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How To Take Horse Pictures - Page 1 of 2

As we all know, there's a difference between a horse picture and a good horse picture.

Below are some tips on how you can take better photos your horse, with examples of good and bad pictures.

Fill The Frame

Fill the frame! When you look through your camera's viewfinder, your main subject (which, in this case, is your horse) should be the most prominent object that you're seeing.

Below: In this photo the horse is overwhelmed by the pasture and sky.

To fill the frame:

Move closer to your subject.
Use the camera's zoom.
Crop the photo: If you simply can't fill the frame with your subject, you may want to go ahead and take the shot, but then crop the picture later so that the main subject fills the photo. In fact, many professional photographers feel that most photos benefit from at least a little cropping.

Below: Much better! In this photo the photographer used the zoom and also cropped the picture after it was taken. (Note: This image is centered. For information on "Leading Space" see the topic below.)

Leading Space

FYI: "Leading space" is also sometimes called "leading white space" or "the rule of space."

Leading space is the empty space (aka "negative space") in front of the area where the subject in the photo is facing. When we say "empty" space we mean a part of the photo that doesn't have anything to take attention away from the subject.

Below: Note the leading space in front of the horse when compared to the image of him above.

A horse with leading space in front of him

If there isn't enough leading space, our mind often considers the photo cramped. It's almost as if we imagine the subject bonking against the edge of the photo because there isn't enough room.

Below: This horse picture doesn't have any leading space. It looks as though the horse is going to trot off the image, or bonk his nose on the edge.

An awkward looking photo with a horse without leading space

Be Careful With Forward Angles

Forward angles in horse photography can make a very pleasing photo.

However, you do have to be careful of forward angles. Why? The wrong forward angle can make the entire front end of the horse appear overly large and out of proportion. It can also make the head appear unattractive.

In addition, the wrong forward angle makes it difficult to see any definition in the horse's body.

If you do take a forward angle shot, be cautious about the angle and how it makes the horse appear in the completed photo.

The photo below was taken from an unflattering forward angle.

The angle is causing the front end of the horse to look out of proportion to the rest of its body.
In addition, the angle is obscuring the horse's body, and very little of the body can be seen well.

Note: There's also a lot of distracting clutter behind the horse, but we'll get to that later.

Below: A horse photo from an unflattering forward angle.

Don't take horse pictures from an extreme forward angle

Below: Much better! This photo was also taken from a forward angle, but the horse looks very nice.

Horse picture from a slight forward angle

Feet Close To Square

If the photo is of a horse standing still, it's usually most flattering for the horse to be standing with its front feet "square." This means the feet should be even with one another, or very close to it.

For a casual photo, however, the horse's back feet do not have to be exactly square. A horse often stands with its back feet uneven, and this can look natural and flattering in many photos.

For a more formal photo, the feet should be squared up all the way around, meaning the front and back feet should be as even (or square) as possible.

Below: This horse is standing close to square in the front. The back feet are not square, but the horse looks natural and comfortable.

Ears Up!

Ears up! A picture of a horse with its ears back, down, or to the side (lazy ears) is unflattering to any horse.

Unless you are specifically capturing a horse's emotions where the ears' being back, down, or lazy is appropriate, you will want to make sure the ears are up.

The photos below were taken only minutes apart. There is no question that the filly looks better in the second picture where her ears are up.

Below: A filly with lazy ears.

Below: With her ears up, the filly looks so much nicer.

Use The Viewfinder

If your camera has a viewfinder, use it to look through and compose your image instead of the the LCD screen.

Why? With many models of digital cameras taking photos by using the LCD screen causes the camera to respond more slowly after you press the shutter button. The slow response is only a fraction of a second, but can easily be enough time for a horse or something else in the picture to change and ruin your shot.

While cameras with eye viewfinders are not as common now as they have been in the past, they are still available.

Use Burst Mode and Auto Focus

Even if you just want a single picture, use "burst mode" (also known as "continuous shooting") along with auto focus. With burst mode, in case you're not familiar with it, you press and hold the shutter button and the camera takes several photos in rapid succession.

When taking horse photos, burst mode and auto focus are often praised as great features for taking action shots. However, they're also a huge asset for capturing images of a horse standing still.

Why is that? It's because things can change very quickly. For example, in the fraction of a second a horse may flick its ears, stomp its foot, or swish its tail, then return to a nice stance just a moment later. With burst mode, your chances of catching the good moments go up, and you can simply delete the bad ones.

And, if you're also using auto focus, you won't have to re-focus yourself. Re-focusing manually can be time consuming, possibly (or even likely) causing you to take out-of-focus photos.

Use The "Secret" Everyone Knows

One of the biggest "secrets" to taking excellent photos it to takes lots of them. At the end of the day you simply keep good ones (which probably won't be very many), and delete the others (which will be most of what you take).

This is one of the biggest "secrets" used by professional photographers as well as serious amateurs.

Below: This is a bad horse photo that should be deleted. The mare on the left made an unflattering face just before we snapped the shutter. She was also photo-bombed by the mare on the right (whom we could have edited out in post-processing if we had like the photo).

A bad horse photo with a mare making an unflattering face

Below: Another bad horse photo. Once again the horse changed her facial expression just as we pressed the shutter. She also has a distracting horse-head shadow on her side from her nearby herd mates.