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My Horse Photography - Opinions

1K views 12 replies 11 participants last post by  xXEventerXx 
#1 ·
I love photography, my whole life I have just been a self taught/hobbiest. For christmas I got my first really good camera (A Nikon D3000) I'm going to be taking some photography classes over the summer and everything. But I was at the barn today and just had fun snapping pictures. Would like your opinions on some of them! Do you think I have any talent? :D










 
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#3 ·
Do you really want critiques, or just gushing? Because I don't 'do' gushing unless it's merited.

To be honest, there's nothing about these photos that make me think 'professional photographer'. They're nothing I can't get on any given day with my cheapy Vivitar.

Several look to be slightly out of focus. Not a lot, but I can see it. You're also cropping off parts of the animals that are important, such as ears.

They're too busy. If you want a photo to be eye catching, you have get rid of the extraneous detail and focus in on your subjects.

There's no real depth to the pictures, and nothing about them is truly artistic. They just look like average, every day pictures of horses.
 
#7 ·
I agree with this one. The quality is really nice! I have a Sony DSLR. It takes pictures about the same quality. Not so great with action shots, unless I have my huge zoom lens and the flash. Try playing with colors, and light! I'm not a professional by any means, it's just a hobby for me too! I'll post some of mine!
 
#4 ·
Of all the things that can be photographed, the animal kingdom must surely be the hardest as you still have to adjust for lighting and perspective whilst the thing is probably moving around and changing form. Add to that my own theory that horse will only strike the perfect pose 0.5 seconds before the picture is captured OR 0.5 seconds after the picture is captured and you have a very difficult task!

I am no photographer but have a couple of suggestions that may make your photos stand out a little more:

-Don't cut out the ears! They are an integral part of generating a 'mood' for the photo, whether they are forward and attentive, flat back and aggressive or just relaxed in the middle somwhere.

-Don't zoom in too much. If the horse takes up more than 90% of the view then it makes the photo look crowded.

-Try to take photo's when the horse is posed in an attractive manner that accentuates their natural beauty. Even an ugly horse will look beautiful when in the right position. As an example, the second photo (chestnut horse) is not a very flattering angle.

Looks like you are having fun with it though, good luck with the classes!
 
#6 ·
Sarah's post was spot on. I hadn't noticed the ears at first, but when I went back and looked, that was exactly what was making them seem unfinished.

For a first time with the camera, they are fine. Photographing in snow is excheedingly difficult due to the bright light and dark shadow.

Don't worry, just be prepared to delet a LOT of pictures for everon worth printing. That is a way good camera!!!!
 
#11 ·
the ears was the main thing I noticed, some of them are really good though :)
I'm not an expert just saying what I liked about them.
I think in some you needed to take a few steps back to get the whole horse in, like the 8th one I think with the horse walking toward you if you were a little bit futher back and gotten feet and ears in it might of been a better photo.

I hope you have fun at your photo lessons :)
 
#12 · (Edited)
First off, congratulations on the new camera!
The Nikon D3000 is a great little DSLR and I'm sure you will be happy with it.

As for the photos I have to agree with some of the posters before me. Make sure you don't cut off the ears unless you are going for a macro shot of only part of the horse.
Now, you may want to learn the Rule of Thirds and really get an understanding for it since that rule can really make or break a photo.

The pictures you posted are not bad and would look much better if the backgrounds weren't so busy. I really like the look of the 4th photo in your second post, the one of the palomino. The sky is making a great background and the tree line doesn't make it look too busy.

I'm thinking with some more practice with your camera, since you've only had it for about a month, and some classes you will be able to get that "professional" look.
 
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