities and you are sure to be welcomed and may even get some sales.
 
The pictures are stunning! Truly beautiful!!
On another note if you do have a recipe for chocolate brownie raspberry cheesecake if you could post it I'm sure a lot of us would be greatly happy ;)
 
I think the first hounds pic is nice. i find the composition in most of the others not quite right. Often people's heads have been chopped off which is distracting and in others they would be better if they were cropped closer or more centred. Just my opinion though.
 
I think they are good, but I don't think the ones where people's head have been cut off look quite right. I also think your vignettes are a bit too dark, maybe just try lowering the opacity of it slightly (assuming your using PS).

I think the tones in the sepia images are very nice :)
 
Sprig said:
I think the first hounds pic is nice. i find the composition in most of the others not quite right. Often people's heads have been chopped off which is distracting and in others they would be better if they were cropped closer or more centred. Just my opinion though.
Click to expand...

I'm afraid this is my opinion too . . . the pictures are pin sharp and good quality, but the composition isn't always spot on.

P
 
Thank you guys for the cc :) all is good! As said my style is quite quirky and never always to peoples tastes for example in the first one my focus is on the horse not the rider (I have no desire to be a sports photographer more to find a niche in equine portraits) same with the hunt one with the horse looking around they are the main subjects of that particular photo However I could of done with my longer zoom :) My wedding photography is often off centre too :) I like to experiment with different compositions and try to draw in the eye to different parts of photographs. Again always trial and error and down to different opinions.
There is a fantastic book by john berger written in the 70s called 'ways of seeing' and was supported by a tv series. It was about how art is the creators opinion of the world around them and depending on how it is presented and who is viewing it, it can be seen in many different ways. Not saying that my pictures are life changing creations for people but its always interesting to hear different opinions on how people view them. Good or bad :)

on a different note i will dig up cheesecake recipe :)

NB to add the loss of heads in some of the jumping ones in the main album on fb is down to seat location and people walking in front of me just at the wrong moment :) I wouldn't set up a shot like that! However the others are me being 'arty' ;)
 
Last edited:
The best one for me is the sepia, Spanish riders. Not because of the tone but because the whole composition is great, A central horse/rider and everything in the background frames it and adds to the scene. So much movement/interest in the photo.

The individual picture of the same lady is good, but you missed the opportunity to center those cars in the background to frame the portrait, had the angle been a little different you would have made the impression that the cars were jumping the horse.

I think that goes for the close ups of the riders as well. The backgrounds could be better. Rather than against the boring ring walls, against spectators heads/faces the photo would have jumped out more and you would have captured the audience reaction to what you are seeing.

The hunter with the lady holding him is excellent. It's immediately obvious that the impression you want to convey is that they are both on the same wavelength.

Lovely photos though, I reckon your wedding customers are usually very happy.:)
 
Aarrghimpossiblepony said:
The best one for me is the sepia, Spanish riders. Not because of the tone but because the whole composition is great, A central horse/rider and everything in the background frames it and adds to the scene. So much movement/interest in the photo.

The individual picture of the same lady is good, but you missed the opportunity to center those cars in the background to frame the portrait, had the angle been a little different you would have made the impression that the cars were jumping the horse.

I think that goes for the close ups of the riders as well. The backgrounds could be better. Rather than against the boring ring walls, against spectators heads/faces the photo would have jumped out more and you would have captured the audience reaction to what you are seeing.

The hunter with the lady holding him is excellent. It's immediately obvious that the impression you want to convey is that they are both on the same wavelength.

Lovely photos though, I reckon your wedding customers are usually very happy.:)
Click to expand...

Thank you :) I definitely think given free rein of where i can move to I would be able to give much more to my backgrounds however battling crowds and busy seating its difficult to pick where you can go. I love that one with the hunter too it was such a perfect moment and when you get it its the best feeling in the world.

Yes my wedding clients have always been very happy with their final photographs. I love it, its the best job in the world because you capturing the memories of something very special. I have the best wedding coming up soon its an indian wedding and when I go with the couple to do their pictures it will be the first time they have ever kissed, cuddled or touched.
 
I really love the pictures. Agree that the Spanish riders is my favourite too.

As others have said about composition eg the jumping pick where part of the horse is missing, and action shots where you can't see the horses hooves.

It may be something you were unable to control due to location or people getting in the way but a more complete image would be a lot more saleable.

Good luck with your new venture and I do think it is something you should persue seeing it is a passion and something you obviously have a talent for.
 
TrakehnerFilly said:
I really love the pictures. Agree that the Spanish riders is my favourite too.

As others have said about composition eg the jumping pick where part of the horse is missing, and action shots where you can't see the horses hooves.

It may be something you were unable to control due to location or people getting in the way but a more complete image would be a lot more saleable.

Good luck with your new venture and I do think it is something you should persue seeing it is a passion and something you obviously have a talent for.
Click to expand...

Thank you :) yes if I was in the arena and had more movement I would of definitely experimented more with my composition and backgrounds! I am hoping to harass the people on my yard into letting me practise my ridden photos with them and then work on the horse only portraits with my tb mare if she will cooperate, but that is doubtful ;)
 
Personally I don't think they look any better than the average enthusiastic amateur with a decent camera could do. The composition is a bit .... um ....off on some too.

Keep practising and building your portfolio but I think you have a way to go before you are on a level with proper equine portrait photographers.

Check out Mark Beaumont's work.
 
Kat said:
Personally I don't think they look any better than the average enthusiastic amateur with a decent camera could do. The composition is a bit .... um ....off on some too.

Keep practising and building your portfolio but I think you have a way to go before you are on a level with proper equine portrait photographers.

Check out Mark Beaumont's work.
Click to expand...

:) I love his work and also mark harvey. Although I want my style to have a slightly more natural feel to them. I find some of their rider/horse photos a bit to posed for my own taste. These photographers have years of experience under their belts and it is down to trial and error. This is my first attempt at photographing horses (apart from my own), And hopefully as my wedding photography has improved over the years this will too.
I will get my teeth stuck into practising with riders on an individual and controlled basis over the next year before I think about charging anything. With that I will be able to focus in more detail on the relationship and personalities of both horse and rider and the best ways to show that through the photograph.

I also have a fascination with the anatomy horses and the different muscles and how they look in certain movements and I am keen to explore different ways of photographing those :)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top