Horses / Horseriding etc

[Northstar]

Sunrise in a meadow...

 

[Sporgon]

A pal of mine has recently opened a horse hacking / trekking centre and had asked the local camera club to produce some pics for his brochure and website. The pics were a little bit - errr - flat.

He asked me if I could get some shots, so here are two to share. Shot on 5D, 24-105mm at about 28mm, ISO 320, about f7

Beautiful images!

Thanks Northstar !

This pal had put me onto a really good horse for show jumping that cost less than a 5D Mkiii, so I was pleased to help him out.

 

[Sporgon]

Didn't realise there was a horse thread on here

Used to string for a newspaper that covered a local track.

What a great picture, full of energy and speed. Funny how horses look so much better on the turn, whether it be racing or dressage.

 

[Narcolepsy]

A bit of fun from Cornamucklagh Donkey Derby Festival

 

[Timothy_Bruce]

Heavy overcasted day mixed with rain.

 

[CharlieB]

I'm not into horse photography. But, I was a good friend of Elizabeth "Betty" Bell in her latter years while she was in Florida, and she was one of the foremost equine oil-on-canvas (or acrylic too I guess) artists of her time.

All the shots here made me reflect upon her friendship, and I think she would have approved. BTW, she used Canon cameras to photograph her subjects - for their details, then put them into scenes and poses of her own creation. I know - because I sold her the cameras, and thats how our friendship developed.

 

[scottkinfw]

Girl kissing horse, very nice emotion!

Nice pics.

Youngest Niece on her Arab - Ben Najif




Sisters Arab


Great Niece - Lead Rein


She loves her horse

 

[drmikeinpdx]

Horse Photography as a business?

Lots of great photos in this thread! I'm interested in expanding my part time photo business into horse photography. There are many horse owners in my area and my friends in the horse culture tell me that a photographer might find a good market for his or her services here. I recently picked up a book on horse photography that is old, but very helpful. It's "Photographing Horses and other livestock" by Darol Dickinson. Apparently, doing good horse photography is pretty complex, which appeals to me.

Anyway, I'd like to know if any of you are doing horse photography as a business? And if so, do you have any tips to pass along? I have no idea at this point about what to charge and how to package my services to appeal to horse owners.

Here's a portrait I did last month. This was inside an arena which was open on one side, providing nice soft light. I used a Sigma 50 at 1.4 on my 5D3. BTW, Darol Dickinson is a big proponent of using long lenses for horse photos in order to properly show the proportions of the horse. He likes 135 and 200 mm lenses. I was rather surprised at that.

I guess I'll need a different business name and logo for the horses. LOL

 

[rpt]

We can't all be Thoroughbreds ...

They always say you don't get a bad horse with big ears, but I don't know if that applies to donkeys ! ;D

Well, my experience has been that donkeys have bad-ass big ears unless they are not thoroughbred...

 

[DARSON]

Topic is old but i just found it.
See recent shot from Show jumping competition
5D Mark III + 70-200 F2.8 IS II L USM + 1.4III Tele
@1/4000sec F4 ISO 250

 

[jdramirez]

Topic is old but i just found it.
See recent shot from Show jumping competition
5D Mark III + 70-200 F2.8 IS II L USM + 1.4III Tele
@1/4000sec F4 ISO 250

This isn't a critique... but usually if I'm photographing something like this where motion is obvious, I usually compose the shot so the direction they are heading is open rather than where they have been. So I would have the horse and rider to the left of the shot rather than the right.

Is that just a personal preference on my part or was there a specific reason you composed the shot that way that has to do with one of these unspoken rules of photography that I pick up off the streets?

 

[Sporgon]

This isn't a critique... but usually if I'm photographing something like this where motion is obvious, I usually compose the shot so the direction they are heading is open rather than where they have been. So I would have the horse and rider to the left of the shot rather than the right.

Is that just a personal preference on my part or was there a specific reason you composed the shot that way that has to do with one of these unspoken rules of photography that I pick up off the streets?

+1

The horse's technique in impeccable, the photograper's less so.

Pity 'cos the timing is spot on; this is the point when the horse looks at it's best over a fence.

 

[Orangutan]

I usually compose the shot so the direction they are heading is open rather than where they have been. So I would have the horse and rider to the left of the shot rather than the right.

I was thinking the same: it looks like the horse is jumping out of the frame. You might be able to make the shot more intense by cropping it tight on horse and rider in portrait orientation.

Great timing, though.

 

[Pugshot]

This isn't a critique... but usually if I'm photographing something like this where motion is obvious, I usually compose the shot so the direction they are heading is open rather than where they have been. So I would have the horse and rider to the left of the shot rather than the right.

Is that just a personal preference on my part or was there a specific reason you composed the shot that way that has to do with one of these unspoken rules of photography that I pick up off the streets?

I was thinking the same: it looks like the horse is jumping out of the frame. You might be able to make the shot more intense by cropping it tight on horse and rider in portrait orientation.

This is just my two cents, but rules are made to be broken. I think there's plenty of space on the right, and the image is balanced by the negative space on the left. Plus, if you like rules, the Rule of Thirds was obeyed because the rider's head is at the intersection of the imaginary gridlines. Finally, the horse and rider are sharp, the scene is well-exposed, and the capture was made at exactly the right moment. Well done, Darson!

