I had a chance to practice horse photography on a day trip to Inishbofin while on vacation to Ireland a couple of years ago. Inishbofin is Irish for “the island of the white cow”. We saw the white cows, indeed, but this day, we set off on horseback.

 

Horse photography on Inishbofin

 

Brown Horse Close Up Shot

After a bumpy ferry ride from Cleggan, northwest of Galway, we walked to the Inishbofin Equestrian Centre. As usual, I was the designated photographer for our adventure. While my wife and kids were saddling up their horses, I caught this beautiful brown horse staring at my camera. (Okay, okay…I was already up in his face with it!)

My Settings For This Shot

I used a 56mm, a longer focal length, so I could blur the background and use his eyes as the focal point.

The horse had a bit of a majestic air about him, his mane blowing in the constant sea breeze at the top of the island. A handsome fellow, to be sure!

It was cloudy on and off that day, but I was still able to shoot at 100 ISO with a daylight white balance. Minimal photo editing done in Lightroom to bump up contrast and enhance vibrance.

Nikon D7000 | ISO 100 | 56mm | f10 | 1/125 seconds

 

 

beautiful horses

 

White Horse Photo With Wide Angle

The second image I liked from that horse photoshoot was this one of a white horse that was tied to a fence post. Because I had used a longer focal length for the first shot, I wanted to play around with different perspectives. So I used a 22mm focal length to include the brown horse behind this one.

My Settings For This Shot

Nikon D7000 | ISO 100 | 22mm | f13 | 1/125 seconds

 

horseback riding picture

 

Horse Riding Picture

It wasn’t just about the animals, as my wife reminded me! So I snapped some pictures of people riding horses, too. Just after they left the coral, I managed to get this great shot of our group riding down the road.

I used a longer focal length than before, 130mm, to blur the foreground and the background. This also allowed me to shoot from a distance. I bumped my shutter speed up to 1/320 of a second in order to prevent motion blur of the riders.

My Settings For This Shot

Nikon D7000 at ISO 100, 130mm, f7.1, 1/320 seconds

Creative Composition Techniques

It’s important keep your eyes open for unique features in the environment to help you compose your photo creatively. For example, I love the way the curve of the road makes a leading line that draws the viewer’s attention from the bottom of the frame to the top. And the fence posts also act as a frame within a frame.

Share Your Horse Photography

I’d love to see horse photos you’re proud of. Share links to your own horse photography below in the comments so the Schubert Photography community can get inspired.

Happy shooting!

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