Diane Swarts

Equine photography can be tricky and requires patience and skill on part of the photographer. To start with you will need a set of tools these should be: a long zoom lens, noise making gadgets, a lunge whip, a mirror, some handlers and patience.

The first thing I do when arriving at a ranch where the horse or horses are, is to evaluate the horse I will be photographing. By this I mean walk around the horse, make mental notes about what strikes you about the individual, is it his lovely dish face, or leggy long legs, a great rearend, a gorgeous mane, a big doe eye, its unique coat pattern etc. This clues me into what I try to focus on when shooting. Talk with the owner or handler about what the horse does and what the photos will be used for. Most breeds have standard type poses for the breed and often the owner will want that type of posing. In this case you will definitely need a handler or three ;-) Do your research online before showing up to photograph the horses. Find out if there are any standard poses for the breed and study the images of them online or print them out and carry with you for reference.

In the case where it is a colored horse, ie an Appaloosa or a Pinto, you have several horses all in one animal. Each side and the rear and front may look like a completely different horse. Colored horses often have coat patterns that can create optical illusions making it difficult to get a pleasing image from a particular point of view, so be careful to try and shoot the most attractive side and angle. You can ask the owner if there is a side that they prefer, often the horses will have blue or partial blue eyes with pink skin and it may not be very photogenic. I have a Black and White paint and he definitely has a better side that I shoot from, no matter how hard I try, I cannot get a good shot of that other side, plus the side with his blue eye is the side that I talk to, because I can see him watching me and that is the side that I relate to, so that is the side that I as the owner prefer in a photograph. Sometimes their markings can create an optical illusion that makes their head/nose look big or the leg look crooked or make them look cow or sickle hocked etc. You may have to change your angle to eliminate the illusion. Sometimes you get lucky and both sides of the horse are just as lovely to photograph, if so then definitely do shoot both sides. Even in the case where one side is more flattering I will try to get a couple photos on the “challenging” side for sure anyway.

The other very important thing is light. Black and white horses and Appaloosa’s can be very challenging to shoot in bright sun because the camera does not know which color to balance the light for and the result is that some of the markings don’t show in the photo or it’s over/under exposed either on the black or white part of the horse. I have found that if you shoot on a cloudy or overcast day or primarily in the shade you will get better results than shooting in the sun. Use a fill flash for light if you have to. For most horses you want to shoot in the sun with the sun at your back to get that shiny coat and the light bouncing off of it. If it is important to get good saturation and detail on the markings shoot in the shade or when the sun isn’t out.

If you are taking a candid shot (not being held or posed) of a horse in its pasture or turnout, you may have to sit and watch for a couple of hours to get an interesting shot of them vs. the head down grazing position. Sometimes they will stop and raise their head and ears forward and eyes on something in the distance, this is a perfect shot opp, but it comes and goes. You can carry a noise maker or mirror to reflect light or the horses reflection at him and that will get them interested but, be careful sometimes this will spook the you know what out of them, always be on the alert and ready to jump to safety. Shoot from a low angle and either kneel or sit. Make sure you have distance between you and the horse (zoom lens) and if possible get someone to steer the horse away from you if they bolt or run, if you don’t have an extra hand, always carry a long lung whip to make sure they see and hear you and to deter them from coming to close. Pay attention to the background noise, try to get the best angle on the horse with the least distraction in the background watch out for ugly fences, power lines, buckets and junk. Unless, you are composing a photograph where you want certain elements in the photograph like ponds, trees, barns, fences etc then obviously include them ;-)

If you are wanting an image of the horse in movement, you will need a small pasture or arena and you may need a couple of extra hands, some lunge whips and noise makers such as an aluminum can with rocks in it, or a squeaky toy etc. when using these kinds of tools be very careful not to spook the horse to the point of it or you getting hurt, you want response and expression, but not fear or destruction. It is best to get low when shooting and use a long zoom lens (at least a 80-200 or 70-300) so you get the right compression and the horse doesn’t look funny. Get your position where you like the background and then settle in. Then signal your handlers so they know that they can get the horse moving. They can do this by either snapping the whip or making some noise rattle the rock can at them or whatever. Then when they run on by start snapping and remember to make sure you are not in the path of the horse and or can get out of the way quickly if necessary.

While I am certainly not an authority on the matter, I do have many years of experience not only with horses but photographing them and I have mentored under some of the best talent out there JMHO ;-)

That’s about everything I can think of. My hopes are that some of these ideas might help you with your equine photography, if you have any questions just holler ;-)