How to photograph a moving horse properly

Saturday 5 October 2019, 13:13 by Serita Vossen | 11,161 views | 0 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

More and more people have a camera they use to take photographs. These days, you can get quite far with the automatic sports mode.

Photographing a moving horse is still quite a challenge for most people. It is also a challenge for people who already have experience taking photographs, because there are various ‘rules’ in equestrian sport that you need to keep in mind.

How to get a sharp photo

To make sure your photo is sharp while the horse is moving, it is important to choose the right shutter speed. At walk, and sometimes trot, you can often get away with 1/640. I actually prefer 1/800 or 1/1000 because I often take photos during cross-country, where they are galloping really fast!

You can also read more about the exposure triangle here. It is extremely useful to understand if you want to learn to take better photographs.

Once you understand the exposure triangle properly, you can start using full manual mode. But do not worry if you are not ready for that yet. You can also choose shutter priority mode. You will find it under the Tv or S button on your camera.

Choose the right focus point

The shutter speed is not the only important thing when you want to take a good photo. The point you focus on is also extremely important. Your manual should tell you what focus point settings are available.

The most important thing in action photography is to look for the AI Servo or AF-C function. This makes sure that the camera keeps focusing on the moving subject as long as you keep the button half-pressed.

I also always choose to use a single focus point. I place it somewhere to the left or right of the centre, roughly one third into the photo, and aim with that. I can always crop the photo precisely later if the composition is not quite right, but it is useful to make sure beforehand that your composition is as good as possible.

When the horse passes me directly from the side, it is easy to aim. You can simply aim at the side of its body. Anything roughly at that distance from you will then be sharp!

When a horse is coming towards me, I try to focus on the horse’s head, when it has no rider, or on the rider’s head or chest, when there is a rider . At speed, it is always difficult to aim precisely. Beyond that, it is a matter of practising a lot. You will eventually become good and quick at it.

At first, I just could not get the hang of it. I kept getting blurry photos every now and then. It turned out that my camera simply was not fast enough for what I was asking of it. So if you cannot manage it at a gallop, try it at a trot or walk and see if you can do it then!

A sharp photo in an indoor arena

We should really write a separate article about this, because taking photographs in an indoor arena is extremely difficult, even with the most expensive equipment. To take good action photos, you mainly need light. And what is often in very short supply in an indoor arena? Exactly. Light.

When you cannot create more light in the indoor arena, you really have to start working with your exposure triangle.

To make sure your camera gets enough light, you have to compensate. A wide aperture, with a low number, lets in more light. Lenses with an aperture of 2.8 or perhaps even lower are often extremely expensive.

The next option is to increase the ISO to give your camera more light. Especially with cheaper cameras, you will quickly see noise, but you really have to accept that.

You can also choose to lower your shutter speed to 1/640 or 1/500. You will then see more movement in the photo, and for example the legs will no longer be sharp. Just see how far you can lower your shutter speed while still finding the result acceptable.

Some horses gallop less quickly than others, so you may just be able to get away with a lower shutter speed

Choose the right moment

We still need to find the right moment in the movement. Because there are ‘rules’ for that too.

• At walk, it is very difficult to choose the right moment. The best moment is when the horse has just moved its front leg forwards but has not yet placed it on the ground;


• At trot, look for the ‘v’. You see this when the horse is just moving its diagonal pair forwards. For example, when the left hind and right front legs move forwards. Or, of course, the right hind and left front;


• At a gallop, look for the upward movement. That is the most photogenic!

It is often also more attractive to capture a horse slightly diagonally from the front rather than directly from the front. It also helps if a horse, or pony, looks ‘happy’. Its ears will then point forwards and its mouth will be relaxed.

Taking a better photo

If you want to take better photos, it is worth paying attention to the composition of your photo. Things you can think about include:

• Having your subject in the centre is almost always boring. Try placing it a little further to the left or right. For example, use the rule of thirds;


• Make sure the horse does not run out of the frame. Give the side it is looking or running towards more space than the other side. Is the horse looking, running or jumping to the right? Make sure you leave more space to the right of the horse than to the left;


• Also try zooming in properly. Details can be great to see too!


• Pay attention to your viewpoint. I almost always get down low when I take photos of horses. They look bigger and more imposing that way, and it is an interesting angle because people normally see them from higher up. I usually sit on the ground, but sometimes I almost lie down too, especially when it is a small pony;


• Want a blurry background? Set the widest possible aperture, the lowest possible number, and/or make sure the background is far away from the horse you are photographing. The further the background is from your horse, the blurrier it will be;


• To make a photo more interesting, you can create depth. Try putting something in the foreground, such as some leaves, flowers or, in my case, sometimes another obstacle. You can also play around with lines. Something you place in the foreground can create a leading line towards the design you are photographing. This draws the viewer through your photo.

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