HORSE PHOTOGRAPHY

Lynette Smith

LESSON FOUR

The Art of Seeing

I. Exposing Light

Characteristics of Light

· Direction of Light

· Front Lighting

· Side Lighting

· Back Lighting

· Quality of Light

· Mood

· Rim Lighting

· (Photograph Horse in different light)

II. What Are Your Objectives

III. How to Shoot a Good Head Shot

IV. A Few Tips to Remember

I. Exposing Light

What is required to take great horse photos?

A very expensive camera, and expensive lens, right?

Wrong!

It’s important to remember the camera doesn’t make the photo; it’s the person behind the lens that makes the pictures. To take a photo is one thing, to capture a part of the “spirit” in the moment is a true gift.

It’s also important to remember that what we see, what the camera sees and what ends up in the print is not always the same thing.

Let’s start with lighting.

This is the first thing you want to take into consideration when taking photos of horses. You want to make sure the lighting is correct for the type of photo you’re going to take.

Are you shooting a portrait, action or other “artsy” type of shot?

As a rule, a bright overcast day will work well in most situations.

If you’re photographing a horse standing still (portrait), or a horse moving very slowly (meandering), a low light setting will usually work.

If you’re photographing action, however, low light usually won’t work, as the shutter must remain open too long to allow enough light in for the photo; this could cause blurring.

Action shots work best on a day where the light is bright. If you are taking photos in bright sunlight, make sure you have the sun at your back so the light is on your subject (horse). It works great if one of the horse’s eyes is in the sunlight because you will capture a “catch light” that will highlight within the eye. If both eyes of the horse are in the shadows they can look vacant without a lot of personality showing.

Caution: Photos taken in bright light can come out with the wrong exposure where the shadows are solid black and the bright highlights wash out to almost white. You need to be sure all your settings complement each other.

The flip side is when you shoot photos of horses in bright sunlight you can get some “burnout” of some highlighting of the coat sheen. Adding some shadows can have the horse appear as a more three dimensional image.

Early morning and later afternoons provide softer lighting, which can help create some beautiful photos.

It’s also important to pay attention to the color of the horse you’re photographing, how much light is on the horse and if you’re getting the result you’re seeking.

One morning I was taking “goodbye” photos of “Johnny”. He was a beautiful white horse and I thought the morning light on a blue-sky day would really look beautiful with his white color.

However, the colors from the hill, the morning light, and the different shades of the ground around the horse turned Johnny from a white horse into a yellow shaded horse. Most of the photos from the morning session I couldn’t use.

I went back and took more photos about noon, and the angle of the light, with the different ground shades made Johnny look very white. The photographs were amazing.

The more photos you shoot, the more you will learn about capturing exactly the horse you want to portray. You may have to return and re-shoot portrait photos. But in the final analysis, your client will appreciate the extra effort. (They love their horses and appreciate a photographer who works at his craft.)

I keep a notebook handy that has references to different areas in town and what time of day the lighting works the best. This info is especially valuable when shooting portraits.

When you’re going to photograph horses, it’s important to capture the horse’s attention (ears forward). You may need help.

Local barns often have kids around that love to help; grab one and put him or her in charge of your “bag of tricks.”

What you want in your “bag of tricks” are things such as: rattles, mirrors, plastic bags, cookies in a bucket and dog squeaky toys. These items all have different noises, sounds or light reflection that can get a horse’s attention.

When you’re ready to take the photo, have your assistant work with the “attention getters.” You will want to switch the items periodically so the horse doesn’t start to tune one out.

One thing that is a high motivator when working with stallions – mares!

If you’re at a large facility ask the owner if there is someone who can hold a mare behind you while they hold the stallion (for a conformation photo). If you can do that you are like to get some great photos.

Knowing horse behavior will help a great deal. What makes him “perk up”, or spook and how many things do you need to do in order to get a reaction from the horse? Some horses make it difficult to get the perfect shot, while others really ham it up for the camera.

I’ve photographed some horse portraits that had people jumping up and down in the background, shaking bags – you name it. The horse did – nothing! Ears lying down like a donkey, staring in the other direction. Nothing worked. Then two trails riders walked behind me, and all of the sudden the horse perked up, ears forward and he was very attentive. I knew the riders and asked them to ride back and fourth for 20 minutes while I got the shots. That was a lucky day!

