AshfordStudio
Follow"Journey" has a history and has traveled a long hard road. She was found by a veterinarian at Camelot horse sales via Facebook with only one day left...
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"Journey" has a history and has traveled a long hard road. She was found by a veterinarian at Camelot horse sales via Facebook with only one day left before she was heading to the kill pen. The veterinarian went and got her, rehabilitated her, and now she is riding in endurance trials. I felt showing the strength and beauty in clean lines that only one person saw was a testament to her story.
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken during a photoshoot for a client. While we did do some formal posed shots, my client also wanted some of her mare running free.Time
This was taken late morning - we had started early but by the time I got this shot it was bright light - however it allowed for strong highlights that I took full advantage of in this edit.Lighting
There was no extra lighting - just the sun.Equipment
Camera is a Nikon D4 - with animals I rarely get it onto a tripod as I am constantly moving trying to get the right moment. Even in the studio a tripod is hard - pets and children! I have trained my personal dogs to strike a pose - but can't do that with most clients.Inspiration
I was looking for the movement in the mane that showed how fast she was moving as well as the moment she was running into the light. (She was circling us).Editing
Lots of curves, burning and dodging.In my camera bag
My D4, a D2x as a back up with a 18-200 lens on it. The D4 has a 80-200 which is great for animals - but I like primes so I have a 50,90,200 and 300 lens with extenders for the 2 and 300 for wildlife. I need to get something in the 35 range for fun animal shots. I have reflectors which can be very helpful with outdoor shoots as well as in the studio.Feedback
Horses are inherently beautiful. Even the plain Janes have an elegance about them - best thing to remember is to try and shoot at over 100 focal length so that you don't get distortion which means stand back and have lots of space for the animal to work in - if it's a formal pose - make absolutely sure you don't distort the lines - horse people will be all over that - check what is the right pose for the breed of horse you are shooting - yes, they can be very different! For free shots like this you can't really go wrong but only show the shots where the shoulders are lifted (so showing power from behind) and ears must always be pricked forward - unless it's 2 horses fighting :)