Horse photo
ronniegsd
Hello
My friend wants me to take pictures of her horses for advertisement purpose;
I am an amateur and usually do people. I have a Nikon N90s with 70-300, 85
f1.8, 50, 24,50 and sb-28 Could you give me any suggestions on what lens,
best print film, and from which angle I should shoot.
You help is appreciated
Ronnie
Norm
--
ronniegsd <ronn...@mail.com> wrote in message
news:8atobh$1gfg$1...@newssvr04-int.news.prodigy.com...
>
> Hello
>
> My friend wants me to take pictures of her horses for advertisement
purpose;
> I am an amateur and usually do people>
Ask your friend what are the characteristics of the breed of her horses that
are important. Then take the photos that emphasize those characteristics.
Norm
Photo Guy
whatever. Some require or prefer slides.
What is it that you are advertising? The horse itself? Your wife's riding
school? If it's the horse, your wife should know what to emphasize. Look at
other advertising of the same "product" for ideas on perspective and angles.
I would suggest, 1) use an overcast day for even lighting, 2) shoot with a
tripod, 3) groom the horse, polish the tack, 4) if the horse isn't 18
percent gray, meter carefully off something that is or use an incident
meter, if you shoot slides, bracket, 5) watch the background, maybe the side
of a barn or distant trees would be good avoid the parking lot full of
horse trailers. 6) I prefer a longish lens (the 85mm perhaps) and a large
aperture (to blur the background), if you use a wide angle lens watch for
distortion.
A lot of the horse "head shots" seem to be taken from a low perspective, you
might try some like that.
Sounds like fun.
ronniegsd wrote in message <8atobh$1gfg$1...@newssvr04-int.news.prodigy.com>...
>
>Hello
>
>My friend wants me to take pictures of her horses for advertisement
purpose;
Keith Clark
buyers will want to see, I believe.
Pose the horse as you would at a show. All four legs must be showing.
Other than that go to the library or book store...there is an excellent
book on photographing horses.
Good luck! :>
zeitgeist
ronniegsd wrote:
>
> Hello
>
> My friend wants me to take pictures of her horses for advertisement purpose;
> I am an amateur and usually do people. I have a Nikon N90s with 70-300, 85
> f1.8, 50, 24,50 and sb-28 Could you give me any suggestions on what lens,
> best print film, and from which angle I should shoot.
> You help is appreciated
> Ronnie
I do portraits etc, not horse photos which is a specialty
and you will want to look at a magazine with those kinds of
ads to see what the 'pose' is, it's very specific and you
would want a handler, (wrangler?) to do the actual posing.
For nice images, works great for people and fabulous for
horses is to wait for the sun to drop behind the row of
trees, or the barn or the hill, and shoot in the late
afternoon twilight, the soft light will rim light the horse
very lovely.
Otherwise, just shoot in the sun with flash enough to give
you at least f/11 with iso 100 film at a distance you will
need to be to show the whole horse with a slightly long
lens. use a tripod for sharpness, especially if you do the
late afternoon thing.
Bryan Bowley
reference of the style that is used.
Bryan Bowley
www.phxcolor.com
Peter Madeley
replies I got. It's in full here for the benefit of everyone else.
For what its worth I shot with Superia 400 and 50mm lens/ silver
reflector and positioned the horse in a stable opposite alarge door.
The light was overcast. I used a neutral density vignetting filter to
darken the edges and a monopod to steady the camera. 1/60@f4 I seem to
recall. I got a lovely portrait with the horse and her owner before he
was sadly 'retired' permenantly
Peter
this is the type of subject typically done outdoors, (duh) and best
done at just around sundown. No flash will be necessary. Look for a
location that will be shaded at that time of day, a valley or other
open field in the shadow of a hill or trees. A semi open area by a
creek or stream. Look for an area where the light is blocked in one
direction, hopefully the direction of the sun, so the scene is lit by
open sky, the effect is an enormous light box.
Start the session with closeups in the open doorway of the barn, shoot
at about a 45' angle and the horse should be just a step past the
brightest light. have the girl pet the horse, feed it, bridle it,
whatever. these can be done while you wait for the light to drop.
