Taking a good photo of your horse/ pet.

By Francesca Roberts November 4, 2012 Blog

For horse and animal portraits I work from photographs, as animals are highly disinclined to hold the same pose for longer than 10 seconds (the exception being cats who of course settle down for the duration when you’d like them to move, and run off when you want them to stay still!)  I thought I might post a bit of info about what makes a good reference photograph to paint from, because although I can use artistic licence, good clear photos make it much easier to truly catch the likeness and character of someone’s furry special friend!

 

  1. Higher resolution pictures are much easier to work from, and the closer the better. Head portraits are most popular, but if you have a picture of your horse/ dog taken from twenty feet away, once you zoom in on the head, the detail becomes very pixellated and difficult to see.  Pictures taken on mobile devices are often low resolution.
  2. Try to take it on a fine day. The flash from a camera often washes out pale coloured pets and can distort an animal’s natural colour. It doesn’t have to be sunny, but plenty of light is essential.
  3. Think about the angle of the photo. Unless you would like a portrait, for example, of your dog looking up at you, try and get down (or up!)to the level of your pet so that when you take the photo all their parts are in proportion.
  4. If you want a picture of your horse’s head ‘au natural’ slip their headcollar down round the neck before taking the photograph.
  5. If in doubt, take lots of pictures! If your horse or pet is camera shy and you can’t get a picture you like, take lots of different ones. My aim is to portray their character as well as appearance, so I can use the different pictures to create an image that truly captures their ‘essence’.
  6. And finally, use bribery! Treats and enticing rustling sounds will replace sleepy expressions and floppy ears with bright eyes and pricked ears!

You don’t have to be a professional photographer to take a good reference photo, and they certainly don’t have to be perfect, but the most important thing, especially for larger portraits, is clarity, for clear pictures enable me to see and capture all the finer details or your horse’s or pet’s features.