Show Jumping -CnC requested

[Overread]

So recently did my first shoot at a horse show-jumping event and I think I've learned a few new things along the way.

f4, 1/500sec, ISO 1600

f4, 1/500sec, ISO 1600

f4, 1/640sec, ISO 1600

f4, 1/500sec, ISO 1600

Things I've picked up on;

1) Try not to get right in front of the jump - even if the riders head is up chances are the horses head is going to go up as well and with that and the mane most of the time the riders head will end up hidden. Instead try to position to the side a little more so that you can catch the head looking toward the next jump (seems to be the direction most look at once the horse is in full swing over the jump).

2) Riders make really strange facial expressions. Some of them very unfetching as they ride, which adds an added complication since all else might be ok with the shot.

3) A horse and rider are very tall in the frame, so portrait aspect is going to be very common unless your totally side-on to a jump or moving horse and rider.

4) I found I was shooting rather wide and that when I've been editing I've needed to crop away parts of the shot - partly as a result of the tall rider and horse aspect and trying to ensure all parts remain in the shot. Whilst its wasted frame its not too bad in my view - better to get hooves and tail and heads in than to have them clipped off.

5) 70-200mm f2.8 is a good workhorse for an indoor shoot; however 120-300mm can work as well giving a bit of a tighter frame for some shots in the 200-300mm range; but 120mm is far too long (esp on crop) to be the shortest working distance.

6) I shot most of the event at f4; which combined with the small area made for some very unfetching and busy backgrounds. Sadly even at f2.8 I suspect they'd have still been fairly busy backgrounds - not an easy thing to deal with inside (I stuck at f4 mostly to try and ensure horse and rider were as much in-focus as possible - rather than pull back to f2.8 and risk more blurred noses or faces).

7) Manual mode all the way in the mostly constant lighting inside; handheld light meter might be more use than test exposures and histogram review; but otherwise stick to a fairly staple series of settings that work. Saying that after editing I think I could have gone to f3.5- lost a bit of depth but gained that little bit of aperture for a little more brightness (I've been boosting by around 0.48 on exposure on most shots).


That's what little I've picked up upon, I'd greatly welcome any input on my photos and upon the skill/method of working in such conditions that others have to give. I hopefully will get another chance this year to shoot another event so I hope I can go back with some experience and some new ideas/methods to try out and get improved results (esp as the year progresses and the light might get even worse - I was lucky that it was a bright day outside so the lighting+skylights gave enough to work with comfortably).

I've also found that with the conditions I'm not as used to working with such a noisy and high ISO shot - so any pointers on processes people use to work with these kinds of shots would be most welcome.

 

[tirediron]

Shoots like this are always tough - really the only thing I can find to comment on is one which you've already noted, and that's not being quite so directly in front of the horse & rider (if possible). About 30 degrees off to the side would be ideal. Still, nicely done.

 

[Derrel]

Some fine writing and good, simple descriptions of the practical difficulties and nature of the sport! REALLY GOOD tips and analysis on this. I wish we had much,much more of this type of writing-up of specific genres of photography. You are to be congratulated for your efforts on making this post, Overead! This post is a sort of cheat-sheet post, a Cliff's Notes post: I wish we had some way to flag posts of this type so that beginners could easily find and reference this type of bullet-point (well, numbered, points one through seven!) "guide" post, so that they could read up BEFORE heading out to shoot an event of this type.

 

[Overread]

Many thanks both!

Tired - yeah I was thinking somewhere along those lines - enough to get an angle, whilst also capturing more of the forward motion - not too far out otherwise the horse is more going at a diagonal (which can make for a really cool shot, but more so on a corner I think).

Derrel - many thanks, though really its just a few thoughts from a first time shoot at such an event - I'm very sure more experienced equine photographers might pick up on a few more points in addition to those - still lots to learn

 

[Overread]

One thing I meant to say and forgot:

8) Knowing what direction riders will take on the course is easy once you've seen one or two do it - however that means the first few shots are oft a mess as you're playing catch-up and guess (small course so not too hard to guess what they were aiming for; but still one doesn't want to be running up and down trying to chase them).
Thus I think that next time I would be wise to ask and walk the course with the riders before they jump. That combined with a little quick sketch of the jumps means I can get a rough idea of the course they'll take and thus try and position myself where I can get a few good shots whilst also keeping in mind things like trying not to get them coming head on - or looking for straight side on shots.

 

[waday]

Great points to learn from! Thanks for posting to help the rest of us!

I really like #1, especially because the face is partially hidden. You get just enough to see the person, but not enough to see the crazy expression.

 

[pjaye]

You did extremely good. I've tried this once and failed miserably. The lighting was absolutely brutal and we went up in the stands too high.

Your tips are fantastic and will be used next time I try this.

Really great set.

 

[Pejacre]

These are exactly the kind of insights I was looking for online when preparing for my first show jumping event a few years back. We should preserve this, it's bang on the money.

 

[Overread]

Many thanks all!
Pejacre I see you've done some event shooting and general equine photography (from your flickr) - anything you think worth adding to what I've said above? Or any differences in how you've shot events you've been at?