In the glen or valley, she could walk the horse, you could do a few of
the girl sitting on a fence or rock with the horse in the background,
a secondary subject. this idea works well at the creek side too.
Shoot a few as the walk away, this sells quite well.
Tripod, lenshade and vignette, longish lens.
You are up for a big task... I have done much photography for local
horseman associations and being a horseman yourself helps. First,
collaborate with the young person and decide what is wanted/needed.
Some shots with the woman standing at the horses shoulder holding the
reins and both direct into camera.... you will need an assistant to
shake a can of pebbles or krinkle potato chip bag to get the horses
ears up and alerted. A large reflector is much more effective than
your flash idea. Another with the rider up, again slightly quartered
away NOT BROADSIDE.... same .... get the horses attention with an
assistant ..... do not use a tripod unless you are shooting a 4x5
You will want your camera to be about where you would be kneeling and
shooting up a bit at them. Try to have an interesting backdrop, but
keep your aperature restrictive to your subject matter, so open it up
and use the background for form, not scenics.. If they want a shot of
the horse moving, get an extended trot happening... Often a canter
will make the horse look like it is running downhill... Good luck and
take a roll or two... It is more of a challenge than you think!!
Peter,
If the situation exists,I would work just inside the barn and keep the
barn door to the side out of frame and treat it as the light source.
I would then keep the person on the far side of the horses head with
the horse facing the light source or door. I think working close up
will not only keep the faces large but it will also allow a handler to
be just off frame. The soft dramatic light will not only lend a
natural look but it will free you concentrate on the subtle posing
changes as they evolve. You will may need to elevate the daughter with
crates. Reflectors would be optional depending on the desired ratio.
Personally I would keep it dramatic. A tripod would definitely help as
you may be using slow speeds.
Have Fun
Steve
"It's 6 inches behind the camera that matters"
It sounds like a bad situation that can be lighten by a good memory,
which is where you come into the picture. It is a bad situation when
any horse is laid down but your job is to secure the memory on film,
to say the least this should be treated as an event photography
session (one not likely to be repeated).
From what you wrote so far I think you already know how to photograph
the situation, I would add that you should photograph from a higher
than ground level position, on a ladder or fence, near the rider's
position
in height.
You also might want to try some other images such as the rider
(standing next to the horse) and horse heads together a side by side
portrait, and be sure to capture the horse's eyes using a natural
catch light.
Another image might include the rider grooming the horse or walking
the horse or feeding the horse a carrot or other treat.
Yet another image might be a panned photograph as the rider takes the
horse for a ride in the circular arena (you in the center).
You also might want to try using soft focus filters and high speed
color film for the soft grain image effect.
Best of luck to you,
Don
Well,
Closing down and adding fill flash will darken or black out the
background. If she is on a ranch or near a stabling facility, you
might use a rustic barn (no pun intended) as a backdrop, and just use
matrix metering, and bracket +/- 1 stop for good measure. FWIW, you
might want to toss in a couple of silhouettes, too. It can't hurt. ISO
200 print film is cheap. Actually, I would use ISO 400: Unless you
want a lot of contrast, then I would use a slower film.
Try a few shots with a 50mm lens, with the horse at a 45-degree angle
to the barn (or you), the background being perpendicular.
Then, try a wide-angle shot in the horse's face at about a 20 degree
angle to the carcass.
Then, dream up a bunch of other perspectives.
Fool around. Experiment. Use a surrogate model on a cow, if you HAVE
to, and PRACTICE. Record your settings/perspectives/films. Shoot again
with your best settings and verify. After you get it down pat, then,
DO it.
Just do it.
It's fun; it's a blast.
Just do it! <g>
- --
-Horsey (jOHN - kingsnake)
Hi Ya,
Many hit around my idea but I would expand it to say that a nice
silhouette of the two of them in the door backlit would also be cool.
if
you can have the horse and girl parallel to the opening and facing one
another shoot from within the barn using the correct exposure for the
outside. Also You may want to put together a book instead of just a
few images. Try to capture some expression on their faces and remember
to make soft calls to the horse to makes it's ears come forward. All
of those are what separates a snapshot from an actual portrait.
