Photos of horse racing...

[Shadowman]

I used to train thoroughbreds at the race track, so have seen all aspects. To me, pictures of the race itself all look the same unless you are getting a really spectacular image of a well-known racer, eg. a champion. Then it has some meaning besides being a pretty sight. Some of the things I would love to have taken pictures of: dark horse getting a soapy bath on a cool morning - steam rising; horse training early morning when there are clouds low on the ground and all you see are the rider and the horse's head and neck (saw this in New Orleans). There are many others, but won't try to list all!

Anyone who wants photos of horses in motion ought to go to the track in the early morning. Saratoga has a breakfast program, and you can watch the horses train. They also give a bus tour of the barn area. Setting up a tripod or monopod during the races can be tricky because of the crowds, but in the AM it works well.

Horses in motion are tricky for me, since I am relatively new at this. I went to the horse show here in Dorset, Vermont last summer and tried to get some decent photos. Tried using bursts and different settings. Got some nice ones but many more that don't really impress. Lots of heads and/or legs cut off, many almost cut.

The bright sand also made the exposure tricky. This is my first DSLR, just got it last February, so in July I was having trouble with all of that. Still do, now with snow, but have improved!!!

Second shot more difficult than the first, easier to pan or focus when the subject is coming towards or away from you. I have the same problem panning on track stars, either everything is sharp or subject mostly blurry. With a human I can almost time the stride so I do get quite a few good shots.

[Green Mountain Girl]

Hi Susan,

I'm not sure if it is deliberate, but I think you have far more keepers by;
1) panning with the horse
2) use a single (central) focus point and keep that on the horse or rider (I often aim for the contrasty area of skin, numnah and front edge of saddle)
3) use a wider aperture than f/10
4) use a lower iso than 400 in these bright conditions

I suggest the above because looking at the last shot (which I included in the quote)
the background is pin sharp - the cause? - too much Depth of Field and not panning with horse
if you open up the aperture alone, that'll likely push up the shutter speed so much you'll lose any sense of motion at all, this was shot at 400 iso, going to 100 iso and f/5.6 would give 1/640s (you had 1/500s before)


Also (in the third shot) the camera may have focused on the background

... or maybe it was your choice not to pan, so you see the horse as the thing being in motion.

Anyway, I hope that's useful info.,

Thanks Dave, for the comments. Since taking these photos, I have improved some, and hopefully this coming summer will take some more interesting shots at the event.

My responses to your comments:

1. Panning is something I had not tried last July. Since then, I have, and although it is hard to get a good in-focus shot of the horse, it IS possible. These photos were all taken from a tripod because I didn't know anything else! I like the look of panning, where the background looks blurred and streaky, giving impression of movement. Pretty good stuff! Here is one I took in October.


2. I do use one focus point now, not sure what I was doing then. Generally aim for the eyes!
3. I was not sure about what aperture to use. Sometimes I still have problems deciding. I was also concerned that a decreased depth of field (wider aperture) would risk making the horse and rider out of focus. Now I have learned a bit about focusing on something closer - hyperfocal distance - but not really sure I trust it...
4. I think I read something by a pro who said he always used an ISO of 400, and I was following that. Now I know better!

Thanks for the suggestions about moving ISO down, aperture wider to boost the shutter speed. Always trying to learn more and then to do things better.