I went out to practice for the upcoming horse show season. I have learned a great deal from those posters who tell it like it is! Al servo and such has served me well. Let me know what you think
Hi -
Since this is "what we do", I'd like to make some comments - but I'm not sure what "What do you think?" means. You say you're getting ready for the show season. Are you just getting your eye & finger in sync?
Do you have family that shows? Do you serve as the official photographer at shows? Do you just shoot at shows that don't have an OP and offer images for sale?
Without having more idea of where you're coming from, I hesitate to jump in. But would be happy to, with more background.
Carol
Carol Lynn Coronios
As You Like It Productions
Equine photography in the northeast
Chatham, NY
Hi -
Since this is "what we do", I'd like to make some comments - but I'm not sure what "What do you think?" means. You say you're getting ready for the show season. Are you just getting your eye & finger in sync?
Do you have family that shows? Do you serve as the official photographer at shows? Do you just shoot at shows that don't have an OP and offer images for sale?
Without having more idea of where you're coming from, I hesitate to jump in. But would be happy to, with more background.
Carol
Well, there are a few horse shows around that use me for their show photography exclusivly. I was taking this photo, and a bunch of others, to get back in the swing of things and simply get outside to shoot. The quality went to crap when I sizedit down to get on the site. I'm lookin for lighting tips, composition, and any general tips that could help. Thanks!
Well, the most fun thing about shooting sports is that we don't very often get what we WANT in the way of light, background, do-overs, etc. So a lot of studio or wedding photogs have trouble looking at our stuff. Up here, most of the shows are inside, even in the summer - VERY sad. Shoot outside?? WOW!!!
First, the lighting looks fine - gives lots of detail, and while you might have had hotspots/blowout if the horse had been light gray, you could have adjusted for that - if you multi-think better than I do. The color looks good. Your background is pretty good and you've softened it some which is nice, but the horse in the pasture is a distraction.
It does need to be straightened.
OK - I'll have to go back and look at image again..wish I could flip back & forth...
Your timing is pretty good - maybe just the tiniest titch early, because the pony appears a bit loose. The left leg is hanging from the knee and the right is hanging from the shoulder, but it could be that a fraction of a second could make a difference. And of course, those bright green wraps only draw more attention to the fact. The rider looks fairly effective and the jump doesn't appear to be tiny, but legs like that have killed more than one sale for me.
As a photographer, just like a judge, you have to work with what's in front of you. Sometimes you know some background, and that can influence what you show or what you take. I'd be inclined to not show that image in my proofs unless I knew there were circumstances that overrode showing only my best work (which includes knowing what's right and what isn't so much). As an example, I competed my first Ap in senior reining at Nationals (about a million years ago). He had navicular and this was his last show. I told the photographer that I wanted at least one picture - no matter what. I looked the next day - no photos of us. I asked him... "Oh, he didn't have very good stops, so I didn't take any." I stood there and CRIED in front of him. And (if you can't tell) haven't quite forgiven him yet. Not that I remember who it was.
Hope that helps.
Carol
Carol Lynn Coronios
As You Like It Productions
Equine photography in the northeast
Chatham, NY
for horse show photography I know most non-horse folks focus on the rider.
But as a rider I'll let you that we often don't CARE if our heads are cut off, but cropping out our horse from the photo is a major FAIL. We want to see what the horse is doing at all times. So cutting the hind legs out is a major no-no. Jumpers ARE easier to shoot, but harder. Depending on the speed of the horse and the height of the jump, finding the right timing for the 'click' is tricky as all heck. Here you are about a second too early. The horse should be more rounded over the TOP of the jump and not yet coming down.
The best bet is to frame up the jump in your camera ahead of time, thinking of where the horse will be (and how heigh jumping to give sufficient rub without cutting riders' heads off) and wait for the horse to move into frame and take it from there.
for horse show photography I know most non-horse folks focus on the rider.
But as a rider I'll let you that we often don't CARE if our heads are cut off, but cropping out our horse from the photo is a major FAIL. We want to see what the horse is doing at all times. So cutting the hind legs out is a major no-no. Jumpers ARE easier to shoot, but harder. Depending on the speed of the horse and the height of the jump, finding the right timing for the 'click' is tricky as all heck. Here you are about a second too early. The horse should be more rounded over the TOP of the jump and not yet coming down.
The best bet is to frame up the jump in your camera ahead of time, thinking of where the horse will be (and how heigh jumping to give sufficient rub without cutting riders' heads off) and wait for the horse to move into frame and take it from there.
Thanks for the comments. As for framing, and the lok of the horse and rider--they were simply going through a lesson. I just showed up to shoot for shooting sake. The background was not important for me. However...I do like the input anout cutting NOTHING off the horse. Thanks!
Comments
Since this is "what we do", I'd like to make some comments - but I'm not sure what "What do you think?" means. You say you're getting ready for the show season. Are you just getting your eye & finger in sync?
Do you have family that shows? Do you serve as the official photographer at shows? Do you just shoot at shows that don't have an OP and offer images for sale?
Without having more idea of where you're coming from, I hesitate to jump in. But would be happy to, with more background.
Carol
As You Like It Productions
Equine photography in the northeast
Chatham, NY
First, the lighting looks fine - gives lots of detail, and while you might have had hotspots/blowout if the horse had been light gray, you could have adjusted for that - if you multi-think better than I do. The color looks good. Your background is pretty good and you've softened it some which is nice, but the horse in the pasture is a distraction.
It does need to be straightened.
OK - I'll have to go back and look at image again..wish I could flip back & forth...
Your timing is pretty good - maybe just the tiniest titch early, because the pony appears a bit loose. The left leg is hanging from the knee and the right is hanging from the shoulder, but it could be that a fraction of a second could make a difference. And of course, those bright green wraps only draw more attention to the fact. The rider looks fairly effective and the jump doesn't appear to be tiny, but legs like that have killed more than one sale for me.
As a photographer, just like a judge, you have to work with what's in front of you. Sometimes you know some background, and that can influence what you show or what you take. I'd be inclined to not show that image in my proofs unless I knew there were circumstances that overrode showing only my best work (which includes knowing what's right and what isn't so much). As an example, I competed my first Ap in senior reining at Nationals (about a million years ago). He had navicular and this was his last show. I told the photographer that I wanted at least one picture - no matter what. I looked the next day - no photos of us. I asked him... "Oh, he didn't have very good stops, so I didn't take any." I stood there and CRIED in front of him. And (if you can't tell) haven't quite forgiven him yet. Not that I remember who it was.
Hope that helps.
Carol
As You Like It Productions
Equine photography in the northeast
Chatham, NY
But as a rider I'll let you that we often don't CARE if our heads are cut off, but cropping out our horse from the photo is a major FAIL. We want to see what the horse is doing at all times. So cutting the hind legs out is a major no-no. Jumpers ARE easier to shoot, but harder. Depending on the speed of the horse and the height of the jump, finding the right timing for the 'click' is tricky as all heck. Here you are about a second too early. The horse should be more rounded over the TOP of the jump and not yet coming down.
The best bet is to frame up the jump in your camera ahead of time, thinking of where the horse will be (and how heigh jumping to give sufficient rub without cutting riders' heads off) and wait for the horse to move into frame and take it from there.
Thanks for the comments. As for framing, and the lok of the horse and rider--they were simply going through a lesson. I just showed up to shoot for shooting sake. The background was not important for me. However...I do like the input anout cutting NOTHING off the horse. Thanks!