![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
redroanchroniclesAn important part of taking good horse photos involves anticipating where the horse is about to be, instead of trying to get the photo in the exact moment it happens. (This is particularly true of some digital cameras, which may have a perceptible delay between you pushing the shutter button and the camera actually taking the photo.) One of the reasons that experienced horse people make better equine photographers than people who aren't as familiar with horses is because horse people can usually accurately anticipate a horse's behavior. As Pat Parelli would put it, they "know what happens before what happens happens."
One of the easiest ways to practice anticipating the shot is working on capturing a particular point in the horse's stride. For instance, a cantering horse is often best captured at the full extension of the stride, or in mid-stride when the hindquarters are gathered beneath the body (both of these moments make the horse look particularly powerful, whereas a shot when the horse is entirely on the forehand tends to make him look unbalanced and ungainly). If you're photographing a rider in an arena, you can really hone your skills at capturing a particular point in the stride; unless horse and/or rider are particularly green, the pace will usually be consistent and very predictable. You'll be able to practice as the horse goes around until you're able to narrow down when exactly you need to press the shutter to get the shot you're after.
This is a beautiful horse and very photogenic, but I've captured it here at an awkward point in the stride -- the position of the legs makes the horse look a bit gangly and uncoordinated, though it was anything but. This photo also has the "hover horse" effect, where all four feet are nearly off the ground and the horse almost looks like it's floating in a rather comical fashion.
This photo of the same horse in a trot isn't perfect, but it's much better -- the legs are extended and it shows the horse's movement to a much greater advantage. You can almost see the spring in this little Arab's step.
Horses at liberty are usually a more difficult shoot (though in my opinion those photos tend to come out better in the end). For high-spirited horses, you may get a whole memory card (or roll of film, if you swing that way) full of incredible shots of billowing manes, corded muscles and gravity-defying acrobatics, and all you have to do is keep clicking the shutter from the moment the horse is turned loose. For more introverted horses, like my own mare, you may just end up with endless shots of your horse standing still and peering at you, wondering what you're doing.
Huh?
This is where predicting behavior can really come in handy. For instance, my roommate Sharon knows that she can get some beautiful shots of her horse cantering any time I take Juno over to our round pen; Sienna will run around the pasture, which wraps around our house, so that she can get a better view. (Then she'll run back and forth a few times just to let me know how mad she is that I've taken her friend away. :D)
There are many ways influence the horse's natural behavior to get the shot you want. In the photo below, the handler had the horse on a lunge line... that wasn't my idea, and the shots came out okay, but not great. They're more something I'd use for art reference than anything I'd be willing to show a client.
But it shows you the sacrifice in quality that you make when trying to get good photos of a horse being lunged this way. Aside from the tattered halter, stud chain and lunge line all pretty much ruining the shots (I'll blog later on about how to set yourself up for success by getting both horse and human into suitable attire), being attached to the line also compromises the horse's movement. His head's being pulled in one direction while the rest of his body's traveling in another. This gorgeous stallion needed to be shot at a better time of day, in a better location, and at liberty (or under saddle and impeccably turned out) to really show him off to his best advantage.
So what do you do with an introverted horse who refuses to put on a show? It's best not to chase your horse around with a lunge whip, which seems to usually be people's first idea. Aside from the damage this kind of pointless chasing can do to your relationship with the horse, it also tends to give you photos of exactly the situation you've created: a horse who's annoyed and looking sour because some human's chasing him around for no good reason.
The best thing you can do is try to create a situation in which the poor introverted beast just can't help itself... make your idea the horse's idea. (Natural horsemanship: it's good for more than just waving a stick around. :D) In the photo below, I tried to get my mare Juno running by turning her out with a much more energetic friend, Rhapsody. This worked the first few times I went after these shots, but by the third or fourth turn-out, Juno had taken to standing still while Rhapsody zoomed past her. (Though that turned out to be a pretty hilarious photo op in itself!) That's the second lesson: once you notice a natural photo opportunity, be ready for it the next time... or you might miss your chance for good!
...And not a single &*#$ was given that day. Rhapsody was a running addict, and Juno tended to participate only reluctantly. By the third or fourth time I turned them out together, Jno didn't even flinch as the speed demon whipped right by her.
Turning her out into a very large outdoor arena with Rhapsody and a younger mustang gelding did the trick, though. This was just part of a fairly prolonged and exuberant play session for all three horses: great exercise, a great photo op, and the horses were as happy about it as I was.
