Taking Pictures

Thoroughbred Placement and Rescue, Inc.

"A Retirement Program created by Thoroughbred Horsemen, for Thoroughbred Horsemen"

a 501(c)(3) non-profit

Taking Good Pictures

Taking good pictures is a crucial part of marketing your thoroughbred on the internet. People just keep "clicking" away and your picture has to make them stop and read about your horse. If you don't catch their eye, they just click right by.

I'm not a professional photographer, but I have been taking lots of pictures of horses, so I'm going to share what I've learned with you. Most of it is common sense when you think about it.

Make sure your horse is clean and well-groomed.

Put your horse in a well-fitted halter, preferably leather, but at least a solid-color.

Put your camera on action mode not portrait. Horses don't stand still. The better quality camera you have the better your pictures will come out. Try to fill the frame with the horse.

With the use of digital cameras, there is no film cost to worry about. I normally take around 200 pictures per horse to get two or three shots that are good enough to use. Take the time to take good pictures. If you're in a hurry, you'll likely be wasting your time and will have to do it again. Try to take at least 100 pictures. Any less, you'll probably not get what you're looking for. It's a hassle worth undertaking. Once you have good pictures, you have the key to a successful sale or placement.

Take your time. When the handler brings the horse out of the barn, give him a few minutes to settle down. Almost without fail when a horse is led out of the barn he goes on alert. This means his head comes up and he's uptight. This is not the picture you want. Wait a few minutes until the horse settles down.

A good head shot is important. The "look of eagles" is frequently captured before the horse is ready to stand quietly. Start with head shots. Don't take a straight on shot. Go on a angle to the front or a side view. Horses look like aliens when photographed from straight on.

Combing your horse's mane over or banding or braiding an unruly mane will give a clearer view of the neck.

Be sure you have the entire horse or head in the shot. Cutting off legs or ears is both unattractive and doesn't accurately represent the horse.

When taking confirmation shots, have the horse sideways, parallel to you. Have his legs a little ahead of each other. What I mean is don't have him stand with his feet together. One front foot a bit ahead of the other and one hind a bit ahead makes a much nicer picture.

Don't take a picture of your horse at an angle--it skews your horse's proportions. He should be at a 90̊ angle to the camera.

Horse may appear to be down hill if the ground drops down. Be sure he’s standing a little uphill if you can’t have level ground.

The background in the picture is very important. Too busy detracts from the horse. Junk or trash is not the image you want. Imagine you're selling a Mercedes, you wouldn't park it in front of a dumpster, would you?

Light colored backgrounds are better.

Forget trying to take pictures inside the barn, it rarely works out.
Don’t have a window or dark area behind the head. The ears won’t show up. A horse’s ears are very expressive. Have a solid, preferably lighter background.

Don’t have wind blowing tail between legs.

Never fight the sun. It's got to be directly behind you. If it isn't I can assure you there will be shadows that detract from the beauty of your horse.

Pictures of the horse out in a field are unacceptable.

They also need to be current. If they are six months old it's time to take new ones.

Kimberly Clark

301-579-6898

Trainer@GoodHorse.org