Horses are some of the most majestic animals to grace the planet. You can find them on ranches, neighborhoods, and in the wild. The potential to capture portraits of horses with objects, subjects, and landscapes are endless! We’re here to give you horse photography tips to help you capture creative and captivating photos.
Capture the Herd Dynamics
One of the most captivating photos you can take is a herd photo with all different capturing them from varied angles! Capture low shots as well as high above-the-ground shots; capture closeup headshots and full body shots too for variation. If there are more horses than you want to fit into one shot, break out your zoom lens!
Don’t Forget the Story
Like other forms of photography, a series of images from a variety of angles that tell a story can be more impactful and interesting compared a single photo. One of the most important horse photography tips to remember is to tell a story. Have the trainer tame the horse and gently pet it to show the relationship between the two of them. Use a popular storytelling technique from film & tv that showcases a wide, medium, and tight frame of the scene to depict what is happening.
Horses have lots of beautiful features that make them stand out in any field: their eyes, ears, tail carriage, fur coloration. Use these elements to aid in the storytelling process of your photos. Consider your light source as well to help guide your composition and help you utilize popular compositional theories such as leading lines, rule of thirds, and more! The sun is a natural light source that can provide great pictures, but you should also be looking for shadows where horses are grazing.
Use the Horse as a Framing Element
We discussed in the previous section how important storytelling is and just how easy it is to achieve that by distinctly choosing your composition. If shooting from a distance, consider framing your shot with context or include an object or subject. You can use the head of the horse to help lead into your subjects, or you can use its entire body to frame your subjects.
Image by Sean Leblanc, Featured here
Capture Movement
Photos of horses can be taken from all different angles and distances, allowing you to find the perfect shot. You should also try out a variety of exposure settings when shooting your horse photos and use your histogram to help guide you. Our most important horse photography tip is to keep experimenting until you figure out what works best for each situation. Include background elements when capturing action shots of large herds running freely in open spaces like a prairie or field. This can provide interesting perspective viewpoints and emotions from different angles some horses have more personality than others. Try not to get too close because you want them to be comfortable enough to move freely.
Be Patient and Wait for the Perfect Moment
Photos of horses can be taken from all different angles and distances, allowing you to find the perfect shot. You should also try out a variety of exposure settings when shooting your horse photos and use your histogram to help guide you. Our most important horse photography tip is to keep experimenting until you figure out what works best for each situation. Include background elements when capturing action shots of large herds running freely in open spaces like a prairie or field. This can provide interesting perspective viewpoints and emotions from different angles some horses have more personality than others. Try not to get too close because you want them to be comfortable enough to move freely.
Conclusion
We hope these horse photography tips help you capture captivating images of these beautiful creatures. There is so much potential to capture horses in their natural element because of how much beauty and power they possess. Next time you photograph horses in the wild or for a portrait shoot keep these horse photography tips in mind!
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