If you love horses and photography, equestrian photography could be the perfect hobby for you. It gives you a great opportunity to spend a lot of time with these beautiful animals and get some really great shots.

First, determine what type of equestrian photos you would like to take. You can take pictures of horses grazing or eating, horses running through the pasture, formal portraits of horses with riders, casual shots showing horse-rider relationships, action shots at equestrian shows and competitions, rodeo photos, or all the previous. and that’s just the beginning of all the photographic opportunities that exist with horses.

Good equestrian photography requires good equipment, an eye for composition, knowledge of both horses and photography, patience, practice, and of course, the chance to get up close to the horses.

Expert equestrian photographers recommend using a DSLR (not point and shoot) camera with a 70-200mm telephoto lens along with natural lighting, no flash. Flash lighting can scare many horses and cause unnecessary injury to the rider or photographer. Avoid using the wide angle lens as it causes distortion. (If you shoot a horse head-on, for example, the horse’s head may appear unnaturally large, and the back and hind legs appear too small.)

Always maintain a healthy respect for the horse you are photographing and keep your distance, especially if you are inexperienced with horses or do not know this particular animal well. Horses are flying animals and can jump, bolt or run if started.

Taking pictures of horses grazing outdoors in a pasture is the best place to start. Using a camera with even a small amount of zoom, you can take exceptional pictures on a cloudy, overcast day, which makes great diffused light (remember, don’t use the flash) safely from just outside the pasture fence.

If the horse voluntarily approaches you and the fence, stay still, do not make sudden movements, and allow the horse to sniff you and your camera to get familiar with you. Developing a friendly relationship with the horse from the safe side of the fence can also allow you to get great close-ups.

However, as a general rule of thumb, if you want to capture close-up images of horses, their heads and manes, or other equestrian features and details, your best bet is to use a telephoto lens to zoom in without actually getting close to the animal.

If you plan to photograph horses and riders trotting, galloping, or running their horses, or rodeo events such as roping events, barrel racing, wild bronco riding, or horse racing, you’ll need a camera with a fast shutter speed. to capture clear images. action shots. 1/1000th of a second or faster at ISO 400 using shutter speed priority mode is a great place to start.

When composing equestrian photographs, especially for a frontal or head-on shot, focus on the horse’s eyes, just as you would with a human subject. If you are taking a photo of a horse in a pasture, leave space around the horse. A good technique is to adopt the rule of thirds and position the horse so that it appears to be walking or running into the photograph, not out of the scene.

With a little luck and a lot of practice, equestrian photography can be a lot of fun and result in amazing photos for horse lovers.