jdphotographypa

Halcyon 9

Client horse

Client horse
Read less

NIKON D7000

settings

Aperture f/2.8 ISO 800 Shutter 1/200 Focal Length 800/10

upload_date

Jan, 2019

Views

490

Likes

+51

Awards

Zenith Award

Spring 21 Award

Legendary Award

Judge Favorite

9Teen Award

Celebrity Award

Contest Finalist in Covers Photo Contest Volume 1

Top Choice

+17

Peer Award

+13

Superb Composition

+13

Outstanding Creativity

Absolute Masterpiece

Magnificent Capture

Superior Skill

Top Ranks

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 2

Top 10 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

The photo was taken at Halycon Farm in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania.

Time

This was taken late morning on an overcast day. I was doing a marathon of shoots along with another photographer that day and had been going since 6am. It was a day I will never forget, but I was definitely tired by the end of it!

Lighting

This was shot with all natural light. The horse stood in the entrance of a dark indoor arena where there was just enough light in the front to light the head and neck properly and still have a tiny bit of light on the rest of the horse's body.

Equipment

I used the Nikon D7000 and the Nikkor 80-200 f/2.8 lens. This was one of the last shoots I did with my D7000 before I retired it. Definitely a good camera that served me well for a good amount of time!

Inspiration

This is my usual style that I have been developing for some time now. I love how the black background make the horse stand out and look very elegant. Less is more in my opinion!

Editing

The black background was edited in with Photoshop. I did a lot of cloning unlike most of my images. This horse was not interested in any of the usual tricks to get her ears forward so I ended up cloning the ears from another image of this horse into this image. I also cloned out a lead rope that was used to hold the horse. I did some dodge and burn around the eye to make it stand out more. I used Lightroom to correct the colors and lighting a bit.

In my camera bag

My new main camera is the Nikon D750, but I still have my D7000 as a back up in my bag. My Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8 rarely comes off my camera, but I do have the Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 that I use occasionally and I have a 24-70mm f/2.8 for when space is limited and I cannot have the big 80-200mm on. I have a Speedlight flash in case I need it, but I prefer to work with all natural light.

Feedback

Learn as much as you can about the horses and the horse industry before photographing them. Learn what angles flatter a horse the most and what a "good" expression on a horse is. Make sure you keep your shutter speed up, horses move fast and don't understand posing for the camera. I also try to keep my ISO as low as possible in order to avoid getting grain in the image. Shoot at the lowest possible aperture and keep the main focal point on the horses eye.

See more amazing photos, follow jdphotographypa

jdphotographypa

jdphotographypa

Halcyon 9

Client horse

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow jdphotographypa

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes. Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.