Well, it’s that time of year again! That’s right, your social media feeds are about to be flooded with pictures of horses all decked out in their holiday finery. And, every time you open your mailbox you are going to see holiday cards featuring holiday-accessorized horses. Are you wondering how to create great holiday pictures of your horse too?
Taking great holiday pictures of your horse can be tough. After all, horses are not props that just stand around and stay put where you put them. Here are some quick tips to help you to create some great holiday pictures of your horse and still come out with your mind intact.
Tip 1: Do the Work
Like any equine photoshoot, making sure your horse is super clean goes a long way to how your final images turn out. Make sure to give your horse a bath so that their coat will be clean and shiny in your photos.
Consider the things you usually do for a horse show – such as braiding, body clipping, and hoof polish. Decide if these will be important for your final image.
You can get a free checklist for making your equine photography session a success here.
Tip 2: Think about Props or Accessories
Decide if you want to incorporate any props or accessories into your picture. If you do, visit craft stores and thrift stores for props that can be utilized during your photoshoot. And, don’t forget to go through your own Christmas stash! I frequently use items I have stored away to decorate our house as props in photoshoots.
Consider different types of props. For example, do you want props that the horse wears, such as a pair of antlers? Or just props in the horse’s environment, such as a wreath on the fence?
A horse’s personality and temperament will play a big part in the type of props you want to use. If your horse doesn’t like wearing an ear bonnet, odds are he or she is not going to be happy about wearing antlers.
Tip 3: Have a Horse Buddy Help You
When taking pictures of your horse, it helps to have a friend who can help with holding the horse or helping keep the horse calm and expressive.
Tip 4: Practice Makes Perfect
This tip is one that can not be stressed enough.
If you want to put antlers on your horse, make sure that you do it several times before you actually want to take a photo of it. Otherwise, you and your horse are both going to end up frustrated.
Horses, like all animals, need time to adjust to something that is new or different. Giving them time to see that those antlers are no big deal will help the horse to be relaxed for your photo.
Tip 5: Notice Your Surroundings
You want your horse to be front and center in your image. After all the time you spent making your horse sparkling clean, you don’t want people to be focused on something else in your picture.
So, make sure to remove anything distracting from the background or, if that’s not possible, move your horse to an open area.
Tip 6: Hire a Professional
If you want to take your holiday image up a notch, consider hiring a professional equine photographer.
Sure, everyone has a cell phone in their pocket these days. But professional equine photographers have skills that go well beyond the camera itself.
They have extensive training in horse behavior and photography, an understanding of equine conformation, and the knowledge of how to make your horse look his or her best.
Professional horse photographers can turn an ok shot into a piece of art that you can enjoy for a lifetime.
And there you have it. Six very simple tips for creating some great holiday pictures of your horse.
Want to Learn More?
If you are casually looking for professional horse photography, I suggest you take a look at this post: The Ultimate Guide to Horse Photography in the Chattanooga, TN area.
Ready to have an equine photographer tell the story of your favorite horse?
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Betsy Bird of Ride the Sky Equine Photography spends her days doing insane things to make horses look at her. Clearly, she’s desperate for attention. When she’s not acting like a total goofball, she’s mentoring photographers, wrangling teenagers, or hanging with Derby, hanging out with Derby, the new puppy who is currently training to be office assistant (jury’s still out on whether “chewing cords” counts as professional development).
Betsy is an award-winning equine and pet photographer based in Chattanooga, TN, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Professional Photographers of East Tennessee (PPETN) and is the current President-Elect of the Tennessee Professional Photographers Association (TNPPA). Her work has been published nationally and is found in barns and homes across the U.S. Ride the Sky is creates heirloom artwork for horses and their humans.