 

[Pejacre]

Many thanks all!
Pejacre I see you've done some event shooting and general equine photography (from your flickr) - anything you think worth adding to what I've said above? Or any differences in how you've shot events you've been at?

You picked up on so many of the top considerations and 'lessons learned' your first time out it's clear your skills translate really well to this - I'm in awe! All I can think to add of value is, listen to the riders/owners, show them some of your captures there and then to get instant feedback. The aspects which a photographer thinks makes a shot great and those which a rider/horse owner does are not always the same - the rider/owner may be looking at things like outline, rein tension, head carriage and a bunch other mysterious equine stuff we mortals know little about. Riders/owners are, I've found, less keen on 'landing' shots, seeming to prefer those caught at the peak of the jump where the hind legs are at full extension and forelegs tucked well in and tidily together but just clear of the jump pole.

Oh, and be prepared to run between the best vantage points! Get there early, scope them out, listen to the order of jumps when announced - they change for the jump-off (finals).

I guess the rest is obvious but I'll throw it in there - for focusing I use either AFC or AFS with prefocus on the jump pole. I shoot manual with auto iso - keep my shutter speed as fast as possible avoiding dropping below 1/800 wherever possible. Depending on distance and how far out I'm zoomed, I find f5.6 to f7.1 is enough to keep everything important in focus without pulling in too much distracting bg - outdoor events are plagued with it and indoor events you can do little about it as it's always so close to the subject.

Looking forward to seeing the results of your next event, Overread - I'm sure there will be more from me to learn from you!

 

[gsgary]

One thing I meant to say and forgot:

8) Knowing what direction riders will take on the course is easy once you've seen one or two do it - however that means the first few shots are oft a mess as you're playing catch-up and guess (small course so not too hard to guess what they were aiming for; but still one doesn't want to be running up and down trying to chase them).
Thus I think that next time I would be wise to ask and walk the course with the riders before they jump. That combined with a little quick sketch of the jumps means I can get a rough idea of the course they'll take and thus try and position myself where I can get a few good shots whilst also keeping in mind things like trying not to get them coming head on - or looking for straight side on shots.

Why guess the jumps are numbered on the side they jump from [emoji6]

 

[gsgary]

One thing I meant to say and forgot:

8) Knowing what direction riders will take on the course is easy once you've seen one or two do it - however that means the first few shots are oft a mess as you're playing catch-up and guess (small course so not too hard to guess what they were aiming for; but still one doesn't want to be running up and down trying to chase them).
Thus I think that next time I would be wise to ask and walk the course with the riders before they jump. That combined with a little quick sketch of the jumps means I can get a rough idea of the course they'll take and thus try and position myself where I can get a few good shots whilst also keeping in mind things like trying not to get them coming head on - or looking for straight side on shots.

You should try shooting from inside the ring thats fun you have to know exactly where you are at all times

 

[Overread]

Why guess the jumps are numbered on the side they jump from [emoji6]

True, but unless I get up in the balcony one can't see the jump numbers from the ground half the time. At least from the viewing area on the ground (and at this spot its easier to walk than to go up since going up requires on to go out of the building and all the way around to get to the steps).

You should try shooting from inside the ring thats fun you have to know exactly where you are at all times

Heh yeah I'm going to avoid that one for a long while - or at least until I've got half an idea of how to read a horse to know what direction its likely to go in! Knowing where I am is easy - knowing where the horse wants to go is quite another

 

[Didereaux]

btw a trick I learned waaaay back (by accident). When shootin horse/riders in jumps and field events go out into the practice area (they generally allow you to walk around in there) get 8-10' or so out from a barrier, and back a horse length and a smidgeon. Squat down as low as you can get and snap the shot just as the horse leaves the ground. You will be absolutely floored by the muscle definition, sense of motion, dynamics of these shots. I gair-own-tee.

 

[wfooshee]

Why guess the jumps are numbered on the side they jump from [emoji6]

Not necessarily. I shot an event (my first and so far only jumping event, also) where different classes shared the course, but "lower" classes didn't use all the obstacles. I ended up choosing three of the jumps that I saw all the classes using, which I had a good view of, and once I learned where they went after THAT jump I knew when they'd head for THIS one.

I never did actually understand the class system....

I wasn't working the event, a friend simply asked for pictures as she'd never been photographed competing. I shot from the public bleachers.

I shot with a D7000 through the 70-300 ED VR. maximum aperture f:4.5 at 70mm. I shot mostly at 70 and cropped to get what I wanted, which is my practice at sports events. I'd rather have too much than cut something off and never have it. For emphasis on the rider rather than the jump I'd go as far as about 240mm. Outdoors and sunny, so I was using 1/2000 and 1/4000 shutter speeds at ISO 400. I was very pleased with my shots until it rained, causing a weather delay. The end of the event was at dusk, drizzly and cloudy, which cost me six stops of light!!! The D7000 is NOT a spectacular high-ISO performer!

As for the points listed in the OP, I can't argue with any of that. I was amazed to see the faces the riders made! My event being outdoors with bleachers on only one side of the arena and lush green trees on the other, backgrounds were not an issue. I will say that all of my shots were much less head-on. Some were almost exactly 90 degrees to the jump, most were about 45 to 60, and I think that worked much better than trying to shoot AT the jump.