Post your animal and pet/owner portraits.

I've never seen a string that included intentionally shot portraits of animals or owners/animals. ... something with a little more planning or intention than a snapshot.

Let's start a portrait string, ok? Post yours.

I shoot animal portraits from time to time .. and it would be great to see other peoples' shots.

Here are a couple that I shot yesterday. (these were sort of preliminary shots - mostly to see what the environment and lighting conditions were like so we'd know what time of day to go back to get the shots the owner wants). She does want some 'studio' style shots (background & studio lights) .. so I dummied up one of the shots with a digital 'formal' backdrop as a start to see what colors would look best with a strawberry roan.

This is "Peptoboonsmart" (barn name: "Red Boy"). AQHA stallion. He's a cutting horse. .. and a nice, well behaved stallion.

That is one beautiful horse, and the wonderful relationship between horse and owner is captured really well. Thanks for posting these.

Thanks greyswan. She's got 40 horses at her barn. This is her main boy... you can tell that, yes, she does love him.

I'll post one quick shot of what they do as a team. (a shot from a couple of years ago )

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All I can say is WOWWWWWWWWWWWW. Beautiful!

Wow, you do such an amazing job with those. I keep meaning to set up the backdrop and lights for my boys, but just don't seem to ever get around to it! Great work as always

Amazing!!!!!!! Beautiful photo's and horse!

Thanks Snapshot, Kat & Crazydays... but I'd like to see some of YOUR shots! It wasn't my intention to overload this string with MY shots.. but to provide incentive for other photographers to post THEIR shots.

I KNOW that Kat has some beautiful portraits. .. Is it going to be like pulling teeth for us to get her to show them? LOL.

My daughter and her horse..

That last shot of the series.. Amazing clarity , almost 3D...

aw.. thanks Flo.

TxNurse.. I LOVE that shot of your daughter & her horse! She's Beautiful! .. and it shows her ease and playfullness with her horse.

I have a lot of experience with dog photography, but zero zip with horses. Are there special tricks and tips to photographing horses? to make them look towards you, or have their ears go up? making their coat shiny? what makes them skittish? do they get react to flash? Give me all the skinny on horse photography.....

Ha.. my first thought, Sue, was to say "Post some of your portraits that include pets.. and I'll spill my guts about horses".. LOL. Part of shooting horses, like it is with dogs & cats, is knowing the nature of the animal. The only horse I've seen that would do a short jump at a flash was a gelding that I use to own. (but not when he was working .. just if we were standing around) But overall, after shooting a few thousand shots in a covered arena this year with two studio lights popping all day . .. no spooks yet.

It helps to have an assistant when shooting horse portraits. (dogs too, actually) The owner usually handles the horse but the assistant helps with posing and getting their attention. They're smart though that if they're over-stimulated, they can get bored with the whole situation. (however, that being said, some breeds or individuals can be somewhat flighty.. so you need to feel out what gets their attention without spooking them.) With some of the animals, if you just relax and let them relax and look around, you can get some nice attitudes. .. nice soft (relaxed) eyes, etc.

The common thread in my photos above is that, except for the paint, these are all quarter horses (relatively mellow by nature).. and they're portraits. Different breeds need to be presented differently. Though I've shot a few other breeds, (and am still learning about what each wants).. for the most part, I do portraits and cutting events. I'm sure some of the other horse folks can pipe up with more info. .. but I hope that sort of gives you a rough idea. ... now it's your turn to share some of your photos.

I am not a pro but am learning. This photo has technical errors but, it captivates my dogs spirit. My English Springer, sporting dog was enjoying the water and began "birding". I became fascinated by her intensity. This was a dark, dull day and was raining on and off. I had wished I had brought my flash. Thank you for allowing me to share in this thread.

Here's a couple of my favourites:

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KT, I remember that Gypsy!!!! You have one photo that is just amazing.post it!

I don;t have a horse, my biggest regret now that I am 52.but I never say never! There is a riding academy a few houses down, but they are funny about anyone taking photos

I took these at the Local Fair..I just love the bond between these gals and their beasts.

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