Frequently Asked  Questions

Answers by Jim Arnold
Equine Action Photographer

Q. Hi! My dad is always trying to take good pictures of me in the hunters and medals at the shows, but it seems that the pictures are always taken too early or too late. I wonder if you could give us any pointers? Thanks.

A. When I shoot a jumping shot I choose one jump where I can get an oblique low angle shot, up toward the jumping horse. It will take some practice to get used to the timing of the jump. Just keep on trying until you get the timing down. Other hints that may be useful: use a reasonably fast film with an ISO of 400 to 800 and shoot as fast as the conditions will allow. If the jumping is outdoors all the better. You can use a faster shutter speed and a Fstop of about F8. The faster shutter speed will stop the action. The Fstop of F8 will give the best depth of field. If you are in a covered and lighted arena you will be limited to an Fstop of F4.0 to F5.6. Use the largest Fstop (smallest opening) possible. The shutter speed should be 1/125 sec. or faster to stop action. I have done most of my shooting in an unlighted, covered arena that required the use of a flash. Many shows may not allow this. If I use a flash, I use a setting for F5.6 at 1/200-1/250 sec depending on the flash sync of the camera. Use the fastest possible speed given the flash sync of the camera. 

Q. What is the best way to learn how to get the pic at just the right time?

A. The only way to learn how to photograph an equine event is to photograph them a lot. Practice, practice, practice. It also helps to understand the game. 

Q. Hi, I'm Vicki and am not by any means a photographer. However, from time to time we need to take some decent photos at shows and at the farm. These are to send to potential customers, etc. I am thinking about a digital camera so that I can upload and email the pics. Does anyone know if they are as good a quality as a regular camera? If so, what brand would be the best in the 300-800 dollar range? 

A. Vicki, I am not familiar with digital cameras but, in my opinion, in order to match the quality of conventional cameras you will be spending a LOT of money. Most of the digital cameras are of the "point and shoot" type and may or may not fit your needs. The quality digital cameras are professional class and are very expensive ($5,000 +). It is much less expensive to stick with your conventional 35 mm and APS cameras and buy an inexpensive scanner. I used an inexpensive (now less that $200) scanner for emailing and publishing photos on my website. Both Polaroid, Storm, and HP sell a scanner that will handle 4x6 images. The new HP scanner also handles negatives and transparencies.

Q. I got a new camera which was kinda weird. You pressed down on the button and it had to focus itself. Then it would take pictures, about 1 or 2 seconds after. So what I had my mom do was to find the next jump, hold the button down half way so that it focused, then right as I was taking off, press the button to take the picture. Any suggestions?

A. Another option is focus on the first horse to jump, just as he gets to the correct position, and then change your lens to manual focus so it will not change again. As long as the photo is taken with the photographer and your horse in that same position, there will be no need to refocus.


Q. My current camera is really nice and on the dial it has an "action" setting, which freezes the motion and takes the picture very quickly.

A. Personally I dislike the "action" and other program settings. It is better to stick with the AV (Aperture priority) or TV (time priority) settings. If I want to stop action during a daylight shoot (no flash) I would use TV at about 1/250 sec (or faster) and let the camera choose the aperture. 


Q. The one I think is easier and a sure shot is to have the camera ready at your eye and follow the horse around the course. It keeps you ready the whole time and then you just click when you see the horse leaving the ground.

A. This is panning and is a very good idea. Hint: Don't stop panning at the same time you snap the shutter. Also, I recommend 400 ISO film or faster. Fuji 800 is a widely used film in the sports photography business. Kodak has an 800 film which may also work.

Q. How many times have you noticed the powerlines and dumpster in behind your subject only after you reviewed your photos?

A. One of the most difficult hurdles of outdoor photography is dealing with distracting and ugly backgrounds. To prevent this, scout for a good background such as dense foliage or maybe a pretty wood fence which blends well with the background. 
It is also a good idea to use an F-stop that will result in a blurred background If you use an F-stop of over 8.0 and the background is too close to your subject you may find a distracting background. 
Make sure the sun will be at your back when you are taking your photo. When you are finally set to take the photo and your subject is standing and ready, look through your viewfinder and make sure that there are no tree limbs or fence posts looking like they are growing from your subject. Also be sure that you fill the frame as much as possible, BUT, leave some space above and below your subject. The print you receive from the processor will not include the whole negative. 

Q. I would really question the wisdom of using a flash at all on a cross-country course. The riders have enough to deal with without the possibility of a horse losing his focus. I have had horses spook just from the sound of my automatic film advance! If it's not light enough I usually just find a different fence with more light.

A. I am not familiar with cross-country/endurance or eventing so I cannot dispute your concern about flashes and horses in that setting; but in most western horse sports, flashes do not appear to distract the horse. I have been photographing cutting horses with a quite powerful but also very fast flash and have yet to see a horse spook or even give any notice. Norman flashes are used extensively by professional equine photographers for cutting, reining, barrel racing, and western pleasure events without any apparent disruption of events. I have had a barrel racer ask me not to "flash" their horse and have honored that request, but I think for the most part performance horses are focused on their work and are not disturbed by the very quick flash of modern strobes.

Q. I want to send a couple of rolls of film to a friend of mine who owns a filly I'm interested in buying. (Having trouble getting pictures of the baby, and her SO is a good photographer! My husband took photos of baby either lying down, way out there in the distance, or with no feet.) If I go to the store and read every box I'll end up confused for sure...so what number do I look for on the box of film? This is sunny Florida, so the pictures will be taken outdoors.

A. The type of film is not so important as how it is exposed. 
When I take photos of babies I make sure that the sun is on the baby (the side toward the camera is not shaded). Use a flash even if it is very very bright so that any shadows are filled and the contrast will be more even. Fill the frame as much as possible with you subject. If you are only photographing the foal, he/she should be fill about 70-80% of the viewfinder. I would send a quality 400 ISO film as it is very good for outdoors. 

