Go from this…….
To this!!!
If you are selling or promoting a horse pictures are the first thing people see. They can be a huge decision maker if someone wants to click on your add and learn more or move on to the next one in line. Have you ever wondered how people get those nice, sharp, clean pictures? I have some tips and tricks that will help you get nice pictures, even without fancy camera gear.
- Bath Your Horse – The first thing you will want to do is give your horse a nice bath. Clean shiny horses are much more eye appealing then one you just pulled out of the pasture covered in mud. Make sure to wash the body, mane, tail, and face. Clipping your horse will give its head and legs a nice clean look, but this isn’t a must. Make sure you wash your horse at least two hours in advance to give it time to dry!
- Lighting – 2 Hours after sunrise or 2 hours before sunset is “golden hour” or when the sun is low in the sky and makes pretty soft lighting. You want the light to hit the side of the horse you are photographing to avoid shadows. When the sun is this low you need to be careful to keep your own shadow out of the picture.
- Pick Your Backdrop – Think about your lighting and which direction you will be shooting, and then find a clean eye appealing flat area. You don’t want distractions pulling customers eyes away from your horse. If you have a DSLR, set your aperture wide so you will get good depth of field.
- Get an Assistant – You need to be ready to snap a picture the second the horse is standing and looking forward. You need at least one assistant to position the horse to stand correctly and get their attention looking forward. Make sure their ears are forward. My biggest pet peeve is horse pictures without the ears forward. Forward ears signal a curious, friendly, interested horse. Ears to the side or back signal a bored or mad horse.
- Position Your Horse – This is a big one!! You want your customer to be able to see all 4 legs. I always tell my assistant to position the horse’s legs so that the hind leg closest to me is slightly in-front. You want your horse to stand under itself rather than strung out and long.
- Take Action Pictures – People love to see your horse in action! Are you promoting a rope horse? Take action pictures of your horse roping, standing in the box, dragging a barrel, etc. This is where you might want to include a professional equine photographer as they can capture your horse in a way that will show off their abilities!
Both pictures above were taken of the same horse with the same camera (so no, having a fancy camera will not automatically mean better pictures!!). The first picture was taken in the middle of the day, and you can see that awful glare on his back. I pulled him straight out of his stall and snapped a quick picture with no grooming, the background is cluttered, no assistant to help me position and hold him. I could see all four legs and his ears are forward, but the angle makes his hip look weak and heavy on his front end. I then gave him a quick bath, combed out his mane and tail, and put on a well fitting showmanship halter (any clean well-fitted halter will do). My husband helped position his legs and got him to look forward so I could quickly snap the picture and we were done. The light is low in the sky and gives him a shiny golden look.
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