Taking good Horse portraits

First off if you are taking photos with a camera with a fixed focus lens, (a lens that is already in the camera and you do nothing to adjust it) like those disposable ones for example, you should only shoot your horse from the side and at eye level. The camera will distort your horses proportions if you try shooting photos any other angle with this type of camera. This camera makes really bad head shots. It distorts the head big time!
If you stick to side shots only, keep your subject at eye level and watch your lighting you can make some nice photos with this type of camera.

I prefer to use my 35 mm with a 70-200 telephoto lens. I can shoot really nice head shots and really any angle I think will flatter the equine subject.

Look at breed publications of the type of horse you want to take photos of. See how they are posed. Look at the photos you like best and study them See how the horse is standing. Where the legs are and figure out where the photogrpher was standing. Look at the horses head and observe just how much of the head is or is not showing. Then go get your camera and look thru the viewfinder and try to see as much of the same using your horse!

Never take a shot when your horse is grazing. No one can see how great they look!

Check your background by looking thru the lens. Make sure there are no fence posts or telephone poles coming out of your horse's back!
Also check to make sure it is not too dark or too light for the coloring of the horse you are shooting. Many times the topline, ears and even heads can be hard to see, if not disappear entirely, because the photographer forgot to consider the background!

It helps to have a helper or two if possible. One to make sure the feet are placed right and the mane and tail are nice and another to get the ears up when you say your ready (not before as your horse will get bored and you will quickly run out of tricks)

The best times to take horse pictures are early in the morning or in the afternoon. Not when the sun is directly over head. If the sun is too high in the sky it will cast shadows on your horse and not show off it's conformation.

Know your camera! Have you ever taken photos and when you saw the result saw the subject in the picture was too far away or that you cut the feet off? Some of the fixed focus lenses make the subject appear closer when you look thru the viewfinder than it really is, so take photos from several distances and study the result so you will know just how big the subject needs to be when your looking thru the viewfinder to get the best shot!

My husband just got a digital camera but it only had a digital zoom. After taking a few test shots of my dog I know that I will need a digital camera that also has an optical zoom to be able to shot photos of horses from different angles.
I learn something everyday...!

Here are some sites with tips I hope you might find helpful!
I hope so... and I look forward to seeing some more really great photos here soon!:

Horse Photography

Horse Pictures
(And how to take horse pictures)