Photo tips

For those of us that don't have a professional photographer near us or who haven't figured it into the budget yet...

Does anyone have any helpful tips on getting those great pics of our horses?

What makes a photo a bad one?

What makes a photo a good one?

Best angles? Lighting?

I'm not asking you to share all your secrets, just to give us a few helpful hints and tips.

Just remember.... beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You may LOVE a photo captured that someone else may not. That being said take lots of photos at various angles. Most have digital cameras these days and can delete anything you don't want.
As a professional Equine Photographer, I have found that every horse I photograph is unique. I try to capture the personality of each horse, which can be difficult if you've only just met the horse. Some horses are frisky and have a wide, curious eye, large notstril. Others may have a softer appearance to them. You will not always find that "stallion" look as we see in magazines. I find mares have a much softer presance.
The general rule in photography is to keep the sun to your back. Although shooting into the sun can create some very dramitic images (not good for your camera lens though). As mentioned, take a lot of pics from various angles. When I do a farm shoot I always ask the handler if there is anything we need to "not draw the eye too". Some have pointy hips or chests, crooked legs and so on.
Maybe your horses isn't a halter type horse so photographing with a saddle or rider bareback would be best.
When shooting a horse at liberty, you will need to keep your shutter speed much higher than if you were just doing a pose shot. This is where a prosumer/professional camera comes into play. Most who own a digital camera today still carry a delay when the shutter is pressed. It is very hard to capture the right timing when this happens. Seems you're always a second early or a second late.
During my farm shoots I am often time inside the paddock with the horse. It's an adrenaline rush, I can tell you that. It's always nice to have an assistant in the paddock with you so they can push you out of the way or shoo the horse in the opposite direction (note from experience )
Keep in mind when shooting at liberty, your horses might only be "fresh" for a short time, maybe 10 minutes. So you need to be prepared to capture what you can in that short of time.

Hopefully this helps some...
Tracy Kelsey Photography
www.tracykelseyphotography.com

Tracy those were some awesome tips...thanks for the experience and insight...I can't tell you how many hundreds of pictures I've taken and I'm lucky if only one of them turns out decent!

CVR wrote:

I'm not asking you to share all your secrets, just to give us a few helpful hints and tips.

Hi! New here but not to equine photography.

-Pick a time other than the middle of the day when both horses and humans have "racoon eyes".
-Take note of when light is pretty at your place, and watch your backgrounds.
-Put your point and shoot on "sports" mode when trying to capture them in motion. It will help with the shutter lag.
-On Your Knees! Seriously, adjust your shooting height to that of your subject. If you're shooting foals, for instance, don't shoot "down" at them.
-Lastly, zoom OUT! Small cams at their biggest extension. Horses are distorted by wide angle lenses, makes their legs look like sticks and their heads look elongated, not to mention what it does to their bodies.

Since such a huge part of the appeal of Arabians is their beauty, it pays to practice and Cull Like Crazy. Never let an image of your horse that is uncomplimentary out where it can damage your business. When I began in this business, my client barn owners would review the proofs with me--I learned what they liked and didn't like and about correct proportion on Arabians. I'd owned them for years at that point, but there was a lot to know.

Study the ads you like in the World, MAH, etc. If you have that image in your head, it will help you create it in camera. As much as possible, make it a good image IN the camera, don't rely on Photoshop magic to save you.

Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson is a good beginning text.

Lynne
www.lynnesite.com

I'm only an amateur so I love these tips. "I" started getting the "film" shots I wanted by studying the horse photographs I saw in magazines or someone's home, and then, trying to copy them "through the view finder".

When I started spending more time paying attention to what I saw in the view finder I took better photographs and my film usage dropped dramatically.

I took all kinds of photographs this way - all horse breeds, landscapes, florals, portraits, etc.

I'm going to move up to a Nikon D90 SLR kit later this year. Can hardly wait!

So glad that was helpful, I realize that I learned the same way you did, by visualizing the moments I'd seen in great photos in AHW and AHT, and not just our breed's pubs.

Same thing with flowers, but I just learned to immerse myself and "get" them before shooting. Sounds like you're having a grand time!

lynnesite wrote:

So glad that was helpful, I realize that I learned the same way you did, by visualizing the moments I'd seen in great photos in AHW and AHT, and not just our breed's pubs.

Same thing with flowers, but I just learned to immerse myself and "get" them before shooting. Sounds like you're having a grand time!

Your info was very helpful and I'm going to print it out. And yes, I've had a wonderful time. I've also been Blessed to have been very competitive as an amateur competing in Michigan. Times have however changed and 35mm just doesn't produce the sharpness or color quality of digital photography.

