FREE GIFT FROM YOUNG RIDER

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1 INSIDE 20 Equine Photo TIPS FREE GIFT FROM YOUNG RIDER MAGAZINE! Young Rider

2 20 Equine Photo TIPS Learn how to take great horse photos! Photos & text by Lesley Ward, Editor of Young Rider Magazine Do you have a photo album full of blurry pictures of your favorite horse? When you take pictures of your barn buddies riding, do they look like headless horsemen? Does your horse have his ears pinned back in every shot? If you answered yes to these questions, we can help you! Taking good horse pictures requires a little bit of luck and a little bit of skill.you can t always get a horse to pose exactly as you want, but there are some easy ways to make sure most of your pictures turn out great. So, grab your camera and head out to the barn; Young Rider has 20 tips to help you take better horse pictures. 2 youngrider.com

3 1 Buy the best camera you can afford. Babysit. Pet sit. Clean tack. Muck out stalls. Raise money to buy a digital single lens reflex camera this means a camera with a removable lens. Point and shoot cameras are fine for shots where the subject is standing still. But horses move, and it s almost impossible to get a good galloping or jumping shot with a point and shoot camera. Digital cameras are getting cheaper every day. Both Canon and Nikon sell camera kits (camera and a lens) that cost around $500 to $700. Ask your friends what kinds of cameras they use. If they are super-nice, they might let you borrow a camera for a day or two so you can try it out. Take the camera down to the barn and shoot away. If it s easy to use and takes good pictures, consider splurging on the same model for yourself. 2 You need a SLR camera for good action shots. Buy a camera with the highest number of mega pixels you can eight-to-10 mega pixels are suitable for most types of horse photography. Buy the best camera you can afford. youngrider.com 3

4 Buy the biggest lens 3 you can afford. A good lens for horse photography is a mm. This is a good lens for taking pictures at horse shows where you might not be able to get very close to your equine subject. 4 Get a memory card with a lot of space. 2GB is a good size to start with. And buy two, just in case one gets full or damaged. Bigger lenses are better for horse pictures. 5 Buy a padded camera bag to protect your camera. There are cool backpack-type camera bags that are easy to carry. 6 7 Read the camera s manual before you go out and use it. Keep the manual in your camera bag in case you need to look at it to figure something out. Always remember to recharge your camera battery before heading out to shoot pictures. Take out the battery when you re not using the camera. The camera drains the battery, even when it s turned off. 8 Set your camera to large format images in the camera s menu section. This should work fine for horse pictures and you won t fill up your memory card too quickly. Take your camera to shows. 4 youngrider.com

5 While you re getting used to the camera, use the camera s automatic settings on the dial on the top of the camera. The sports setting is good for action shots and the portrait setting is good for pretty head shots. Practice! Here are some great places where you can practice taking pictures: Your barn: Take pictures of the horses out in the field or in their stalls. During lessons: Take pictures of your friends while they re riding. Avoid shooting in indoor arenas they re extremely dark and it s hard to take good pictures in them. At horse shows: Don t just stay at ringside. Walk around and take casual shots of people grooming or of horses in trailers. Your local racetrack in the morning. Anywhere you see adorable foals! If you can t practice on a horse right away, your dog will do or a sister or brother! Just ask them to run around a bit and practice your action shots on them. 11 The sports setting is for action shots. Always try to shoot with the sun at your back. The best times to shoot horse pictures are between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. The sun is directly overhead between 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. and this causes bad shadows on people s faces Foals are always good subjects! youngrider.com 5

6 Bright colors pop Make sure your models (horsey and human) are neat and tidy. Brush manes. Wipe eyes clean. Ask the rider to wear a brightly colored solid shirt. Black or white shirts don t pop! Use a clean leather halter, not a raggedy old halter and lead rope. Get as close as possible for 13 portrait shots. Look at the background before you shoot. Is a telephone pole sticking out of the horse s head? When taking portrait shots, don t 14 always ask your human subject to look into the camera. Some of the nicest shots are when an owner is looking at her horse. Carry noisy keys or a hat to throw in the air to attract the horse s attention so he puts his ears forward. Crinkle a piece of paper. Forward ears make the best pictures. Ask the model to look at her horse. 6 youngrider.com

7 Don t cut off a rider s head! 19 Be careful that you don t 16 cut off people s heads or horse s feet. Try to fit the whole horse and rider in the photo. 17 Try to stand on the same level as the horse so you re not taking a picture up his nose! With horses (and all animals) sometimes you just have to wait for a good shot. Wait for the ears to come forward or for the horse to turn toward you. Be patient. For action shots (when a horse is galloping or jumping) pan, pan, pan! This means follow the horse with the camera as he moves and snap away click, click, click.you re bound to get at least one image that s in focus! Edit your photos. Don t keep ugly pictures where the model is making a face or the horse looks goofy. Burn the edited images onto a CD or DVD or keep them safe on a flash drive. Pan for action shots. youngrider.com 7

8 Tips from the pros We asked two of the world s top horse photographers to give you some photography tips. Bob says, Follow the horse! Bob Langrish s images are seen in books, calendars and posters all over the world. If you re using a wide-angle lens or a lens without a zoom, always take a picture from the side because if you take it from the front you can make the neck look like a giraffe and distort it. Always look all the way around the viewfinder and see what you have in the picture. If the horse is moving, follow the horse with the camera and don t stop moving when you press the button, otherwise the horse will disappear out of the picture! Kit Houghton Lesley Ward Shawn Hamilton is Clix. She s taken amazing pictures of horses around the world and she s been a photographer at several Olympics! Make your subject look the best that you can! Use well-fitted and clean tack. Wipe eyes and noses. Use fly spray. Make sure your whites are white. Always take a cloth with you to wipe spots, noses and eyes. Look for clean, uncluttered backgrounds. Avoid trees growing out of backs. Busy backgrounds take away from the subject. Place your subject at least 10 feet in front of the background if possible. If Shawn says pay attention to backgrounds. you get the background slightly out of focus, your subject will jump out at you. 8 youngrider.com

9 Young Rider A young rider s complete bi-monthly guide to owning, riding and caring for a horse or pony. It s great for lesson kids too! Each issue contains: Horse-care hints Western & English instruction Exclusive forum membership Showing tips Expert advice from top riders A fun pen pal program Huge color posters ORDER A SUBCRIPTION NOW! To subscribe call A subscription to Young Rider is a wonderful present for a pony pal at the barn! youngrider.com 9