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When you first took up the mantle to become an equestrian, you almost certainly had visions of you horse riding and perhaps even dreamed of participating in dressage events. But did you ever see yourself as a shutter-bug? There are occasions when you need to take photos of your horses, and not just any photos, but photographs that show their strength, speed and elegance . Whether they are for the purposes of advertising or promotion or to showcase recent accomplishments in competitions, as a rider, you will find yourself taking footage of your horses.

And it’s not like you take pictures to save the memory—most of the time pictures are utilised when you wish to sell a particular stud of mare. Of course , pictures of an athletic horse performing dressage maneuvers certainly would leave a sound impression on potential buyers. But you do not need to just take any picture of your horses, you would like to take good footage of them. And photography takes a bit of practise. Professionals even have degrees or certificates that swear to their photographic capacities, so don’t think you can do it the way that they do easily. There are a few tips you can follow to improve your horse photography.

For one thing, the film you use matters. Top of the range film renders prime quality shots. 200 ASA is great film for the 35 mm format. And if you’re going digital, you’d need higher pixel (or as it stands today, megapixel) counts. But do not waste the prime quality , high price film (or megapixel battery consumption) on a terrible day. Pick good days when it is not too dark and not too bright. Your horse would look best if the lighting isn’t too bright or otherwise. Excess sun causes darker shadows, and this will not make for a pleasant picture ambience, particularly for dark horses.

A note on preparing the horse you plan to take a picture of: except for making sure she is clean and healthy, make her look her prettiest. Use acceptable props,eg platted manes and oiled hooves if that is correct for her equestrian activity. Also, everything she’s going to wear should similarly be clean and professionally maintained. The horse isn’t the one and only factor in the picture that needs preparation though, the background needs some preparation and thought too. It is often best to set her up against a uncluttered background. And any handler or rider appearing in the shot should look their finest too.

You could need an extra set of well informed hands to deal with the pony since you will be doing the shooting. And when you start shooting, make sure you get the very best angle of the horse. Stay away from going too much to the front or rear, as these angles have a tendency to enlarge particular bits of the pony. Try to catch the best part of whatever action you want your pony to be doing—capture a shot with her extending her leading leg while in a trot or canter, as an example. And finally, just keep at it: most picture perfect moments are random, so just click away and you’ll get the correct one.

Horses are Heather Toms’ passion and she
enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers… like all things about horse rugs.