Here are some tricks to help achieve the “right” look.

A horse that’s thick in the withers is going to look worse in most cases if his head is too low.

When photographing a horse with a less than attractive back, his back will look hollow if his head is too high.

Pintos (horses of many colors) can often look very out of proportion depending on how the markings lay on the horse.

Watch your backgrounds!

Solid backgrounds such as a barn, skyline, tree line or other solid colors can pop the colors of the horse. For instance, a black horse photographed with a green, tan or blue sky background will look great.

If you have background options, use them all. Don’t get stuck in one location with one background; it’s worth the effort to move around and try several backgrounds.

Avoid fence lines, power poles, vehicles and the horizon (horizontal lines) which provide distractions that ruin the image. You never have a good photograph when you have a telephone pole coming out of the horse’s neck or a horizon line going through his ears. (With Photoshop you can edit such distractions out, but if you pay attention to what’s in the background before you shoot, you’ll yourself time and trouble.)

Your camera angle can also make a huge difference in how the subject appears. If you’re taking photos of a horse that’s a little thin, shoot down a bit lower. If you’re shooting a horse that’s a bit heavy, shoot up higher. Poor camera angle will distort you picture, giving a horse a huge hindquarters and tiny distorted head, or a big head and tiny hindquarters.

Pick the best assets of the horse and capture them on film. To do that, you must be horse the horse is always portrayed in proportion.

With portraits you have the option or trying several angles. Not so when photographing horse events; you capture what is happening at that moment.

Some problems you can fix during post-processing, but it is always better to get things right the first time.

One of the greatest challenges to shooting outdoors is lighting. Lighting can also be one of the most important factors in creating an extraordinary photograph. The sun can be an unforgiving source of light at times, but there are ways to use it to your advantage.

Characteristics of Light – There are three important characteristics of light: direction, quality and color. When you know the characteristics of light you will see the influence of light on your subject.

Direction of light affects the three dimensionality of your scene. The most common directions are front lighting, side lighting and back lighting. Front lighting is when the light source is behind the photographer. Direct front lighting makes scenes look flat, but immediately show shape. Front lighting shows full frontal detail.

Front lighting comes from behind the photographer and shines directly onto the subject. This tends to be the easiest lighting condition for your camera to apply correct exposure because almost everything in the photo is lit in the same way. However, front light can decrease the contrast in colors of the photo. It may be best to reserve this specific lighting situation for subjects with lots of color contrast.

Side lighting is when the light sources are at the photographer’s side. Shadows appear to round out form and raise texture. Side lighting improves upon “three dimensionality”. Shadows may intrude with harsh side lighting. To show shadow detail, an exposure compensation of 1 to 1 ½ f-stops may be required.

As you gain experience with a variety of outdoor lighting, you will begin to see the appealing effects that can be achieved by altering the angle of the light on your subject. If you turn your subject, change the camera viewpoint or wait for the sun to move, you can have more light on one side of the horse, and more shadows on the opposite side.

For pictures where rendering texture is important, side lighting is ideal. Side lighting can be a powerful photographic tool providing an almost 3D effect with a bit of mystery. Side lighting is typically used to enhance details of your subject with the distinct and dramatic shadows cast.

Back lighting is when the sun is positioned behind the subject and is referred to as contre-jour. (Basically, the sun is in the eyes of the photographer with the subject between you and the sun). Back lighting can raise texture, indicate distance and highlight your subject.

If the sun is in such a position to highlight the edges of the subject, it's known as rim lighting.

Backlighting not only defines your subject, it can add a magical aura. In the right conditions you don’t need expensive lighting to get the same effect in your portraits. Backlighting can be very effective for photographs of people outdoors in bright sunlight. When your subject has the sun falling directly in their eyes it may be uncomfortable and cause them to squint. Backlighting can help eliminate that issue. When using backlighting you may want to try a reflector or fill-in flash to brighten up the dark shadows and improve the subject detail.

Backlighting is also used when creating the silhouette effect. With more intense backlighting, you can create a silhouette of your subject by first focusing and metering your camera on the sky, then recomposing the shot with the subject. This ought to result in a strong silhouette. While the subject loses individual detail, the photo gains a dramatic effect.

