Today, I wanna talk about this wild idea I had – models on horseback. Sounds pretty cool, right? I’ve always loved horses and photography, so I thought, why not combine them?
First off, I gotta say, I’m no pro photographer. I just love taking pictures, especially of my niece’s pony, Star. She’s a real beauty, and I figured she’d be the perfect model to start with. I did some digging online, and it seems like a lot of photographers use a 70-200mm lens for horse photography. Well, I don’t have one of those fancy lenses, so I just used the kit lens that came with my camera.
Next up, I needed a model. I asked my niece if she wanted to ride Star for some pictures, and she was all in! We picked a sunny afternoon and headed out to the pasture. I had her walk, trot, and even try to get Star to gallop a little.
Here’s where it got tricky. Keeping Star in focus while she was moving was a real challenge. I read somewhere that you should use a fast shutter speed to freeze the motion, like 1/500 or 1/1000 for galloping. I played around with the settings, but I’m not gonna lie, a lot of the pictures turned out blurry.
- Getting Started:
- Gear Check: Didn’t have a fancy lens, used my kit lens.
- Model Recruit: My niece and her pony, Star, were the stars.
- Location Scouting: The pasture was our studio.
- Action Time:
- Warm-up: Started with some walking shots.
- Stepping it Up: Tried trotting and a bit of galloping.
- Shutter Speed Struggle: 1/500, 1/1000… still got some blurry shots.
- Lessons Learned:
- Focus is Key: Keeping a moving horse in focus is tough!
- Patience is a Virtue: It takes a lot of tries to get a good shot.
- Natural Light is Best: Golden hour made the pictures look magical.
But you know what? I had a blast! We got some pretty decent shots, and the lighting during the golden hour was just amazing. My niece had fun, Star got some extra attention, and I got to practice my photography skills.
I definitely learned a lot from this little experiment. I realized how important it is to really understand your camera settings and how to work with natural light. And most importantly, I learned that patience is key when you’re working with animals.
What’s Next?
I’m thinking of trying this again, maybe with a different horse and a more experienced rider. I also want to invest in a better lens, maybe that 70-200mm everyone talks about. And who knows, maybe one day I’ll even take a photography class or something. But for now, I’m just happy to share my little adventure and the pictures we got. Hope you enjoyed it!