Q. I've just posted a new webpage. How come some of the pics on it aren't nearly as good as they are on my computer? It seems when I uploaded they lost a lot of quality. I thought once they were in JPEG format, they wouldn't change. It seems the JPEG photos suffered more than the Gif.
Any ideas?

A. Did you save the image as a thumbnail and then write your HTML code to print the image to large? JPEGs lose resolution when they are saved to a smaller size file. Save the images as the maximum pixel resolution that you wish to display on your web page, but be aware the larger they are the slower they will load. I save mine to about 30-50K so that they will maintain resolution but still be sharp. 

Q. I am considering purchasing one (Digital Camera) to do quick web pics and maybe promotional flyers. We ride reiners and sometimes getting a good stop picture can be pretty tricky, especially with green horses that aren't consistent stoppers.

A. Digital cameras may be okay for promotional purposes in real estate or product sales. But I would recommend against them for equine photography. In my opinion, you will be better off investing in a good scanner and scanning your prints.

Q. I want to get some really good photos (of) my horse to put on my wall. He is a gray so what color back ground should I use?

A. You need a background that contrasts with your horses color and is not distracting or busy. You might try placing him where you see mostly sky or a distant (soft focus or out of focus) landscape. 
Try shooting different positions, especially 1/4 and 3/4 oblique angles rather than a straight side or front shot, and take the photos from 1/2 hour to 2 hrs after sunrise or 2 hours before sunset. 
USE A FLASH - it will fill in the shadows. Use a single lens reflex camera with 150-200 mm lens using a 400 ISO speed film (100 will work too if your flash is powerful enough to balance the shadows). 

Q. I ride/show hunter/jumpers, and like to take pictures of my friends and trainers when they ride, mostly when they jump. What speed film and what size lens do you recommend?

A. Use the longest focal length that will work for your application. If you are shooting jumpers I would try 85-135 depending on how close you are to the jump. I find it better to be at the jump level and shoot up to the horse and rider. If you can't get close enough to the jump use a longer focal length. As for film I would suggest either Fuji 400 or Super G 800. I use the 800 in all my cutting shots. It is fast but has less grain and is superior to many 400 films. 

Q. Before I had kids I was interested in Horse photography, but never really got very far. I haven't used anything but a point and shoot type camera for somewhere around 10 years though I still have my 35mm SLR. Now that the kids are older I would like to pursue photography again. What would you suggest as a starting place? Should I go back to the community college and retake some photography classes? Or should I just do a lot of reading and start going to local shows etc. and shoot lots of film? 

A. I would suggest just going to the local shows a shooting lots and lots of film. That is how I got started. My first camera for horse shows was a Canon AE-1 Program. I have not had time to take a class yet. What kind of horse photography do you want to do? I would suggest a 75-200 or so zoom lens for most outdoor horse photography. For film Fuji 400 or 800 Superia is great. If you are shooting in a covered arena you may need a flash. The Fuji 800 combined with the flash may allow you to get some photos in a covered arena situation if you use the lower (4-5.6) limit of your lens and the arena lights are on also. 

Q. 1) For taking pictures of show jumping, would a 400 or an 800 speed film be better? I almost always get 400 and it's worked well so far but I'm curious as to whether or not 800 will offer any real improvements.

A. 1) Fuji Superia X-tra (800) would be a great film to experiment with. This is true especially if you shooting outdoors on a overcast day (best conditions) or indoors when you have adequate lighting (such as you will find in very well lit arenas such as John Justin in Ft. Worth's Will Rogers Equestrian Center). With the 800 film you can underexpose your film 1 stop (1600) and still have printable images. If the arena is poorly to moderately lit and/or has strong sunlight coming in you will have difficulty with any film and will have to rely on a flash. Since the question below indicates you like to shoot B&W I would suggest trying Kodak TMAX p3200 or Delta 3200 for indoor shots. This fast film will allow you to shoot indoor action at speeds that will stop the action without a flash, and can be pushed 1 or 2 stops (6400-12500) for even lower light. 

Q. 2) For B&W film, I'm addicted to my yellow filter for contrast. Has anyone used an orange or red and, if so, was the contrast too sharp or did you think it was still suitable?

A. 2) I use the R25 filter regularly and find it works great for situations where I want to darken the sky and differentiate clouds. Orange is a compromise between the 2 stop filter factor of the R25 and the lower contrast of the yellow filter. The best way to find if it suits your situation is to look through a red filter at the scene and see how it works with your composition. It will lighten the color of sorrel and Palomino horses relative to any green or blue/green foliage in the foreground or background . If you are interested in experimenting with special effects you might try Ilford SFX which has extended red sensitivity - you will want to use your yellow-red filters with this film. It is rated at 200 so the filters will slow it down to 50 to 100 depending which filter you are using.

Q. I try to take pictures but I can never get a good full body of the horse, and suggestions?

A. You are probably getting distracted by the feature of horse that interests you most.
When you get the horse framed in your viewfinder then stop and look around. Ask yourself a few questions:
1) What am I trying to show in this photo - conformation?
2) Do I have the horse in the best pose to show what I want to represent?
3) Is there a distracting background such as telephone pole coming out of the horses back or a horizon line crossing about the same height as the horses back?
Make adjustments so that you have minimal distracting backgrounds and when you have the horse framed, look to see where his/her hooves, nose, ears, and tail are. 
4) Is there some ground room below the feet and headroom over the ears?
5) Do you have some room in front of and in back of the horse? 
In order to get the horse to get his ears up you may need an unsual toy or have someone wave something at a distance that will catch the horses attention. Wait until he/her ears are up and then snap the shot. 

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