 

[Orangutan]

I was thinking the same: it looks like the horse is jumping out of the frame. You might be able to make the shot more intense by cropping it tight on horse and rider in portrait orientation.

This is just my two cents, but rules are made to be broken. I think there's plenty of space on the right, and the image is balanced by the negative space on the left.

It's not a rule, it's a personal aesthetic preference. If Darson likes it as it is that's fine. I just thought I'd offer something else to consider.

 

[jdramirez]

This isn't a critique... but usually if I'm photographing something like this where motion is obvious, I usually compose the shot so the direction they are heading is open rather than where they have been. So I would have the horse and rider to the left of the shot rather than the right.

Is that just a personal preference on my part or was there a specific reason you composed the shot that way that has to do with one of these unspoken rules of photography that I pick up off the streets?

I was thinking the same: it looks like the horse is jumping out of the frame. You might be able to make the shot more intense by cropping it tight on horse and rider in portrait orientation.

This is just my two cents, but rules are made to be broken. I think there's plenty of space on the right, and the image is balanced by the negative space on the left. Plus, if you like rules, the Rule of Thirds was obeyed because the rider's head is at the intersection of the imaginary gridlines. Finally, the horse and rider are sharp, the scene is well-exposed, and the capture was made at exactly the right moment. Well done, Darson!

Thou shalt not murder... made to be broken?

 

[DARSON]

Topic is old but i just found it.
See recent shot from Show jumping competition
5D Mark III + 70-200 F2.8 IS II L USM + 1.4III Tele
@1/4000sec F4 ISO 250

This isn't a critique... but usually if I'm photographing something like this where motion is obvious, I usually compose the shot so the direction they are heading is open rather than where they have been. So I would have the horse and rider to the left of the shot rather than the right.

Is that just a personal preference on my part or was there a specific reason you composed the shot that way that has to do with one of these unspoken rules of photography that I pick up off the streets?

Thanks for feedback
I get your point and deep down I'm feeling that it is more interesting composition which you are suggesting. I was limited by focal length and my position in relation to rider.
If that would be the case would you rather not taking the shot and relocate to other point?
Below is sample with rider on left side of the frame
Cropped
Focal length 280mm F4
1/4000sec same set

 

[DARSON]

This isn't a critique... but usually if I'm photographing something like this where motion is obvious, I usually compose the shot so the direction they are heading is open rather than where they have been. So I would have the horse and rider to the left of the shot rather than the right.

Is that just a personal preference on my part or was there a specific reason you composed the shot that way that has to do with one of these unspoken rules of photography that I pick up off the streets?

I was thinking the same: it looks like the horse is jumping out of the frame. You might be able to make the shot more intense by cropping it tight on horse and rider in portrait orientation.

This is just my two cents, but rules are made to be broken. I think there's plenty of space on the right, and the image is balanced by the negative space on the left. Plus, if you like rules, the Rule of Thirds was obeyed because the rider's head is at the intersection of the imaginary gridlines. Finally, the horse and rider are sharp, the scene is well-exposed, and the capture was made at exactly the right moment. Well done, Darson!

Thanks Pugshot

 

[jdramirez]

I agree with orangutan... crop it into a portrait orientation.

Topic is old but i just found it.
See recent shot from Show jumping competition
5D Mark III + 70-200 F2.8 IS II L USM + 1.4III Tele
@1/4000sec F4 ISO 250

This isn't a critique... but usually if I'm photographing something like this where motion is obvious, I usually compose the shot so the direction they are heading is open rather than where they have been. So I would have the horse and rider to the left of the shot rather than the right.

Is that just a personal preference on my part or was there a specific reason you composed the shot that way that has to do with one of these unspoken rules of photography that I pick up off the streets?

Thanks for feedback
I get your point and deep down I'm feeling that it is more interesting composition which you are suggesting. I was limited by focal length and my position in relation to rider.
If that would be the case would you rather not taking the shot and relocate to other point?
Below is sample with rider on left side of the frame
Cropped
Focal length 280mm F4
1/4000sec same set

 

[yorgasor]

Topic is old but i just found it.
See recent shot from Show jumping competition
5D Mark III + 70-200 F2.8 IS II L USM + 1.4III Tele
@1/4000sec F4 ISO 250

This isn't a critique... but usually if I'm photographing something like this where motion is obvious, I usually compose the shot so the direction they are heading is open rather than where they have been. So I would have the horse and rider to the left of the shot rather than the right.

Is that just a personal preference on my part or was there a specific reason you composed the shot that way that has to do with one of these unspoken rules of photography that I pick up off the streets?

Thanks for feedback
I get your point and deep down I'm feeling that it is more interesting composition which you are suggesting. I was limited by focal length and my position in relation to rider.
If that would be the case would you rather not taking the shot and relocate to other point?
Below is sample with rider on left side of the frame
Cropped
Focal length 280mm F4
1/4000sec same set

I'm still processing the 2100+ photos I took last weekend from a table tennis tournament, and while I follow this rule of leaving the space where the person is looking, after a while all the photos start to look the same. So, while it's good to follow these rules (this photo looks particularly compelling because it does follow the rules), it's always good to shake things up a little bit for variety.

One thing that might be interesting is to try for your next session is a panning action shot, where you use a low shutter speed (maybe 1/30th) and move the camera to follow the horse as it runs by. I hear it's pretty tricky to get right, I plan on attending some local races this spring to see what I can get.