How To Take Some Super Pony Photos

Wish to get some photographic masterpieces of your horse, your pride? You may achieve it with a mix of perspective and a quick eye. Of course, you want your foal to be picture perfect, so you begin early by grooming him a lot and spraying him a bit until you can almost see your face reflected on his skin. Last year, you had got him this fancy halter with his name on it; you take out and shine it real glossy and put it on him. You lead him out of the barn into the bright daylight, and you smile over the simple fact he appears to be a million dollars. It’s time to start clicking the shutter release. But that is when things begin to go bad.

Your pony won’t keep still. He’s uncomfortable with the fancy halter, which is on him for just the second time. He is getting bugged by a fly that just won’t go. He wants to have a go at the green grass he sees out on the pasture. He is doing everything but cooperating with you by posing for you. You keep brushing his mane and positioning his feet and his head and his tail, but he maintains on moving everything just as you are ready to click. In sheer desperation, you start clicking, wishing that chance will get you the kind of pictures preparation doesn’t. But even as you push the shutter release everytime, you know the photograph was no good. Somehow, each time he strikes up a good pose, you’re a microsecond too late to capture it.

Here is some sound information for you.

You presently have 2 options: you can hand over to a pro photographer and see if he does any better with your restive pony. Or you can change your entire approach.

You’ll do better if you simply give up any hopes that your pony is going to pose for you. He doesn’t know anything about posing and photography and he isn’t going to learn. In reality, you don’t need him to pose. You should awake to the incontrovertible fact that some of the most amazing photographs ever shot were candid shots, taken when the subject wasn’t even conscious of it. Just make absolutely sure your angles are the best for your pony. If you happen to have got a horse of less height, try photos from low down, with the camera angled upward. Refrain from taking pictures of your pony looking straight into the camera from close quarters right in front. Mug shots of your pony are seldom, if ever, going to look great. Try to keep your pony concentrated on some prop, something that he finds to be interesting. You can get him to shift angles by shifting the placement of the prop.

Take tons of photos. You need to act on the presumption that only one shot in every 2 or 3 dozen will be a pippin. The rest might quite well make you wonder if your pony is really that nauseating.

After you have had a belly-full of the barn side photos, remove your horse’s halter and take him out to the field. Let him go free and get that camera clicking. You can count yourself lucky if your horse begins to run. If not, make him run if you can. Keep the camera clicking. Try to get your hose to come snorting down to you with nostrils flaring and veins all pumped up. Keep that camera clicking. Keep it clicking even when your horse gets exhausted and settles down to some grazing. When he is doing that, take close up snaps from low down, as low as it’s possible to get and still manipulate the camera. Go further away, use the zoom and wide angles continually. If you have trained your foal to respond to numerous commands, try them all out on him. You may get some great surprises. I recall once asking a pony owner friend about a photo of one of his horses that was a stunner: it had caught the horse from a great angle. The pony was close up, looking with bemused amazement at the camera. My pal said to me that he had just asked his pony to dance and that was why the horse wore such an expression. It probably had the passing thought that its owner was nuts.

The pony knew zilch about dancing, but the photograph that resulted was priceless.

I also recollect yet one more great photo taken by a girl astride her horse. The shot had captured the pony with its head turned back and up, its ear pricked and a scowl on its face, like it was camera shy. Another notable photograph showed a horse without halter, with bowed head and neck. The pony was intently watching someone picking out its hooves. It was like the horse was awfully concerned about the quality of care he was getting.

Think natural, and think spontaneous. Then you will get just the snaps you need.

Horses are Heather Toms passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers, like all things about horse fence