Horse Sale photos are not the main thing I do, but I do plenty of them. When I do conformation shots, 2 edit images come with my sales package. I do require at least 3 horses. The images you can choose from are profile, headshot, opposite side profile, 3/4 quarters from front or back. The most popular combination being a profile and headshot. I will also include an unedited direct front and back, but you must ask for these. Knowing a horse conformation, breed and disciplines is important in getting the shot right, but there are other factors that g into a go quality conformation photos. Leg placement and expression are extremely important. Other important factors are neck and head placement. If your discipline has a low head carriage, but your horse looks better with a higher carriage, which should you go with?

Somethings I look for before we even start; 1) light, I like to have the sun behind me and really pay attention to the direction of shadows. 2) for the background, I like a clean background preferably no fence, which is hard to do. Either lot of sky or trees. A pretty barn can make a good backdrop as well. 3) I always pay attention to the ground as some breeds and disciplines want to see the feet. I look for low spot and slopes in the ground. Placed incorrectly on unlevel ground or a effect the topline and legs.
Having a good team is important. I try to bring and assistant, but do not always have one available, so it is good to have one on hand just in case. I like 3 people; me, the handler and a person to set legs and get ears up. More than that confuses everyone and makes the horse nervous. Occasionally some horses need a barn buddy so we will need someone to be holding the buddy horse nearby.
Horse should be clean, well groomed, clipped and depending on your discipline a braided or banded mane. A plain leather halter is my 1st choice and keep a few with me. If you have someone getting horses ready in-between horses is great, if not all horses should be read, other than last minute touchups, before for the shoot starts so we don’t run out of good light.
Editing includes simple lead rope removal and background cleanup. Also included in person removal as long as person doesn’t overlap behind or in front of horse.
If you wan more than the 2 images, we can shoot for more angles, but we may go over time and will cause extra fees for time and image.
I will capture some fun BTS images if I can. Those are always fun to look back on!
If you are needing sale or conformation photos please contact me.
If you want to learn more about sale horse and conformation photography, check out my on-line courses.