Les
Ahhh... I wouldn't do that. On a job I worked this past December, we
shot at dude ranch for some western wear. This called for using a
horse for a shot or two. The horses we were around were very
trained. Trained to the point that the wranglers would whistle real
loud and the horses would come falling into place next to the fence.
One of the things that they warned about was, DO NOT USE STROBES,
They will spook the horses to no extent. So we used a Matthew's
reflector board and that even scared them at times because it was so
bright. Granted they are beautiful animals, but they will hurt you
if you are not careful.
-- pat jerina photography
Peter
I have done a lot of equestrian photography lately and to answer your
question really depends on what type of photograph you had in mind.
Examples;
1: A head shot with the horse looking over the owner's right shoulder.
2: A full length in-hand with the owner.
3: A full length with the owner in the saddle.
4: A romantic type image of the horse looking over a gate with the
owner
nearby (probably soft focus).
Either way there are a few simple rules that have to be followed.
Firstly, contrary to what somebody has already said, the camera must
never look down on a horse (unless your after a whacky type shot). If
it is a small pony, for example, then get down lower. I usually put
the
camera about the same height as it's shoulder or just below the height
of it's back at it's lowest point.
Secondly, again contrary to another reply, the owner should be able to
control the horse on her own so another person holding it will not be
necessary. However, an assistant is vital in other ways. You must
never, ever photograph a horse or pony unless it's ears are fully
pricked upright. Anything less will make it look like a donkey. This
is where the assistant comes in useful. By using various means ask
your
assistant to get the horse's attention. A crisp packet (empty) being
rustled, some grass thrown in the air or even another horse brought in
at the right moment will have the desired effect. Be careful though,
some horses are more easily spooked than others. A very highly strung
thoroughbred, will not need much coaxing where as a riding school
horse
can have you bang a dustbin lid in it's face and not even blink. For
these horses I have a secret weapon. A mirror! (bugger it's not a
secret any more). As soon as a horse sees it's own reflection even the
most docile nag will take notice. Be warned though. Make sure every
thing is ready. Focus, exposure, flash (if used), background
composition
etc. Just be ready to fire the camera as soon as those ears come up.
Believe me, they will go down just as quick. And, it will be harder
for
the next shot.
Except for example 4 above. Unless they have one of those very
expensive leather head collars with the brass rings always have the
horse tacked up with a bridle. If you use those cheap head collars it
will be regretted in time to come. For the same reason make sure the
horse has had a good brushing and that the owner isn't wearing the
same
jacket she wore when she brushed it.
Now for those full length shots. Mounted or in-hand? If you're using
a
square format then mounted will fill the frame better. 35mm is ideal
for in-hand. Then again you can crop either way but you will lose
some
neg. It is up to you.
Have the horse 90 deg to the camera and facing the wind if there is
any.
This will blow the tail away from it's back legs and not between them.
You also need the sun behind you and to one side (ideally) not too
high
& coming from the front of the horse in such a position that it will
show good modelling of the shoulders & thighs. Try not to get too much
shadow on the horse especially if it is a dark one unless you are
using
fill flash. A 2:1/4:1 ratio is OK. Be careful with the background. I
usually go for a dark background with a light horse & a light
background
with a dark horse. It always looks OK in the viewfinder until you go
to
print it, then you find black manes blending in with gaps in the
bushes
which are in deep shadow. Also beware of any shadow cast with the
peaks
of riding hats on the rider's face.
Now apart from the ears being pricked as already mentioned the next
big
challenge is the legs. (the horse's legs that is). The two legs
farthest from the camera must be seen BETWEEN the two legs nearest the
camera. At the very least you MUST see all four legs. The only way to
achieve this is to keep walking the horse forward & back again until
it
stops in the right place. If it is a well schooled horse it may well
stop in the correct position first time. On the other hand... well,
let's say I've spent a good twenty minutes without firing a shot.
Some
horses will allow you to go up and PLACE the foot in the correct
position however ask the owner first before attempting this especially
if you're not familiar with picking up horse's feet.
A few last points on feet. Make sure the front and back legs are not
too
far apart, this will make it look like a rocking horse. Also make
sure
it is not resting on one leg as this will effectively throw it's whole
weight to one side and look completely off balance.