I said I wouldn't get a digital until there were digital SLRs with the lenses and all the bells and whistles I had on my film SLR. Now those digitals are available. I'm fired up!

Congrats! Are your photos online anywhere? The immediacy of digital won me over, the ability to practice and see what I did wrong without a lag was wonderful. I used the Olympus "ultrazoom" line starting in 1999, didn't go pro until 2003, with a small Nikon for the first few months. Pro means not only having the gear to be able to guarantee results, but also having backup body and lens in case of failure. I remember being proud of getting pro results with prosumer (point and shoot) gear, but now realize the "eye" for composition and timing was what had been developed. Each new camera subsequently let me fly further/higher. My succession was 10D/20D/30D and then the "Stradivarius", the 1D Mk III. I already had Photoshop expertise from many years of Macintosh freelance computer support, mostly for design and entertainment companies.

In 2004 I started formalizing my "self assignments", and started numbering the folders, used my own horses as subjects. Some were just documentary, mare and foal. I have shot a lot of "crap" in the learning process, didn't cull much along the way, so the progress is easily visible. The next folder will be #360! Sometimes I wish I hadn't gone pro, it's a brutal business these days--anyone looked at the size of Equus magazine lately? But it comes down to "do you WANT to take pictures, or do you HAVE to take pictures?" I'm the latter type, and will just have to find new ways to make it viable.

[quote="Pstyletto"]Just remember.... beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You may LOVE a photo captured that someone else may not. That being said take lots of photos at various angles. Most have digital cameras these days and can delete anything you don't want.
As a professional Equine Photographer, I have found that every horse I photograph is unique. I try to capture the personality of each horse, which can be difficult if you've only just met the horse. Some horses are frisky and have a wide, curious eye, large notstril. Others may have a softer appearance to them. You will not always find that "stallion" look as we see in magazines. I find mares have a much softer presance.
The general rule in photography is to keep the sun to your back. Although shooting into the sun can create some very dramitic images (not good for your camera lens though). As mentioned, take a lot of pics from various angles. When I do a farm shoot I always ask the handler if there is anything we need to "not draw the eye too". Some have pointy hips or chests, crooked legs and so on.
Maybe your horses isn't a halter type horse so photographing with a saddle or rider bareback would be best.
When shooting a horse at liberty, you will need to keep your shutter speed much higher than if you were just doing a pose shot. This is where a prosumer/professional camera comes into play. Most who own a digital camera today still carry a delay when the shutter is pressed. It is very hard to capture the right timing when this happens. Seems you're always a second early or a second late.
During my farm shoots I am often time inside the paddock with the horse. It's an adrenaline rush, I can tell you that. It's always nice to have an assistant in the paddock with you so they can push you out of the way or shoo the horse in the opposite direction (note from experience )
Keep in mind when shooting at liberty, your horses might only be "fresh" for a short time, maybe 10 minutes. So you need to be prepared to capture what you can in that short of time.

Hopefully this helps some...
Tracy Kelsey Photography
www.tracykelseyphotography.com[/quote]

From my experiences as an amateur photographer, I agree with you, too. Thanks for the info. This really is a very fun thread!
Judy

lynnesite wrote:

Congrats! Are your photos online anywhere? The immediacy of digital won me over, the ability to practice and see what I did wrong without a lag was wonderful. I used the Olympus "ultrazoom" line starting in 1999, didn't go pro until 2003, with a small Nikon for the first few months. Pro means not only having the gear to be able to guarantee results, but also having backup body and lens in case of failure. I remember being proud of getting pro results with prosumer (point and shoot) gear, but now realize the "eye" for composition and timing was what had been developed. Each new camera subsequently let me fly further/higher. My succession was 10D/20D/30D and then the "Stradivarius", the 1D Mk III. I already had Photoshop expertise from many years of Macintosh freelance computer support, mostly for design and entertainment companies.

In 2004 I started formalizing my "self assignments", and started numbering the folders, used my own horses as subjects. Some were just documentary, mare and foal. I have shot a lot of "crap" in the learning process, didn't cull much along the way, so the progress is easily visible. The next folder will be #360! Sometimes I wish I hadn't gone pro, it's a brutal business these days--anyone looked at the size of Equus magazine lately? But it comes down to "do you WANT to take pictures, or do you HAVE to take pictures?" I'm the latter type, and will just have to find new ways to make it viable.

Love your site and photographs! I have a few in a couple of albums on FB. Judy