Posted by Debi
on 4/27/2003, 12:42 pm, in reply to "Amateur Needs Help"
137.118.220.82
I also have miniature horses but have the benefit of being a professional photographer. I also teach equine photography. My first and best advice to you would be , make sure you are using the right equipment. Digital camera zooms are notoriously not of the best quality unless you have puchased a high end camera. I realize I may get some bashing here but I have yet to find a good zoom with the amount of zoom needed for equine photography on a consumer digital camera. If your digital camera is not appropriate for equine work, then I would use a film camera that has good zoom and then scan the photo for uploading to your site. Personally, I would never photograph any horse of any breed less then 100mm zoom and I prefer 150mm, especially for good head shots. I know many photographers have different methods with varied results but this is my personal preference.
I agree with the other posts regarding taking the photos from a lower position but I have never gone lower then about eye or mid neck level. The reason for this is miniature horse breeders want to show how conformationally correct their horse is, yet how small he is. If you shoot from too low a position, you can actually make the horse look larger than life, especially if you have sky as part of the background.
Also, FYI, I am going to post a message to see what level of interest their would be in attending a equine photography techniques clinic held at a guest ranch in the Black Hills of Wyoming. The ranch has asked if I would put on a few clinics a year but I would like to know the interest, if any, out there for attending this type of clinic. Trail riding etc, lodging, all meals, would be included.
Good luck with your mini photos, they are truly special little horses and even though I also have full sized horses, I wouldn't part with my minis for the world 
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