Critiques?
Hey Everyone! I'm an equine sports photographer(Western and english pleasure, reining, jumping, dressage-I've shot almost every horse sport).
I would love some critique on my action shots please!
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5 Comments
Abi,
You asked for critiques and no one provided any. Sorry you didn't get any so at least permit me to provide my input for whatever it's worth (not much).
I like the first one with respect to the horse. However the rider being cut in half is unsettling to me. I'm guessing this is a crop and the original did not include all of the rider either. If not next time pull back and get more of the rider or get in closer on the horse itself.
The next one of the sunset and jumping looks nice. Is that banning at the top due to flash shutter sync? The watermark takes away from really seeing the photo. I see what you were going for and I think it was a good attempt and a fairly good result.
The head on jumper is a nice shot. Seeing the rider's face would have made it better but of course it doesn't always happen the way you want it to. Nice shot.
The next one. No. The gesture of the horse and ride are awkward. The horse looks out of focus. Lighting is blah. Sorry but no.
The group shot. Less for ground. The fence doesn't add anything to the shot and if it doesn't add to the shot it shouldn't be there. Also the photo is a bit crowded on the left and right. The rider's faces are blocked by the flags.
The last one is an interesting shot. It shows the dynamics of the action. I like the rider looking down the course to the next turn. Good framing. Just poor light. Looks like flat light - perhaps late on a cloudy day or just a really cloudy day. While over exposing wouldn't have provided any separation it would at least provide some details in the shadows like the horse's face.
I was about to reply after seeing the photos, then I read Douglas's comments; they covered everything I was going to say. Especially lose the watermark. It's so distracting that I almost didn't keep looking.
PS. I would actually crop the jumping shot just below the weird line in the sky. You don't need the sun in the shot, the sun rays tell the story anyway.
Keep shooting, horses are a great subject I don't see enough of.
Hi Abby , I photograph equestrian as well - mostly at eventing tournaments.. I tend to avoid shots with the sun behind the rider as most people purchasing want as much detail as possible unless a specific request comes through.
With SJ , I try and get the whole rider and jump in and avoid front on shots for lower heights , go at an angle. It works for heights at 1m or greater but for the lower heights the effect it limited in my opinion.
Check out my photos at www.silverfernphoto.smugmug.com
Hi there so I am new to this site I have photos of a friend jumping and some portrait photography also some family photos but now she has said since I am older than her she doesn’t want me to do photography for her. even know I am more interested in getting photos of horse jumpers than doing portrait photography. I respect her wishes.
I asked for a critique once - got hammered - but I sure learned from it. As far as critique on these shots - generally the cropping is way too tight and awkward. One other general thing.
Horse shots should be shot as landscape. You can always crop to portrait later, but generally look better in landscape. Specifically:
#1 Agree with DT
#2 If possible, this should have been cropped landscape and the sun eliminated (eye goes to brightest spot in image, plus the sun doesn't look natural - Looks like some processing trick on the sun. Cropped too close to tail of horse. Whole image needs to be brought in about an inch or more. With proper crops in landscape and deemphasizing the sun this would look pretty good. See below
#3 Cropped way too tight top and bottom. In action photos you need action, eyes and the actionable object in the frame.
#4 Get rid of this photo. Cropped too high, subject is awkward. Has good exposure, but that's about it.
#5Cropped too tight left and right and too loose at the bottom. A shot like this doesn't fit in a standard framing. Better cropping would get rid of the fence and give some space leading in and leading out.
#6 . Good action with eyes and objects, but cropped too high (needs a touch more headroom and less foreground. Exposure needs to be fixed as well.
That's my two cents