View Full Version : more horses (sorry)
Please be as tough as you like its the only way I will get the hang of this
Oh Whats down there?
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/data/500/IMG_4342.jpg
Alison can't stop grinning
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/data/500/medium/IMG_4338.jpg
I quite like this one
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/data/500/IMG_4281.jpg
Some good action shots but they look like they have been taken with my camera phone.
What ya done to them?
Some good action shots but they look like they have been taken with my camera phone.
What ya done to them?
Not a lot :D maybe thats the problem?
They aren't so bad, but perhaps a little tweaking in Photoshop might help pull the colours out and boost the brightness. The quality isn't too hot, so I'm just wondering what setup you're using to capture these?
And a little tip I picked up when I was learning to illustrate in college: if you want to show an action shot, it's best to illustrate mid-action. The before and after images look static if they're in contact with other elements, but the mid point between the start and end of an action is where the most movement is visible.
So for example in this case, catching the horses with all 4 hooves off the ground would have much more dynamism than if you catch them just about to take off.
Hope that makes some kind of sense! Most of my family have horses and they're always after a good shot, so I know what you're up against!
Don't give up though, it's a really nice subject to shoot.
Horse and rider look good in the first but fence looks terrible
second looks really oversharpened
third again horse looks good but rider not so
General pointers for horses jumping:
1. Get the jump mid-way over the obstacle, as already suggested. XC courses like this completely hide the rear of the horse - show jumps are not much better
2. Position yourself on the line that the rider is taking - that way you will have their face clearly in-shot as they look around for the next jump
3. Faster shutter speed that the one you had here maybe?
4. Water jumps are always good for a laugh (for obvious reasons)!
There are lots more horsey people here with so I'm sure you'll get mucho ideas.
They aren't so bad, but perhaps a little tweaking in Photoshop might help pull the colours out and boost the brightness. The quality isn't too hot, so I'm just wondering what setup you're using to capture these?
And a little tip I picked up when I was learning to illustrate in college: if you want to show an action shot, it's best to illustrate mid-action. The before and after images look static if they're in contact with other elements, but the mid point between the start and end of an action is where the most movement is visible.
So for example in this case, catching the horses with all 4 hooves off the ground would have much more dynamism than if you catch them just about to take off.
Hope that makes some kind of sense! Most of my family have horses and they're always after a good shot, so I know what you're up against!
Don't give up though, it's a really nice subject to shoot.
Interesting point Robin the other critique I have received from Dod & Hacker who do this semi-professionally, I think tell me that the mid shots are generally not acceptable and the "down on Hunches" pre jump is the thing people are looking for Thanks for the C&C :thumbs:
BTW 400D and first play with 70-200 f2.8 (Shocking aren't they? :thumbsdown: see below)
Horse and rider look good in the first but fence looks terrible
second looks really oversharpened
third again horse looks good but rider not so
I had forgotton I had posted these to be honest I have just gone back and looked at the originals and these are definately crap gord knows what's happened here :shrug: Thanks for the C&C :thumbs:
General pointers for horses jumping:
1. Get the jump mid-way over the obstacle, as already suggested. XC courses like this completely hide the rear of the horse - show jumps are not much better
2. Position yourself on the line that the rider is taking - that way you will have their face clearly in-shot as they look around for the next jump
3. Faster shutter speed that the one you had here maybe?
4. Water jumps are always good for a laugh (for obvious reasons)!
There are lots more horsey people here with so I'm sure you'll get mucho ideas.
Thanks for the C&C Phil :thumbs: all taken on board
Chris, I really don't know what is going on but as you know I have been following your progress over the last few months and with your new lens purchase I was hoping for some great things.
There seems to be some very odd things happening to your photos and I don't know if it is post processing errors or maybe that there is a fault with the camera.
Image #1 - Overall pretty good but what has happened to the fence? If you look at the top left corner of the fence it appears pretty sharp but then look at the middle upright strut/brace, it's very OOF and murky, there is obviously enough depth of filed in the shot when you look at the horse.
Image #2 - Look at the log just below the front hoof, something very odd going on there and the whole picture just doesn't appear sharp. I don't know what the shooting data is but I remember shots you'd taken with your old lens which had high shutter speeds and still looked blurred - hence my point earlier about post processing or a faulty camera.
Image - #3
This time I'll try and indicate what I mean:
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f273/HackerUK/IMG_4281.jpg
Circle 1: That area of the field should not be OOF as much as it is when you look at the areas adjacent to it.
Circle 2: Something very odd going on at the top of her head and I can't work out what, it looks almost like heat haze, was she warm? :D
Circle 3: There appears to be a strip running almost the full vertical length of the picture which is more OOF than the rest. Are you trying to blur the background?
Circle 4: That little bit of fence appears sharper than anything else around it.
This critique is not a personal attack Chris, I hope you realise that, I'd like to get to the bottom of this because the kit you're using should give much better results particularly at the exposure settings you've used in the past.
Best way to determine the ideal point through the jump would be to invest in a copy of Horse & Hound & see how their togs time their photos...
Chris, I really don't know what is going on but as you know I have been following your progress over the last few months and with your new lens purchase I was hoping for some great things.
......................
This critique is not a personal attack Chris, I hope you realise that, I'd like to get to the bottom of this because the kit you're using should give much better results particularly at the exposure settings you've used in the past.
Hi Colin
Thanks for taking the time to point out all the "errors" I certainly don't take it personaly and greatly respect your critique.
I must admit that these are pretty crap the full size ones are better but not as good as I would have hoped in all honesty.
I take your point about the camera, any suggestions how to check it?
I am assuming the lens is OK but is there away to check that also?
Thanks
Chris
Summerleft
06-07-2007, 22:05
As a horse person I have to agree with Phil T , If I were buying a print/ looking through a mag I would want to see as much of that horse as possible as of course its the horse Im interested in not the jump as such. HTH :)
As a horse person I have to agree with Phil T , If I were buying a print/ looking through a mag I would want to see as much of that horse as possible as of course its the horse Im interested in not the jump as such. HTH :)
It all depends on the type of competition and the style of the fences, for cross country like above it is best to go for images where the horse is over the top of the fence so it is not blocked by the jump or coming out of water like the two below:
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f273/HackerUK/Milton_Keynes_039.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f273/HackerUK/Badminton%20Horse%20Trials%202007/Bad22.jpg
In showjumping it it is a different matter as usually all the horse can be seen and in my experience the most sellable type of shot is when the horse is at full stretch and before they've reached the highest point of the fence like the two below:
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f273/HackerUK/UNEX-300607_111.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f273/HackerUK/UNEX-300607_075.jpg
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