There are some beautiful pictures out there of people with horses. They range from cutesy to fairytale and sweet to sexy. They are not always easy to get though. If you have every tried to photograph an animal, you know it can be tricky. A horse is especially tricky because of their size and facial expressions.
I am a huge Pinterest fan and have been seeing these pics of girls with their horses. We have horses and girls in my family, so I had to give it a try. This session lasted about 2 1/2 hours and I snapped about 300 pics. Of the 300, these 3 are my favorites.
About 30 of the pics were FB worthy. So, lets do the math, for every 100 pics taken 10 were good and 1 was exceptional. This is not a hobby for folks with low self esteem! I personally was not at all upset with those numbers because this is my daughter. I have taken many pics of her. Many of them have been horrid. She has this fake smile that makes me cringe and she is sure that is what I want her to do every time the camera comes out. I guess 2 1/2 hours is a small price to pay for sweet looks and a REAL smile :)
This shot was taken just after the one above. See the difference a second or two can make??
We started out with the horse tied to a tree in our yard. We figured if he was tied and she climbed in the tree, he couldn't step on her toes. If you are not a horsey person, this is important.......see the horses ears....they are pricked up (yes, that's what we call it). That is how a horse should look when you take it's picture.
This is one of our many outcast shots. See the horses ears? Off to the sides is not very attractive. A horse person will notice, others maybe not. It is really difficult to get a horse and kid to look good at the same time. Not so difficult to get them to both look bad :)
Here is another outcast. The horses ears are flipped back. Not too attractive. We did get a good one of this pose though. I just had her pick her head up and my helper wave his arms to get the horse to perk up.
This was a pose idea I had. The horse was tied very short and her Daddy was right beside her. I ask her to lay back on her elbows. She was a bit afraid! This was the best one of that pose (not so great). Maybe we will try that one again some day when she is more comfortable with the horse.
A prime example of the fake smile that graces so many of my pics of her :)
This being my 1st horse and girl photo shoot, I'm quite happy with the results. Several things I did worked very well:
Look at poses online.
Figure out what you want and find a safe place with good background (few ugly things to sneak in your pics). I walked around my yard and checked out different spots before we even got started. I usually take my camera and snap a few pics. Sometimes you see through the lens what your naked eye looks over.
Know where the sun is. We did these in an evening. I knew where the sun would be and how to work with it.
Have a GREAT helper! You need someone who knows horses. Safety is first!
I had shown her some of the poses I liked. She kind of knew what I was looking for. That helped a bunch. She gave him kisses and I love those shots. She also knew I expected her to lay on him, but Daddy would be right there beside her.
Things I learned and will do next time:
The horse cannot be too clean (scrub, whiten mane, wash face well, clean out ears.....)
A second helper would be nice. Just make sure they know to stay out of the frame :)
Shorter sessions would be more fun for all involved.
If you like a pose and the lighting is good, take several shots. Closed eyes and little nuisances can appear and disappear so quickly!
Good luck and happy shooting!