Rim lighting is a great method used to outline the subject and produce a striking effect that shows shape. It works best when the edges of the subject are thin so that you get the light bursting through, creating a wonderful highlighted outline. I define rim light as a strong light that just hits the edge of the main subject of the photo; for example, a light that just “edges” the horse’s whiskers under his chin. Rim lighting is used mostly to define a border that would otherwise be lost.

With a digital camera, you can shoot, see what you have, and then take again if you haven't managed to get the desired effect. To ensure the sparkling rim light you need to over expose slightly. A camera with a partial or spot meter will help. If you carefully move around to position the subject against a darker background the effect will be even more enhanced.

Silhouette is a photo where only the outline of your subject (horse/rider) is visible and the subject is all one color. It is defined as an outline that appears dark against a light background and typically a silhouette is made of two colors, the subject is black with the background white. The most common subject is a side profile portrait of a human or a horse/rider walking out of an arena and they’re an outline in the doorway. When photographing for a silhouette, the contrast between the subject and background has to be extensive so the light can shine from behind the subject. You can create this when photographing your subject against the sky.

Quality of light refers to the softness or harshness of lighting. The sun and electronic flash point sources give harsh light (sharp shadow). Harsh light works well with bold and simple subjects, but can defeat more delicate ones.

Soft light for instance can be created by an overcast sky, shade lighting, or diffused sources. Soft light gives “softness” to shadows. Soft shadows and dull highlights work well for showing detail in busy or delicate subjects, giving low contrast. Portraits favor soft lighting.

Harsh lighting is strong, directional light from the sun that bleaches the pale colors and brightens strong colors. Hard and heavy shadows that contrast with highlights are achieved with harsh lighting. Harsh lighting works well with bold and simple subjects, but can defeat more delicate ones.

Fill Flash is used in several ways to compliment the main light source. Fill flash can be used to soften a harsh lighting situation. Fill flash brings more light to a backlit subject, and fill flash can add dramatically to a portrait by bringing out the sparkle in an eye.

The rule for shooting fill flash manually is to meter the main light source like the sun and set the shutter speed from that reading. Set the aperture by how far away your subject is from the camera or footage guide found on your flash. With most cameras all the calculations are done automatically for you.

Color of light by definition is electromagnetic radiation, which the eye can detect. Light and color are measured in wavelengths. The size of a wavelength determines its color. Longer wavelengths are warm – yellow and red. Shorter wavelengths are cooler – blue and green.

One hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset is referred to as the “Golden Hour”. We only notice the “color” of daylight at these times of extreme changes, like dawn and sunset. The rest of the time we see both daylight and artificial light as white or neutral.

As you can see there are numerous types of lighting available and ways to be creative with your subjects. Light is the essential commodity in photography. It creates the image and at the same time is responsible for much of the style and feel of the photograph.

Ultimately interesting and successful use of light depends on your ability to judge and feel its character. The best advice I can provide on lighting is to experiment with your camera, light and different times of day. Journal what you learn so you have a point of reference to decide the types of light you like and what you may use for a client.

II. What Are Your Objectives

Your first question with each shoot should be relatively simple: do you want a setup (posed) image, an action photo, both or something else?

Know what you want to accomplish before you begin to shoot…and know what you client envisions.

Before you set up to begin taking shots, you want to have determined how the horse will be posed. Do you want the horse in a halter, a field, or turned out for exercise? Knowing what you want gives you the opportunity to decide how you’ll set up your camera and how you’ll use light.

When photographing a horse you always want them to stand squarely with their ears forward. A horse doesn’t look alert in a photo unless his ears are forward.

To get any good action shot you’ll need some patience.

A pretty easy shot to get that always looks good is a ‘trotting’ horse. If you only have a short amount of time have someone trot the horse back and forth in front of you. The handler must stay at least three feet in front of the horse so you can crop the handler out later.

Whenever photographing a horse, make sure there are limited distractions.

Another easy way to get an action photo is to have someone ride the horse or do some ground driving. Just make sure the tack is clean, the rider is nicely dressed and the rider/horse combination looks proportionally correct.

You also want to make sure the person riding the horse, knows how to ride. Recently I saw a video of a horse for sale, the horse was amazing and the rider was not. The poor skill of the rider really distracted from the video.

When photographing a horse at liberty, have someone use a lunge whip to encourage the horses to move. Crack the whip a few times and the horses will usually move out freely. If you find the horses are turning away from you, you may need a second assistant. You (photographer) stand in the middle of the field and the assistants stand on opposite ends of the field, each with a whip in hand. The horses can then be sent back and forth in front of the camera.

