Horse Photography

ScottyC

ScottyC

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So a friend has asked me to shoot some portraits of her horse. I have never done this before and was wondering about the off camera flash type shots you see in the likes of Matthew Seed etc.

Firstly how do you go about using flash with a horse, will it be alright? Does it depend on the horse? Is there anyway to get it used to the flash?

Any other tips would be great.

Thanks.
 
It really depends on the horse, if it will be okay with a flash or not. I know many horses that wouldn't even be okay with the sound of the shutter alone, never mind the flash.
Always approach a horse from the front with a camera. If you or the owner are unsure:thinking: if the horse will be okay, don't sneak up on it from the back and jump out or you will most likely get a nasty surprise:runaway:. Horses don't see that well behind them and will kick out if they are afraid.
Start from a distance, not miles away, just 10 meters or so and work your way in. If the horse looks a bit spooked:cautious: then stop and give it a little time to calm down:cool: and try again.
Don't worry if it takes a while as the horse will most likely be fine from then on with cameras.
As with dogs and other animals some breeds are more highly strung and the individual animal can be very relaxed or highly strung.
As with most things habituation, or repeated exposure, will mean that the response will decrease.
My sisters Clydesdale barely bats an eyelid with cameras, but he never really minded them in the first place.
Some horses will never be okay with cameras so don't be too annoyed:bang: if this is one of them. There are no hard and fast rules.
Hope it all goes well!

Martin
 
Thanks Martin for the advice, I will see how it goes. With it being a friends horse I have plenty of time so should be able to try plenty.

Many thanks I will post some pictures after.
 
As said above depends on the horse.

My partner's owned horses for years and I've photographed a few... If you're doing sporting photography, show jumping, cross country, dressage those are very expensive and very well trained horses that probably would not bat an eyelid at the flash (Though the owners might, and try not to blind a rider mid jump)

but your average joe's horse down the yard could be petrified and spook its way through a fence, so always check with the owners

it might also help if your friend's horse knows you, it would trust you a bit more and not be as quick to react when frightened :)

If it's your friend's horse its probably best to give it a fuss, a brush and some treats for 5 minutes before you start shooting, and most horses would be your friend for life after that :)

Also a lot of horse owners might be wary of you taking photos of horses in fields without permission as there has been a lot of horse thefts lately and cases of people advertising other people's horses for sale, with photos in the field!

This is a competition horse shot I took back when i had my nikon :D

Bay by hpeake666, on Flickr
 
If the Matthew Seed look is what you're after, you'll need lots of power to get the drama in anything like daylight, otherwise you're limited to shooting at dusk. IIRC he uses a head with a twin tube on a pair of battery packs which gives him 2400W/s of power!
 
Yeah I guessed he must have a fair amount of power! I don't have that unfortunately just my Bowens heads with pack but will have to try at dusk like you said. Will try a few different things and see how it goes.

Thanks for the advice though all.
 
Just a thought, but having had a look at MB's beautiful horse photos, it struck me that the horses have been well groomed. My daughter can easily spend a day grooming before a Tack and Turnout. So may be as well to remind your friend that however good your photography is it will help if the horse looks good before you start.
 
Good point Brian she does spend a lot of time with the horse so hopefully it looks good but I will ask her. I'm going to show her some examples anyway to get a feel for what she wants. Cheers.
 
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