Beginner Horse photography advice please

Seajay

Seajay

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Cathy
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Morning all I need to ask for a little guidance.

I am going to take some shots of my friend with her horse this week.
She wants some portrait shots of them together and pics of her running and jumping the horse etc Argh!!
Now these are for fun and she is looking for snaps but I still want to try and get it right.

Guess I need to take steps with me :) as. I am only 5ft tall

I use a Canon 700d I have the kit lens a Sigma 24-70 the nifty 50 and a sigma 70-300

What lens would be best to use and any advice on settings would be fab!
Cathy
 
have a look through the crit sections, there are normally a load of equestrian/horse shots (search might help) more often than not with a load of suggestions and tips :)

kit wise, the 50 should be fine for static. ive never used the 70-300 but if its got a reasonably quick focus it should be fine for a bit of distance for the moving stuff.

useful info:

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/panning-show-jumping.480393/
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/advice-for-a-horse-photography.408225/

simple things like making sure the owner grooms the horse first (lost count of how many dirty horses we've arrived on site to find) but otherwise, watch your backgrounds for things like ugly fencing/signs/pylons. use a med-low DOF to help with that and blur out any background. try and get the horses ears forward for starters (a friend with a food bucket is useful here). watch for harsh lighting, aim for the end of the day where the light eases off a bit.

moving shots aim for the classic M during trot and canter, put your camera into single point AF tracking. normally i use aperture priority to control DOF, using ISO to keep the shutter speed up (shouldnt be a problem in this weather):

722Q3159 by neilgates, on Flickr

for jumping watch out for jump wings obscuring the rider and horse, dont go at a complete right angle to the jump (maybe 60 degrees?). again put your camera into single point AF tracking and follow the horse take the shot as the rear legs are just leaving the ground.

theres probably more, ive got a bit rusty but thats the basics.
 
In my opinion, horses make competent technicians but lack the creative eye for truly great photography. :)
 
Neil and Richard thank you I will take note of the advice and I know it should all help me on the day.
Never been near a horse except a few in a field not far from me so may even go up there and get some practice shots.
Andy not quite getting what you mean?
Cathy
 
Good luck! I was asked to take a picture of my friend on her horse, quite difficult to get 2 people and a non compliant beast upset with flies to pose nicely. I would have prefered to take shots of them jumping and active.

 
the 50 and the 70-300 would be my preferred lens to take i would use mainly the 50 if they are in an arena or the 70-300 if they are in an open field for the riding shoots and the 50 for the portrait shots


i would try and keep your shutter speed above 600 for moving shoots to freeze the action. or 300 if you want to go for the slightly motion blurred pictures for effect.


portraits

you want both horse and rider to look relaxed and happy, take a crisp packet or keys with you to make a little bit of noise or throw(carefully) to get the horses attention its much more appealing is the horse has his ears forward. if the rider and horse are facing you make sure you get both the horses head and the rider in focus as it can detract from the image if you have the rider in focus but the horse out of focus, most importantly have fun with it this will relax you and rider, make sure to get a clean background with no clutter.

Ridden shots

be careful on the horses leg position as that for me can make or brake a photo for instant

at a walk try to have all 4 legs visible a low head and ears forward not always possible depending on the horses nature it may not want to put it ears forward and while the horse is in motion you can't tempt them forward either but try you best to capture the horse when its ears do go forward.


equine portrait by Aralia photos, on Flickr



at trot you would want the horse to be fully extended looking relaxed and the rider relaxed concentrating and both happy for example


lottie showjumping practise by Aralia photos, on Flickr

tara and arnie by Aralia photos, on Flickr

this shows off the horses movement and looks more pleasing where as a show like this

tara and arnie by Aralia photos, on Flickr

doesn't show of the horses movements makes the photo look a bit awkward and less pleasing to a rider.


the canter again leg position of the horse is the key you want to try and capture the horse just as the he arches his front leg and sits back on his hind


kelly by Aralia photos, on Flickr


jumping

you want to aim to capture the horse right at the arch of the jump just as his toes leave the ground, also one i find increasingly popular with show photos if the jumps are bigger are slightly later into the jump just before the horse starts to to come down from the jump

just as they have left the ground


mel and sam by Aralia photos, on Flickr


lottie showjumping practise by Aralia photos, on Flickr

then the slightly later shot

showjumping by Aralia photos, on Flickr

getting the timing right with horses can be difficult but once you get the timing you can become pretty consistent and shooting on burst mode can help if you are struggling

hope this helped slightly I'm by far a pro but these are the type of shots that i have sold at shows
 
" I'm by far a pro" :D:D:D:D

You're a Professional Photographer now are you???

To the OP

I would opt for the 24-70mm for portrait type shots much better than a 50mm in my opinion and a 70-200mm f2.8 for distance, both being fast lenses, very easy to get the high shutter speed and low ISO required for this type of Photography - I see you have a 70-300mm then open up the f stop to blur the BG slightly makes the subject pop from the BG and will give the faster shutter speed required for moving subjects

I use a Tamron 70-200mm f2.8 - love the wide 2.8 aperture and fast shutter speed to capture shots like these

DSC01462 by lesmoxonphotography, on Flickr


DSC01469 by lesmoxonphotography, on Flickr


Good luck with it

Les
 
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although more chance of the horses ears being all over the place while it tries to work out where that CLACKCLACKCLACKCLACKCLACK is coming from.

best to work on your timing. aim for when the leading leg is just about to hit full stretch.
 
Hayley this is so kind of you and what amazing pictures! well done!

This has saved me trailing through lots of horse pictures on google. The one thing I do know is that horse and rider will be immaculate so it's down to me to try and capture a nice shot of them together.
This is exactly the type of images my friend would like so armed with all this info I am ready to try and get her something.

Hayley do you hand hold or use your tripod ?


Les thank you too for your input I have decided to take all the lenses with me and see how it goes. Super photos by the way were you on a boat taking these?

Thank you everyone I know I am on a lot asking questions but sadly no friends or family take pictures on a camera only me. They all use phones iPads etc so the forum is my educator.
 
dont forget to tell the horse to smile

14831190041_91d9deeb76_b.jpg
 
Llamaman said:
Lez, I'm no expert on equestrian matters but I did grow up in the countryside and I'm pretty sure that those aren't horses. ;)
Click to expand...
never heard of SEA Horses Andy?

I used those images as they have a certain speed element like shooting a horse and rider on the move

Les :D
 
Enjoyed my time at the stables and having some fun taking the pictures of the beautiful black horse Tia and her owner Caroline.
 
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Only had a few on. Flickr for a couple of days but will leave this one for now.
Thanks to all of you I felt more confident on the day and really enjoyed it.





Tia 3 by Cooriedoon, on Flickr
 
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