Juno is totally the evil babysitter of the horse world. She's very patient and kind with youngsters, but she is also willing to give them the occasional "come-to-Jesus" moment, as my friend Kira would put it. :D
With Juno, I've figured out a few pretty reliable moments when it pays to have my camera with me. When she's just getting up from rolling she has a tendency to spend at least a few moments kicking up her heels; fresh snow makes that even more likely (and she may roll two or three times). If I turn out the gelding who is their next-paddock neighbor into his adjacent pasture before I let the mares out into theirs, I'm more likely to see some action as the horses rush to greet one another (and exchange threats over the fence).
My first few shots using this new knowledge were pretty pathetic, capturing just a few strides of cantering as the mares rushed past me and down the hill. I soon learned I could get even better shots by having my roommate open the mares' paddock gate while I stood at the bottom of the hill, to get photos of the horses as they ran toward the shared fenceline. By observing the patterns in the horses' behavior -- and by spending enough undemanding time with them to know some of their habits -- I now know that these are pretty reliable ways to replicate these photo opportunities or at least to encourage these behaviors. And I can do it in a way that allows me to stand back and take the photo rather than expending my energy trying to coax the desired behavior out of unwilling animals. Just being prepared with my camera (knowing when to be, why to be, how to be, and what to do when you get there!) to get those shots has yielded some pretty great shots of my usually very photographically boring right-brain introvert. They're not exactly museum-quality, but they're just what I wanted.
(You can check out more photos from this and some other snowy sessions here.)
It's important to recognize opportunities when they occur naturally, and take advantage of them; learning to anticipate how the horse will react to various everyday things and being ready to snap the shutter when she does. When you start trying to see what happens before what happens happens, you'll come closer to capturing the shot you're after.
One of the easiest ways to practice anticipating the shot is working on capturing a particular point in the horse's stride. For instance, a cantering horse is often best captured at the full extension of the stride, or in mid-stride when the hindquarters are gathered beneath the body (both of these moments make the horse look particularly powerful, whereas a shot when the horse is entirely on the forehand tends to make him look unbalanced and ungainly). If you're photographing a rider in an arena, you can really hone your skills at capturing a particular point in the stride; unless horse and/or rider are particularly green, the pace will usually be consistent and very predictable. You'll be able to practice as the horse goes around until you're able to narrow down when exactly you need to press the shutter to get the shot you're after.
This is a beautiful horse and very photogenic, but I've captured it here at an awkward point in the stride -- the position of the legs makes the horse look a bit gangly and uncoordinated, though it was anything but. This photo also has the "hover horse" effect, where all four feet are nearly off the ground and the horse almost looks like it's floating in a rather comical fashion.
This photo of the same horse in a trot isn't perfect, but it's much better -- the legs are extended and it shows the horse's movement to a much greater advantage. You can almost see the spring in this little Arab's step.
Horses at liberty are usually a more difficult shoot (though in my opinion those photos tend to come out better in the end). For high-spirited horses, you may get a whole memory card (or roll of film, if you swing that way) full of incredible shots of billowing manes, corded muscles and gravity-defying acrobatics, and all you have to do is keep clicking the shutter from the moment the horse is turned loose. For more introverted horses, like my own mare, you may just end up with endless shots of your horse standing still and peering at you, wondering what you're doing.
Huh?
This is where predicting behavior can really come in handy. For instance, my roommate Sharon knows that she can get some beautiful shots of her horse cantering any time I take Juno over to our round pen; Sienna will run around the pasture, which wraps around our house, so that she can get a better view. (Then she'll run back and forth a few times just to let me know how mad she is that I've taken her friend away. :D)
There are many ways influence the horse's natural behavior to get the shot you want. In the photo below, the handler had the horse on a lunge line... that wasn't my idea, and the shots came out okay, but not great. They're more something I'd use for art reference than anything I'd be willing to show a client.
But it shows you the sacrifice in quality that you make when trying to get good photos of a horse being lunged this way. Aside from the tattered halter, stud chain and lunge line all pretty much ruining the shots (I'll blog later on about how to set yourself up for success by getting both horse and human into suitable attire), being attached to the line also compromises the horse's movement. His head's being pulled in one direction while the rest of his body's traveling in another. This gorgeous stallion needed to be shot at a better time of day, in a better location, and at liberty (or under saddle and impeccably turned out) to really show him off to his best advantage.