Babies and stallions are a pleasure to photograph in action since they seldom need encouragement to run and play.

Another trick is to have the horse in the stall all-day. Have the horse groomed while in the stall, then when you are ready to shoot, turn him loose in the pasture for exercise.

Sometimes you don’t have options for the background, but if you do, pastures thick with mature trees make for a great backdrop…that’s a backdrop which is behind the horse. Do not try to get the horse roaming in the trees.

When you have only a few trees in the pasture, there are several challenges…most of the photos you like will end up with the horse partly behind a tree. If the horse is close to a tree, the tree will limit the light adding to the difficulty of taking the action photo. And trees can create an odd hue to the image.

When setting up horses for poses, some angles work and some don’t. The angle and position of the horse plays a huge part in the image. Have you seen those photos where you see the huge head and super skinny horse with the image all distorted? Some of those can be funny and created on purpose, but when photographing for an event or a client you don’t want to have all your images look like that.

For starters, ideally you will want to use your telephoto lens (distance setting) and stand further back from the horse.

Next, “fill the frame”. I cannot emphasize that enough (except with head shots).

When you look through the viewfinder, your subject (the horse) should fill the majority of what you’re seeing. If your lens won’t accomplish that with your zoom, step closer to the horse. (You can always crop the photo afterwards if you can’t fill the frame, but most photos are best with very little cropping.)

Watch the angles!

Be aware of how angles affect your subject and to what degree they distort the subject’s appearance. The more obvious effect is how the angle changes the horse’s relationship to the background, which can also affect the horse’s appearance.

When you take a photo of the entire horse you want to be very careful when taking the photo from a forward angle. The wrong forward angle can make the entire front end of the horse appear overly large and out of proportion. The forward angle can also make it difficult to see any definition in the horse’s body.

To be safe, try to take photos from the side of the horse or from the side and slightly behind. If you must take a forward angle shot, be sure the horse is proportionally correct in the finished photo.

In a posed photo, make sure the horse’s feet are close to square. When the horse is standing still, it’s more flattering to the horse if his front legs are even with each other and the back legs are even with each other. They don’t have to be perfect, just close.

Most importantly, ears must be UP!

A photo of a horse with his ears back, down or to the side is very uncomplimentary to the horse. You don’t want that unless it is the look you’re seeking.

III. How to Shoot a Good Head Shot

Before you start taking photos of a horse’s head, study the breed.

Each horse breed has a different “pose”. Read breed magazines or Google different breeds to learn more prior to shooting.

Now get the ears up. Have someone help you by rattling a can of grain or stones, or wave a small flag, etc.

Be aware of objects that might detract from the image (you don’t want anything attached to his head, such as a telephone pole.) The less clutter in the background, the better your photo.

A head shot photo is a great way to show off a horse and, of course, one of the first things most people want to see is a “beautiful head.”

It’s important the headshot exhibit breed characteristics along with masculine or feminine traits. You want the portrait to display a clean, bright eye.

Use a lens with a longer focal length, such as 80-100 or 70-200mm. Most zoom lens will work fine. For head shots or three-quarter shots the greater focal length, the more flattering. Photographers specializing in conformation shots typically use a 150-200 focal length for three-quarter shots and a 200mm focal length for head shots.

Keep your subject in clear focus; the background should be clean and will usually be out of focus.

When taking the portraits, move around the horse 10-20 feet away standing and kneeling down. Kneeling can provide a different effect to the background as well as the body proportions. It can change the scale i.e. how big or small the horse looks in relation to the background. The low angle also creates a noble look when you are gazing up at the horse’s head.

Soft light is typically best when creating “artistic” photos. Photograph near sundown or in the shadows. Portraits look better when shot in natural light versus a flash, however you might want to play with the flash because it can add that “twinkle” in the eye.

You should be far enough away from the horse that the flash won’t contribute a great deal of light to the photo. You want the flash to brighten things a little including the eye(s).

The most artistic photos will happen a few minutes after sunrise or just before sunset. The shadows during this time of day are very long; the light softens and creates a warm glow bringing out amazing colors in your subject. If possible try to work in the early morning or late in the day.

