Hot off the Presses: Equine & Equestrian Photography Poses That Sell
Well, this is exciting!
My good friend Cara Taylor Swift of Fast Horse Photography and I wrote a book!
Yes, you read that right. Apparently, we didn't think we had enough to do, so we decided to write THE BOOK on posing horses and their humans.
And now it's officially available!
Equine & Equestrian Photography Poses That Sell: The Ultimate Guide to Posing Horses & Humans is written for photographers who want to get better at posing horses, equestrians, and the two together.
Whether you're a family photographer who occasionally has a horse show up for a session or an equine photographer who works with horses every day, there's plenty in here for you.
Why We Wrote a Book About Posing Horses
If you've spent much time photographing horses and their people, you already know that posing them isn't quite the same as posing a family or a couple.
For starters, one of your subjects weighs about 1,200 pounds, has a mind of its own, and may or may not be interested in your creative vision.
And that's before you try to get the human to relax.
There's a lot to think about when you're posing horses and people together. You want everyone to look good, of course, but you also need to consider safety, the horse's conformation, the relationship between the horse and its owner, and what you're trying to accomplish with the image.
Sometimes a pose looks great in your head but doesn't work nearly as well when you have an actual horse standing in front of you.
Cara and I have both spent years working with horses, as equestrians and as photographers, and we've learned a few things along the way. We wanted to put that experience into a resource photographers could actually use when planning and photographing their sessions.
What's Inside the Book?
We cover posing horses on their own, posing people with horses, and the considerations that make equine photography different from other types of portrait photography.
Safety is a big part of that. Horses aren't props, and understanding how they move, react, and communicate is important when you're deciding how to position them and the people around them.
We also talk about creating variety in your images, working with different combinations of horses and people, and making posing decisions that flatter your subjects.
And while posing is obviously a big part of the book, it's not just about putting someone's hand here and turning a horse's head there.
It's about understanding WHY a pose works so you can make adjustments when things don't go exactly as planned.
Because if there's one thing you can count on when photographing horses, it's that they haven't read your shot list.
Why Posing Matters
Good posing can make a big difference in the images you create for your clients.
It can help a horse look its best, make someone who isn't comfortable in front of a camera feel more at ease, and give you more variety to show during a sales appointment.
And sometimes, a relatively small adjustment makes a surprisingly big difference.
Where someone stands in relation to their horse, how they're holding the lead rope, the direction the horse is facing, or even the position of an arm can change the entire feel of an image.
Knowing what to look for and how to make those adjustments is something that comes with experience.
Our goal with this book was to share some of that experience so photographers have more options to work with during their own sessions.
Want to Get Your Hands on a Copy?
After all the writing, editing, brainstorming, and more than a little dark chocolate, Cara and I are excited to finally share Equine & Equestrian Photography Poses That Sell with everyone.
I'm proud of what we created, and I hope it becomes one of those books you pull off the shelf when you're planning a session, looking for a little inspiration, or trying to figure out how to approach a particular posing challenge.
You can get your copy of Equine & Equestrian Photography Poses That Sell on Amazon.
And if you pick up a copy, I'd love to hear what you think!
