This is a mix of a shoot I did and the last are of my mare's foal who is a few weeks old



























Now for my mare's foal

I love your work, Julie

Julie,
I wish I knew more about horses so I could give you some specific feedback but I do know something about photography and these are outstanding from that standpoint. The foal shots are spectacular.

Did you use your ABs to light the horses for their formal shots?

The jump shot is timed perfectly. The terrier is great.

Wow. Lovely series of images. I'm very impressed.

Jim

All the outdoor photos were done in natural light only. It was overcast to begin with, then close to noon, the very harsh sun came out. It was nice for making the horse's really glow, but, wreaked havoc with my highlights. Oh well.

The indoor shots I did with my flash on a light stand. I don't have a battery pack for my AB's and I couldn't run a power cord through the arena. Not to mention my flash synch's with my camera all the way up. So, it really was the better choice.

The "stacked" shots of the horses are pretty much exactly as you would want them set up. A front leg a hair forward, the back leg a hair back and the neck out and arched. The necks could be a hair bit more up and arched with ears a bit more forward, but, close enough!

There are lots of grooms and a trainer to help at that farm. I really enjoy going there. It is out of this world amazing. Go to my blog and there is a link

I really do love the "glow" you mention.

Are horses better photographed with some direct sun, not light overcast or open shade like some portraits?

Morning and evening sun are best, with the sun behind you. Clouds are nice, as they keep the shadows at bay, but, you loose the sheen.

I don't do anything in shade if I can help it. Sometimes the light is just too harsh and I will do shade, but, it is my last choice. I don't like the look of flashed photos. In shade, you really *need* some flash to get sparkle. I am not good at that delicate balance between sparkle and flash though.

Not many people agree with my methods, but, that is ok.

Julie;

My experience photographing Moose and Elk reflect you words and techniques, I also dislike flash with large mammals.

Julie, I like the colors and the photoshop glow you added, the vignetting I can do without, in all th shots, but that's personal preference. I really like shot to stand on it's own without the addition of vignetting.

Those stud shots are nice too. As a rule, I dont like static shots of any animal (horses or elk ow whatever), it's one reason I dont like to shoot horses, at the barn, but I know what youre doing and what youre trying to achieve and you did great and youre making money doing what you love to do, that's fantastic!

I have one comment about the stud/barn shots (BTW, that's a rich joint youre shooting at - those studs have first class treatment) the first three stud shots look like they are off about .5 degrees or even less, but either your angle was off a bit making the ban and the ground look tilted, or you were not holding your camera level. Whatever the case, it's easy to fix. . .

As a horse owner, I like to look at horses. However, I dont like to photograph them because they do a lot of standing around, it's hard, because of their configuration to get good flowing crops, and mostly they always look tired, or board, unless your working them or getting their attention. So i'm always envious of people that can find energy in shooting lone horses. I like to shoot them in action like at a branding or at a rodeo, but not while they are standing, around.

I really like the stud portrait, you caught some emotion in that shot.

Again, nice job on the studs and i'm so glad that there are people like you out there that really love to shoot horses! Thanks.


Oh yea, BTW, flash with large animals (deer, elk etc) is tough, if you get the eye the flash will destroy the composition as their eyes are reflective . . .

Julie -- beautiful beautiful beautiful shots. Love all the foal pics. For what it's worth, the vignetting doesn't bother me, but that's a personal perference.

I am particularly fond of #6, #12 & #13 and my favorite of the full bodies is #7 (I like the way he has just slightly turned his head to camera, very pleasing). Of the lower foal shots, #1, #2 & #4 are stupendous. Very very nice job.

Thanks everyone. I do have them a bit off kilter. Part of it is doing this on my laptop and the other is getting is straight with the lines on these is tough as the horizontal and verticles aren't exactly straight on the barn front. So, I did see it and just messed it up

The only one of these that is a stallion is the first chestnut, the rest are geldings. There were a couple other stallions I shot, but, they weren't my favorite photos. You pose them the same no matter the gender, so, they can all look like the same sex

I like the vignetting, but, I am probably using it a hair on the too heavy side. I do that with things. I'll get over it in time