Avoid photographing when the sun is directly overhead. Dark colored horses will require more light as well as a light background if possible.

Be creative, move around and you may end up with some photos that are front lit, backlit and side lit. The shadows formed across the horse’s muscular physique will provide some creative effects.

To avoid distortion you want to keep the horse parallel to the film plane, meaning you should stick with the profile. Don’t get too close because there is less distortion in the center of the frame.

When taking head shots, you do not want the horse’s head to fill the frame. The image in the viewfinder is not exactly the image the lens sees, so you can always crop the image later.

You won’t get quality enlargements from cheap cameras, but you may still get good photos.

The horse should be clean. The horse’s eyes, nose and mouth must be clean.

Make sure the horse is wearing a nice halter that fits well.

If the horse is wearing a bridle, make sure the bit is seated correctly in the horse’s mouth and is not too small or too big.

Add a touch of Vaseline around the eyes and nose to bring out any black; the color contrast makes a remarkable photo.

When photographing horse’s heads, you may want to include some of the neck and even a part of the chest. This will help teach you how to frame the image.

If you have too much neck and chest you can crop on your computer. You can take away when cropping, but you can’t add to the horse.

With any horse, avoid taking photos from the front because this will give the appearance of a large head and underdeveloped body.

If you are trying to photograph a nice composed photo rather than a portrait, then set the horse up with other background elements.

IV. A Few Tips:

· Always carry a journal with you. Without written information you have half the picture. By logging your exposures, light, time of day etc. you will learn much more quickly about photography and your camera.

· Slightly overcast days are typically better than bright ones.

· Bright sunlight will enable you to take fast action shots.

· Early morning and later afternoon provide softer lighting, which generally produces better photos.

· Timing is everything. Photographing in the early morning (before 11 or in the afternoon 3-4 p.m.) will help eliminate overhead sun that shows unwanted shadows in the muscles, under the belly and darkens the legs. The sunlight from the side illuminates the legs and reduces shadows that flash alone won’t cover.

· When you have the option, shoot outside! Most barns have horrible lighting for photos.

· It’s better to get closer to your subject than to zoom. If you’re shooting at a show or event, a telephoto lens is a must!

· Fill the frame. As you shoot, try to fit the entire horse inside your viewfinder (your camera’s visual frame). You can always crop your photos later.

· Spend some time with your client and horse to observe the personality of each and do your best to capture the personality in your photographs.

· An assistant can be very helpful. You are the photographer, concentrate on that and let assistants work with the horse.

· Have things such as rattles, mirrors, plastic bags, cookies in a bucket, dog squeaky toys, etc. to help capture the horse’s attention.

· Take close up photos from different angles. Look around; you might see some interesting shadows, reflections or light which can help make a better photo.

· ALWAYS know where the horse is; safety first.

· Do not carry horse treats with you; horses know where the treats are and often get to close or move when you are about to shoot.

· The owner will always appreciate some photos with her horse – try to capture the special bond between the two.

· Evening light can be beautiful and provide some really amazing effects.

· Take some photos without a halter.

· Take a variety of photos: Creative as well as traditional.

· Practice, practice, practice those action shots! You need to learn how long it takes for your camera to “get” the picture after you’ve pressed the button.

· Most importantly – Plan Ahead! (extra batteries for your flash, extra battery/charged for your camera, water and even snacks for yourself) Sometimes you can be at an event for long periods of time – its no fun being thirsty and hungry.

· When photographing sand or snow, overexpose by one stop or more.

· When metering a green subject the meter reads dark and overexposures. Underexpose by 2/3 stop.

· Artists who paint from prints need to two different exposures. One normal and one shot 1.5 or 2 stops overexposed to show the shadow detail.

· Do not look through the LCD screen if you’re taking photos with a digital camera. Instead look through the viewfinder. When you use the LCD screen it can cause the camera’s response to be a bit slower.

Click Here To Take Quiz

Assignment:

Practice taking photos of side, back, front and rim lighting.  If you do not have access to a horse, you may have someone sit outside for you; find a nice background. Non-horse photos will earn a lower grade. A great time to get some back and rim lighting shots is in the early evening. 

Submit one photo each of your best work from the four different types of lighting with a brief explanation of what your goal was with the image.

Include the ISO, shutter speed and aperture you used for this assignment.

Please send your assignment and pictures to info@lynettesmith.com