Horse Trials for first time

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WillieL

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Going along to Hopetoun Horse trials this weekend as spectator and wondered what is the best length of lens to take. I have 70-300 IS, 300mm 2.8 & 500mm F4 IS to choose from as not sure what distance spectators get to shoot from.

Read in another thread speed 1/500 or 1/800 with F4-F5.6, weather is going to be overcast so hopefully not too high an ISO.
What should the focus point be on the horse/rider to get best shot when shooting straight on as opposed to side on.

What point in dressage routine is best to shoot?

Thanks in advance :thumbs:
 
Went with 70-300 IS & 300mm and soon realised 500mm would have been far too long and was left in the boot. :cool: I will have another bash today as it is the International event today.
It turned out to be a scortcher of a day, so much for the forecast. :shrug:
 
Look forward to seeing the pics!

I would try to shoot the m shape of legs as the horse trots on dressage and focus on the riders face/horses head when jumping. I'm no expert togger but know horses ;-)
 
If you speak to a lot of riders in showjumping the best shot will be side on to allow the riders to see their position on the horse and ideally the best shot will show them actively looking for the next jump. as for the xc course they will prefer a picture slightly side on too.

One of the things that ruins the picture is the shape of the horse over the jump, unless they are coming down a bank or jumping down into water then try not to get a shot where the horses shoulders are starting to drop as it passes the highest point of the jump.
 
Thanks for the tips, I posted some pics in the sports section.

I will take note for next years event as that is probably the next time I will do a horse event.
 
davehedgehog said:
If you speak to a lot of riders in showjumping the best shot will be side on to allow the riders to see their position on the horse and ideally the best shot will show them actively looking for the next jump. as for the xc course they will prefer a picture slightly side on too.
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Having done a straw poll of the girls in the yard the other day, they all said that, 9 times out of 10, would prefer to purchase shots taken about 45 degrees to the front of the fence, a sort of 3/4 shot. They did not particularly like side on shots because they said it showed up flaws in riding technique!! So best to try for 3/4 shots from the front rather than full side on.
 
Apologies, I didn't mean side on (as in 90 degrees to the jump) as this is also unflattering if the rider has larger thighs.

The better pictures will have the horses ears pricked and pointing forward and both front hooves together and above the fence to show the jump.

I am starting to get more into equestrian photography as my wife rides and I have a few riders giving me advice on what makes a good picture, I am also involved with a local riding club and get some good feed back from them.

For showjuming a lot of riders prefer a shot where they are jumping the fence and actively looking for the next fence.

I am based just outside edinburgh and there is an event at Strathaven this weekend and you have just missed Blair Castle horse trials. There is also Scone Palace which holds events every year too.

Look for Harrys web site www.peak-photo.co.uk and Georges site www.georgemichie.co.uk for ideas of what you should be looking for.

There are a few other web sites out there but I would not recommend most of them.
 
It depends entirely on who/what the target market for the photographs is, and at what level they ride at. The more advanced the rider the more they will prefer a shot that shows off the configuration of the horse and their own skills, which invariably means a shooting angle of 90° unless they are after a PR pic.
 
Hmm, well at novice level BE (1.10m) they still tended to prefer the 45degrees shots to the side on, side on shots sell much better at lower levels than at higher levels in my experience
 
i think its a personal thing to the rider and to be honest to get good coverage of 3 or 4 jumps youre going to have a mixed bag of angles anyway, at least youll cover everyones taste and get some sales regardless.
 
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