If the horse is in-hand then have the owner standing in front of the
horse and holding it's reins and have them facing each other . If the
rider is mounted then they can either both look ahead or the rider can
look at camera but the horse shouldn't look at the camera otherwise
it's
neck will disappear. If everything is OK then ears up & fire. One
last
point. Don't try backlighting in anything other than close-up head
shots and then only if it has a lot of mane.
I hope this will info helps and that I've explained everything well
enough. There are many other, more candid, ways to get a relaxed
photograph but this will mostly depend on the situation and, of
course,
the location. But for a final, formal, wall mounted portrait these
tips
should give you a good starting point.
Good luck...
BTW I've just started putting together my website. It will be a few
weeks or so before it is finished but if you can wait a bit I could
put
together a few examples (good & bad) in a separate section to give you
a
better idea of what I have spoken about. If you are interested let me
know.
Remove "nospam." to reply.
Byeee
--
Graham S. Gott
Quantum Photographic
Canterbury (UK)
Horses don't behave well and neither do their riders when it comes to
portraiture. There is a lot of fussing between moments and in
parallel
faces portraits, telling a horse to move its tail two feet to the left
is done with the rider's hand (and then it may be accomplished by
pulling the horse's head two feet to the right).
A tripod may frustrate you, especially if its head uses gears rather
than a ball.
On metering--I love backlight, and if there's any similarity in tone
or
texture between the horse's mane and the rider's, you've got a great
picture on the way. In that situation, either meter from a gray card
on
the lee side of the sun, or take a reflective off the most middle tone
of the human's face in exactly the mix of light that will be falling
on
it when you take the picture. Go manual. If the faces are properly
(i.e., not over!) exposed and your depth-of-field fades behind the
rider's back, the resulting background washout will serve to keep the
eyes engaged with the true subjects in the final print.
In the barn, grooming and tack shots will require lighting. I've
wiped
out several times on ambient--everything from the roof to the straw is
dark and dusty, and while our eyes adjust, the dimness never quite
fools
the film. Depending on whether some deep shadows will be acceptable,
matrix metering with a single flash on a bracket might get you
through.
This is one situation where two lamps (45-deg. opposed) with diffusion
and a diffused key near the camera probably work.
Hmmm. I wonder if Vavre has a sight . . . .
//Jim
Taking horse photos using black and white infrared film can give you a
nice
dreamy sort of image.
David Chananie
Peter Madeley
Nelson Harrison
The breed of horse is the most important info. Almost every breed
has a different way of posing. Look up on the WWW through a search
engine the breed of horse & get some ideas there. Try also "horse
photography" & "equine photography" for some general ideas.
Look up the ABC's of Equine Photography by Sheldak Ranch for a good
starting point.
After doing horse photography for 10 years it is really no different
than people photography except in most cases a person will listen to
you a horse may not.
Nelson
On Fri, 17 Mar 2000 09:00:36 -0800, "ronniegsd" <ronn...@mail.com>
chris kelly
'horse photographer'. It should give you some ideas.
chris
Bill Tyler
"ronniegsd" <ronn...@mail.com> wrote:
> My friend wants me to take pictures of her horses for
> advertisement purpose;
I'd recommend using a moderate telephoto (I use an 80-200), 100-speed
film, either Kodak or Fuji, and fill flash. On film, if this is for
magazine ads, find out what the magazine needs: slides or prints. Most
can take either, but you will be better off asking ahead of time. Most
photos should be taken from angles ranging from straight on to the side
up to about 3/4 of the way forward. Shooting late in the afternoon can
give you really nice backlighting, but you MUST use fill flash then to
get any kind of detail in the horse itself. Your friend will know, and
should be able to show samples, of the poses that are commonly used to
advertise horses. If she wants action shots as well, timing is very
important. At the trot, one front foot should be lifted to its very
highest point. At the canter, the weight should be on the rear legs,
with front legs in the air. If you haven't done it before, you can
easily use up a roll or two getting your timing just right. Lower angles
will make the horse look taller. Watch out for background! A nice green
hill or painted barn wall looks much better than a manure pile or some
rusty farm machinery.
Horses are easier to pose than cats, but much harder than adults. Be
patient, work with the horse's trainer or owner, and plan out the
shooting session ahead of time, at least for the first one.
Bill
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.