# 1st shoot involving horses



## Bob Hubbard (Jul 25, 2012)

Never shot em before.  Client wanted a portrait of her on a horse.  Near the end of the shoot the horse threw her then fell on her. She seems to be ok but was a def. oh crap moment.

Anyway, couple of shots, love some feedback.


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## jks9199 (Jul 25, 2012)

Like the bottom right (both looking to camera's left) best.  They're all lacking something; it's just "girl & horse."  That one at least shows an actual connection.  Don't know...  need to think on it.  Something about the perspectives is messing with it.  My wife is saying that the angle in the top right (kind of posed) makes the horse's head look to big and dominate the pic.  Maybe the horse in profile, or her off the horse, holding the head?


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## granfire (Jul 25, 2012)

oye....

The first is terribad... 
the 2nd is ok, the background a bit busy.
The 3rd and 4th are good.

As a horse person I want to smack her though...what on earth is she doing with them flopping elbows and reins! :lol:

Horses are a bit difficult to shoot. You get the wrong angle, they look like they are all nose or ears or butt (Quarter horse people sometimes like the big butt shots).

Minus the dragging reins, 2-4 are pretty nice, the first you can scrap!


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## WC_lun (Jul 25, 2012)

I like the last one.  I'm not a photographer or a horse person, so I can't tell you why


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## Tez3 (Jul 26, 2012)

granfire said:


> oye....
> 
> The first is terribad...
> the 2nd is ok, the background a bit busy.
> ...



I was thinking no wonder she lost control of the horse, she didn't have any control! Dangerous situation I'm afraid for both of you. Last photo looks like the horse had seen a hedgemonster and was about to spook. I'm not a photographer so can't offer advice to you but the 'rider' should learn to ride lol, harsh I know but so many get hurt and killed on horses every year.


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## Sukerkin (Jul 26, 2012)

Not one of the 'horsey set' (see previous comments about dirt poor working class background ), so I can't comment on the technical aspects of horse and rider. The third shot (bottom left) is my favourite as it gets me thinking "What're they looking at?" and it's a nice, tightly framed and balanced, composition.


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## Bill Mattocks (Jul 26, 2012)

Sukerkin said:


> Not one of the 'horsey set' (see previous comments about dirt poor working class background ), so I can't comment on the technical aspects of horse and rider. The third shot (bottom left) is my favourite as it gets me thinking "What're they looking at?" and it's a nice, tightly framed and balanced, composition.



I'm with you.  I like them all, for different reasons.  I know bupkis about horses, except I don't like them and the feeling is apparently mutual.


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## Sukerkin (Jul 26, 2012)

:chuckles: A motorbike with a mind of it's own has never seemed like a sensible thing to get on top of to me :lol:.


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## Tez3 (Jul 26, 2012)

Sukerkin said:


> :chuckles: A motorbike with a mind of it's own has never seemed like a sensible thing to get on top of to me :lol:.



True enough but it's not as companionable as a horse nor can it breed! The best thing about horses and this is one reason the army still has them is that horse treat you as you treat them regardless or whether you a general or a private,  learning to ride is a test of character, you can see a persons true nature coming out when they are on a horse. Bill may not like them but he wouldn't bully or mistreat one. Horses will dump you on the ground whether you a prince or a pauper, tbh I like them better than many people.


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## granfire (Jul 26, 2012)

Sukerkin said:


> :chuckles: A motorbike with a mind of it's own has never seemed like a sensible thing to get on top of to me :lol:.



hehehehe, sometime that mind can keep you out of the trouble a mere machine can get you into...


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## Tez3 (Jul 26, 2012)

granfire said:


> hehehehe, sometime that mind can keep you out of the trouble a mere machine can get you into...



That's very true!


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## Bob Hubbard (Jul 26, 2012)

The rider was inexperienced, and towards the end the horse was a little skittish.  We had a handler on hand the whole time to try and calm her. 

Having never shot horses before, what should I have been looking for/focusing on?


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## Tez3 (Jul 26, 2012)

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/galleries/v/dressage_001/dressage/

http://www.shutterstock.com/s/dressage/search.html

http://www.sport-horses.org/pictures/pictures_of_horses_1.shtml

Now I don't know how to do the actual photos lol but both Gran and I are now going into wow mode with these


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## granfire (Jul 26, 2012)

Tez3 said:


> http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/galleries/v/dressage_001/dressage/
> 
> http://www.shutterstock.com/s/dressage/search.html
> 
> ...



Especially with this one:
http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-92420251/stock-photo-three-dogs-in-the-nature.html
:supcool:


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## Bob Hubbard (Jul 26, 2012)

granfire said:


> Especially with this one:
> http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-92420251/stock-photo-three-dogs-in-the-nature.html
> :supcool:



That's a weird looking horse.


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## rickster (Jul 26, 2012)

Horses could be more unpredicable than dogs, cats. 