So what do you do with an introverted horse who refuses to put on a show? It's best not to chase your horse around with a lunge whip, which seems to usually be people's first idea. Aside from the damage this kind of pointless chasing can do to your relationship with the horse, it also tends to give you photos of exactly the situation you've created: a horse who's annoyed and looking sour because some human's chasing him around for no good reason.
The best thing you can do is try to create a situation in which the poor introverted beast just can't help itself... make your idea the horse's idea. (Natural horsemanship: it's good for more than just waving a stick around. :D) In the photo below, I tried to get my mare Juno running by turning her out with a much more energetic friend, Rhapsody. This worked the first few times I went after these shots, but by the third or fourth turn-out, Juno had taken to standing still while Rhapsody zoomed past her. (Though that turned out to be a pretty hilarious photo op in itself!) That's the second lesson: once you notice a natural photo opportunity, be ready for it the next time... or you might miss your chance for good!
...And not a single &*#$ was given that day. Rhapsody was a running addict, and Juno tended to participate only reluctantly. By the third or fourth time I turned them out together, Jno didn't even flinch as the speed demon whipped right by her.
Turning her out into a very large outdoor arena with Rhapsody and a younger mustang gelding did the trick, though. This was just part of a fairly prolonged and exuberant play session for all three horses: great exercise, a great photo op, and the horses were as happy about it as I was.
Juno is totally the evil babysitter of the horse world. She's very patient and kind with youngsters, but she is also willing to give them the occasional "come-to-Jesus" moment, as my friend Kira would put it. :D
With Juno, I've figured out a few pretty reliable moments when it pays to have my camera with me. When she's just getting up from rolling she has a tendency to spend at least a few moments kicking up her heels; fresh snow makes that even more likely (and she may roll two or three times). If I turn out the gelding who is their next-paddock neighbor into his adjacent pasture before I let the mares out into theirs, I'm more likely to see some action as the horses rush to greet one another (and exchange threats over the fence).
My first few shots using this new knowledge were pretty pathetic, capturing just a few strides of cantering as the mares rushed past me and down the hill. I soon learned I could get even better shots by having my roommate open the mares' paddock gate while I stood at the bottom of the hill, to get photos of the horses as they ran toward the shared fenceline. By observing the patterns in the horses' behavior -- and by spending enough undemanding time with them to know some of their habits -- I now know that these are pretty reliable ways to replicate these photo opportunities or at least to encourage these behaviors. And I can do it in a way that allows me to stand back and take the photo rather than expending my energy trying to coax the desired behavior out of unwilling animals. Just being prepared with my camera (knowing when to be, why to be, how to be, and what to do when you get there!) to get those shots has yielded some pretty great shots of my usually very photographically boring right-brain introvert. They're not exactly museum-quality, but they're just what I wanted.
(You can check out more photos from this and some other snowy sessions here.)
It's important to recognize opportunities when they occur naturally, and take advantage of them; learning to anticipate how the horse will react to various everyday things and being ready to snap the shutter when she does. When you start trying to see what happens before what happens happens, you'll come closer to capturing the shot you're after.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-02-10 07:28 am (UTC)Also: *waves hi* Hope your mailed mail arrived okay.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-10 08:14 am (UTC)My mailed mail has not arrived, but mailed mail is notoriously slow here. :(
no subject
Date: 2011-02-10 09:02 am (UTC)After I mailed the, uh, mail, I discovered your "London Calling" CD and your Torchwood DVDs. (Yes! I've been tidying! Shelving! Organizing! It's FREAKY!) Are you in a hurry for the latter? If not, I may let them vacation at Dan's for a week or so *cough* before I send them on to you. S'okay?
Kiss the TruDog on the nose for me, eh?
Watching the American Idol auditions hasn't been nearly as much fun without you, though Steven Tyler has tried to make up for it with his awesomeness, which is considerable.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-10 06:46 pm (UTC)I've been watching Idol too, from the comms... I'll be interested to see who makes it past the next round. (I really liked the singing waitress. ;)) And Steven Tyler is hilarious. I like how Randy has become the new Simon. :D
no subject
Date: 2011-02-10 04:15 pm (UTC)You are pure undiluted double-awesome :)
no subject
Date: 2011-02-10 06:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-11 01:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 02:36 pm (UTC)