Better late then never, I always say…

Nearly 30 horses were inspected and the venue was just gorgeous.  More on that below.  There was only one stallion in attendance, but he made up for it!  Many mare and foal pairs, some older mares, and three yearling were also shown.

The turnout was great, especially for a keuring or inspection, all the horses were lovely, and my homemade horse treats were a HUGE hit, as usual!  The judges from Belgium were very sweet and extremely thorough.  Owners, handlers, and riders did an amazing job, especially considering the heat, as did the event managers.

Thanks to my fabulous client, Heidi Risser, who invited me!  Here are some of my favorite shots.  More can be seen in the highlights slideshow here.

But here are shots of her from last Friday. Again, somewhat grainy and blurry as it was pretty dark out, but she’s adorable in these, as usual.

If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, our brand new course will be invaluable! Especially in this market, there’s an amazing amount of competition just for attention. If your current photos make your horse resemble a yak more than an equine, no matter how many points they have or championships they’ve won, you won’t get the interest you need to sell.

For example, say you’re looking for a dressage horse, and have a $12,000 budget. If these two horses came up in the search, judging solely on the photos below, which would you be more serious about?

If you picked the second horse, you’re among the majority. But why did you pick that horse over the other? Because the photo shows the mare off to her best, and that she’s likely worth the money! Would it surprise you to learn that both images are of the exact same horse? Sure is!

Starting to see what I mean? Image is everything in the equine advertising world.

****************************************************************************

Course Outline
May be changed slightly to best suit the needs of the class

Week 1 – Introductions

• Getting to know everyone (and their horses!)
• Basic camera overview – point & shoot and SLR
• Breed/discipline research – homework assignment

Week 2 – Preparations & Beginnings

• Shoot preparations – venue, horse, handler, props
• Choosing pleasant backgrounds and lighting
• Head, neck, and useful detail shots

Week 3 – All About Conformation

• Conformation and type evaluation
• Conformation troubleshooting
• Conformation shoot (most difficult)

Week 4 – Action Shots

• Choosing the correct rider, tack, etc.
• Under saddle – what to shoot and what to look for
• Difficult action (jumping, cutting, etc.) & liberty shots

Week 5 – Putting It All Together

• Choosing your images and mildly enhancing
• Create an actual or fictional ad for your sale horse
• Last tips and tricks, final questions asked

****************************************************************************

Learn more and register here. You can’t afford to miss this course!

For the next 24 hours ONLY, SAVE 33% off the fee!

Those shooting with a manual camera (any camera where you can manually set the shutter speed and aperture) will want set the camera to aperture mode and meter the bright sky (or light coming in the doorway). The main goal is to expose for the bright part. Your subjects should be at the edge of the door, but in the shadows.

Put your camera in manual mode, just to be safe, and use the settings you read on aperture mode (i.e. 1/750 at f/4.5). Since digital cameras only have a 7-8 stop latitude, and you’re exposing for the highlights in a very contrasty situation, the shadows will turn into a black silhouette.

If you just have a point-and-shoot camera, it will take more effort, but you should be able to pull this off too. Most beginners take silhouettes inadvertently. First, turn your flash off. If you have a manual setting, follow the directions above.

If not, when taking your photo, make sure that most of the frame is filled up with bright light. The camera will naturally meter for this, in return, turning your subjects into a silhouette.

Quick note, silhouettes look best when there is a clear definition between legs, arms, and such, otherwise it just looks like one big dark jumbled mess.

Some more examples:

The man riding has some of the best natural horsemanship I’ve seen. Great, now I really want a Lusitano too.