Turning Pro - equine sports

Ok first off i know a bit abotu horses, iv worked with them all my life, and im doing a Bsc in rehabe, weflare and behaviour but i want to take my photography to the next level.

iv got a 400D im upgrading it to either a 1D mark III or a 1D mark IIII once i know how much it is likely to be. i have access to a 20 - 200 2.8F L and a tamron 70 - 300 (which works best at the moment on my camera) im considering a) etting a 300mm or a 400mm what is best?

also, from a pros point of view, i only go to camera club, i havnt yet submitted anything for press release, so im trying to work out how to get press pass for events for those all important, sharp pro shots. any hints and tips?

only other question is what sort of setting do most of you guys use? im currently sticking it on F5.6 most of the time

lou

www.flickr.com/louiseg​reenhorn - some examples of my work. would be good to knwo if you all think i have any pro standard.

What kind of equine events? Horse show , jumping , rodeo what? indoor, outdoor?

Hey thanks for reply, im currently doing the scottish eventing season and hope to do more bigger events down south next year badminton burghley etc. (did burghley this year) show jumping, dressage and portraits. basically ill cover anything to build up a port folio

Lisa Louise Greenhorn wrote in post #8700319
also, from a pros point of view, i only go to camera club, i havnt yet submitted anything for press release, so im trying to work out how to get press pass for events for those all important, sharp pro shots. any hints and tips?

My tip would be to approach a publication or agency so that you have an "outlet" for your work rather than taking a pass away from a photographer who's working for someone other than themselves.

Lisa Louise Greenhorn wrote in post #8700417
Hey thanks for reply, im currently doing the scottish eventing season and hope to do more bigger events down south next year badminton burghley etc. (did burghley this year) show jumping, dressage and portraits. basically ill cover anything to build up a port folio

I really dont think it's necessary to be covering the bigger events, especially if you're travelling hundreds of miles (at your own expense) to cover them. Approach a paper, or a magazine. Get your best shots from this year together and submit them. Phone publications and agencies, and be prepared to pester them. You will get knocked back A LOT, but stay with it.

Based on your images, I would suggest getting your depth of field as shallow as possible, in quite a lot of the Burghley shots you've got very cluttered backgrounds. In addition, you need to get all of the horse and rider in shot...there's a couple you've chopped heads off of and if a photo editor sees that as the first image, it's unlikely they'll even bother looking at the second or third. You need to get consistent, sharp, properly exposed shots EVERY time.

If you want some more advice then PM me, anyone who's wanted to go pro has been through this, and it's NOT easy. Even if you do get an agency interested, then you'd be doing smaller events first, and for peanuts! You wont be doing Badminton anytime soon for an agency.

PM me if you'd like. Sorry for appearing negative, but I'm being realistic.

hi thanks for your advice, i realise the negative sides and the hard work, and i certainly never expected to be paid anything for a very long time never mind peanuts!

i do smaller events and shall continue this, but i will continue to go to the larger events, for the enjoyment of photography and watching them.

your negative commetns are ace all in the fun of learning and getting there, but i am prepared for the hard work and ialready had a very good understanding of just how tough this industry now is since going digital

i shall try the agencies

Lisa Louise Greenhorn wrote in post #8701915
hi thanks for your advice, i realise the negative sides and the hard work, and i certainly never expected to be paid anything for a very long time never mind peanuts!

i do smaller events and shall continue this, but i will continue to go to the larger events, for the enjoyment of photography and watching them.

your negative commetns are ace all in the fun of learning and getting there, but i am prepared for the hard work and ialready had a very good understanding of just how tough this industry now is since going digital

i shall try the agencies

Louise,

Please dont take this the wrong way, but I would concentrate on REALLY polishing your work before approaching agencies. It took me years to get enough quality images consistently to successfully try the agency route. Even then I was told, "yeah they're good, but we'll only try you out, and give you some tips on improving".

You need to get a portfolio of 12-15 really really good shots. Not just workhorse (excuse the pun) shots, but real stand-out shots, both compositionally and technically.

If an agency gets a portfolio which has any "not-so-good" shots, then you'll be lucky to even get a reply.

Focus on really honing your skills as a photographer AND an artist before scuppering your chances by emailing/writing to agencies before your work is ready.

And there's a lot of opportunities to get "not-so-good" shots! See my comment here:
Horsies" - A CMHA Equestrian Event