However, that said, rider and owner should have had more time together before any shoot


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## granfire (Jul 26, 2012)

Bob Hubbard said:


> The rider was inexperienced, and towards the end the horse was a little skittish.  We had a handler on hand the whole time to try and calm her.
> 
> Having never shot horses before, what should I have been looking for/focusing on?





For starters, NEVER believe a person telling you they are an experienced rider. EVER. And I am only half kidding you there. The majority thinks they are much better than they really are. 


However....

Well, trying to annalyse the shots for you....

#1, well...her eyes are closed, horses eyes are closed, she looks like she is about to flap her wings and fly away....the horse looks like a punk, crossed with a mule.  There is a horse in the picture and her endowment shines....about the best that can be said. 

#2 is actually a lovely picture. The horse has his ears pricked, a nice moment there before he devours the poor flower. (personally I can't shake the feeling that the young lady was not all that comfortable on the horse, either because you were shooting or else, but that can cause horses to get fidgedy) I am not liking the background much, but that's how farm life is. When the pose is right you got the manure pile in the back (although I have seen a few pictures where the manure pile was meticulously edited out of the frame. 

#3 again, nothing really you can do about the background. It's a loud colored horse on a busy background. That's life.
It's a nice shot: the ears are pricked again, the angle of the neck is pleasing. What could be better is if the rider actually had the reins or turned them completely lose. If she were, like in the 2nd shot to look at what the horse is looking at. But over all a pleasing angle/composition.

#4 well...the horse looks like he is about to do something stupid. Must be a horse eating squirrel near by. the neck looks good, but the body is kind of urgh: you can see the 4 legs kinda sort of. It's not terrible, but not really good, a bit hard to explain. 

When you shoot horses you don't want a single part of the anatomy to stick out. My sister had a fan who would take pictures of her at shows. The rather long ears of her mare would always feature prominently in the pictures, she almost looked like a mule! Depending on the discipline people like to have the phase of movement just so (and this is really the hard part): Dressage riders prefer a trot picture with the legs on your side being 'open' meaning the front reaches, the back just pushed off. The hole horse looks open, you can see the legs on the far side as the back reaches and the front just pushed off. all for should be in the air 'suspension we call it' 
Over jumps you want to catch the horse  as it reaches the middle of the jump with it's legs, the 'knees' and lower legs nicely tucked under, ears pricked. Or as the horse is over the middle of the jump, especially an oxer, in mid flight. (an oxer is a jump type, high as well as wide, you will usually see what looks like two jumps pushed together, normally a lot of colorful poles on the front one, one or two on the back one, sometimes some funny stuff in the middle) the horse really has to reach over those.
When the horse is 'worked' they often turn their ears toward the rider. That does not automatically mean they are mad as long as they are not pinned back. That is also a desirable picture. 

'hunter' people seem to like pictures in the 'canter' (like a gallop just slower) when all four are in the air and kind of under the body. 

Racers? Well, as the nose crosses the finish line first . but if that can't be had, either as the above hunter one, or all stretched out.

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/

In the sidebar are some more pictures, and you can ask the ladies for their opinion (*but be warned*: your client might be a member! Or somebody there knows her!)

overall, for a first time, not bad.
One more thing, I know the color pallet of yours is a bit on the cooler side, but it seems like horses do best if you warm up the shades a bit. I am guessing the sun was beating down on you and as I recall even NYS is in a bit of a drought, but the grass looked a bit washed out.

anything else? Well, I am not telling you anything about the equipment, except that when I did horses (sadly pre digital, so I don't have any handy to show, plus most are at my dad's house) I liked the 200mm lens. It does not give you too much reach (it barely got the there side of the arena when my sister showed, 20 meters....) but it has a good range to where you can stay out from under the horse. A plastic baggy of some kind is always good to get the ears to come forward, too. Candy wrappers can work wonders.

http://photo.net/photos/WojtekKwiatkowski
Another link to stunning pictures.


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## SnyderD (Jul 27, 2012)

granfire said:


> #3 again, nothing really you can do about the background. It's a loud colored horse on a busy background. That's life.
> It's a nice shot: the ears are pricked again, the angle of the neck is pleasing. What could be better is if the rider actually had the reins or turned them completely lose. If she were, like in the 2nd shot to look at what the horse is looking at. But over all a pleasing angle/composition.



Agreed. I think #3 is the best.


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## Tez3 (Jul 28, 2012)

Not pro shots, just ordinary camera. It's my daughter at Mark Johnston's yard, he often brings horses across to America to race. First one is her eventing. The second two horses are worth well over a million pounds between them and belong to the Saudi Royal family.


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## granfire (Jul 28, 2012)

That's a confident relaxed rider for you! 


