Taking Horse Pictures

Learning to take horse pictures is an art that is very similar to learning a foreign language. It requires excellent interpretation skills, except that instead of interrupting words, you are interpreting images. What you see with your eyes is not the image that is captured by the camera. Learning to see how the camera sees will help immensely in horse photography.

Light

Light is always the first consideration in any photographic endeavor, horse photography being no exception. The kind of light and the amount of light you need will depend on the specific photographic style for which you are aiming. Horse portraits, action shots, and background/landscape shots all require different light. The best light is one that is naturally filtered by the time of day or by cloud cover. Midday light is almost never ideal for taking horse pictures. An overcast day, early morning, or early evening photo shoot will often yield the best results, especially for shots where the horse will be standing still.
Action shots require more light than still shots. Without enough light, the shutter will have to remain open longer, which will cause the subject to blur. If you need to work in bright light for taking pictures of horses in action, try to keep the light to your back. The horse’s eyes should be reflecting the sun.

Pose

If you are taking a horse picture that requires the horse to be in a posed posture, be aware that the best shots will be side or three-quarter shots. Different breeds have different poses that are best suited to them. One example of this is the Arabian horse. These horses are traditionally posed with their front legs evenly spaced but with their rear legs slightly apart. The furthest hind leg is usually a step in front of the nearest hind leg. This pose was developed because Arabians have shorter backs than other breeds, and it accentuates the horse’s natural posture. In addition, the tail is held upward for Arabian horses, and their neck should be up but producing an arch.
In contrast, quarter horses are usually shot from three-quarter poses. This can be a front three-quarter or a rear three-quarter pose. This accentuates the musculature of the horse, and shows off the horse’s well-defined legs. Avoid taking pictures of any horse directly from the front. This rarely produces a pleasing image. Front shots of horses should be reserved to comedic photography only. Before taking horse pictures, find out the breed of the horse and do some research as to that breeds traditional poses.

Frame

Although it is not absolutely necessary with modern photographic equipment and computerized photo editing, it doesn’t hurt to try and frame the horse in the shot. Just because you have the ability to crop it to your liking later doesn’t mean it’s not important getting it right the first time around. In shots where the horse is the primary focus, you will want to try and fill as much of the view as possible with the horse. For photos that are to create a balance of horse and environment, allow the background to show, but don’t let the horse be so far away as to be inconsequential. One good rule is the rule of thirds. Try to create a photo in three equal parts. For example, one third could be the sky, one third the ground, and the final third the horse. Each third should be roughly the same size, but you have a little license for adjustment.

Stallion Pictures

Action

Taking pictures of horses in action is much more difficult that still or posed shots. Getting the best action shots requires practice. The most important part of taking action shots is to keep the light behind you. It is also recommended to have as bright a light as possible. To get a good shot, do not try to follow the horse around with the camera. This is a recipe for a blurry, out-of-focus picture. Predict where the horse will be, hold the camera in a fixed position, and wait for the horse to enter the frame.