(#2 knows he's royalty: Bugger off Paparazzo! )


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## Tez3 (Jul 28, 2012)

granfire said:


> That's a confident relaxed rider for you!
> 
> 
> (#2 knows he's royalty: Bugger off Paparazzo! )



They are always looking for good riders to ride out you know if you fancy, accomodation provided! More info here lol they also have a gallery of photos which might help Bob. http://www.markjohnstonracing.com/webpages/gallery.html


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## granfire (Jul 28, 2012)

Tez3 said:


> They are always looking for good riders to ride out you know if you fancy, accomodation provided! More info here lol they also have a gallery of photos which might help Bob. http://www.markjohnstonracing.com/webpages/gallery.html



holy quacamole, they have a lot of people on the roster! (the place looks nice)


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## Bill Mattocks (Jul 28, 2012)

They shoot horses, don't they?

Sorry, had to be said.


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## granfire (Jul 29, 2012)

Bill Mattocks said:


> They shoot horses, don't they?
> 
> Sorry, had to be said.



hes, among other things...


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## Tez3 (Jul 29, 2012)

granfire said:


> holy quacamole, they have a lot of people on the roster! (the place looks nice)



It's one of the top ones in the world, has a lot of the Saudi horses and rich owners to please though. A lot of the young horses are sent to Dubai to over winter and be trained up, my daughter spent a year there doing that. Horses are sent to run in America, Australia and throughout Europe, he has millions of pounds in prize money. Tempted to come over?


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## granfire (Jul 29, 2012)

Tez3 said:


> It's one of the top ones in the world, has a lot of the Saudi horses and rich owners to please though. A lot of the young horses are sent to Dubai to over winter and be trained up, my daughter spent a year there doing that. Horses are sent to run in America, Australia and throughout Europe, he has millions of pounds in prize money. Tempted to come over?



They wouldn't let me muck stalls there....but I know where to point that camera at!


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## Tez3 (Jul 29, 2012)

granfire said:


> They wouldn't let me muck stalls there....but I know where to point that camera at!




You wouldn't muck out, they've got people for that lol it's just riding out! They even have people working at night because the horses also get fed during the night as well.

Racehorse photography is popular, owners love having pics of their horses.


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## Carol (Jul 29, 2012)

Tez, I love how the light is reflecting off the horse's coat in #3. It highlights not only how well the horse is cared for, but also their stunning musculature


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## granfire (Jul 29, 2012)

Tez3 said:


> You wouldn't muck out, they've got people for that lol it's just riding out! They even have people working at night because the horses also get fed during the night as well.
> 
> Racehorse photography is popular, owners love having pics of their horses.



LOL, well, they certainly would not put me on one. they want GOOD riders, not ballast 

yep, owners like pictures!


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## Tez3 (Jul 29, 2012)

Pictures don't show how air headed they are though lol!


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## granfire (Jul 29, 2012)

Tez3 said:


> Pictures don't show how air headed they are though lol!



The owners or the horses?


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## Tez3 (Jul 29, 2012)

granfire said:


> The owners or the horses?



Horses lol! Normal thing when a horse runs off with you aim it at a wall etc, these horses will run straight into wall, honestly!


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## granfire (Jul 29, 2012)

Tez3 said:


> Horses lol! Normal thing when a horse runs off with you aim it at a wall etc, these horses will run straight into wall, honestly!



We had one guy in the area back home, he had built a jump in front of a wall....special case that one was tho.....

(the horses just got the bay sillies.... )


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## Tez3 (Jul 29, 2012)

Not always pleasant though! 









This is Kate and Always Brave












The tongue again!


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## granfire (Jul 29, 2012)

It's a racer, tongue doesn't matter! 

Riding in the snow can be fun (as I remember, from over 20 years ago...the few days that I had to bother with it...)

I was about to line myself a shoot up at a rodeo, but somehow my in has turned loon....
The guy works with my husband and started something that blew up in his face and he got a in a snit over it....not to mention he is one of those people who does not listen to Motown on principle.... the N****** music, you know.....
but good grief...hating Motown is like hating music!


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## granfire (Jul 30, 2012)

keeping this on topic:
A lady on that horse forum had this question:


> I have recently been told by an administrator of a facility that has  horses, that if I want to sell any photos taken at that public venue  (you have to pay to get in, but it's owned by a government agency), that  I need written permission from the administration.  This is a tourist  attraction in Canada.  Any insights?



and since we are linking horse pictures for Bob:
http://valerie-kirkwood.fineartamerica.com/


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## granfire (Jul 31, 2012)

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?t=362820

Slap full with links to photography!


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## Shkat (Mar 30, 2013)

You are looking so bold and beautiful. I must say that i did not watch your horse at all because i can't take my eyes away from your face you beautiful lady.


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## arnisador (Mar 30, 2013)

The second shot captures a moment very well! Looks like the lighting is an issue out there. If she was inexperienced so action shots weren't viable, these were good choices. Maybe a close-up with just their heads, her leaning in?


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