Need suggestions for photographing people with horses in harsh light.

[Netskimmer]

I have volunteered to do some portraits for a local 4-H club during a horse show in about a month and I could use some tips. The show will go on all day and probably into the evening. I think they want me to set up near the ring and as the kids finish their activities in the ring someone will direct them my way so I can photograph them with their horses/ponies. I haven't gotten with the coordinator yet to discuss the specifics. The problems I am likely to face will be harsh lighting, taking pics of smaller people next to larger horses (and getting both in frame and in focus), since they will be coming to me as they leave the ring and my need to get ready for another go with different tac I will need to work quickly. I will also be dealing with unfavorable backgrounds. I am not comfortable using a flash with horses I don't know so no fill flash. I have also never given directions to someone I am photographing. I mostly do candids.

My greatest concern is the lighting. Since I can't use a fill flash and most of the pictures will be taken in the harsh, midday, summer sun I'm in need of suggestions. I might be able to turn them mostly away from the sun assuming I can get a good spot with a decent background. I also might be able to use the horse to shield the youth from the light since a horses coat is probably going to be more forgiving than skin but that will only work with the larger horses and not the ponies, if it works at all. I thought about getting a reflector but I don't own one, have never used one, and don't have an assistant to hold it for me. (though I could probably wrangle one up) I will probably be shooting with the 70-200 and shoot brackets to help ensure a good exposure. I might be able to put up a canopy to give them some shade as I shoot but I don't know if I will have one tall enough to get a large horse under and many horses don't react well to being led under low ceilings.

On the plus side, I have been photographing horses and riders as a spectator for a couple of years now and I have worked closely with horses for most of my life so I'm not going into this completely blind.
Any tips for the lighting or the situation in general would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tirediron]

If fill-flash isn't an option, then you really only have two options that I can think of. For the moving shots, spot meter the faces and let the backgrounds fall where they may. For static shots, grab helper and a big Lastolite reflector panel.

 

[KmH]

The only cures for harsh, mid-day summer sun is diffusion, or pretty powerful supplimental lighting.

 

[Netskimmer]

No movement so a reflector would be possible, I don't know if a diffuser would be practical because it would have to be large enough to diffuse the light on both the person and the horse/pony wouldn't it?

Would one of these do the trick or would I need something bigger? It would have to be hand held because I likely won't have much room to work with. How difficult is it to use one of these?

Amazon.com: Lastolite LL LR3096 30-Inch 5-in-1 Reflector Diffuser with Gold/White and Sunfire/Silver Bottletop: Camera & Photo
Amazon.com: Lastolite 32" Tri Grip Collapsable Triangular Reflector, Translucent / Reflector, with Built-in Holder.: Camera & Photo

 

[Buckster]

No movement so a reflector would be possible, I don't know if a diffuser would be practical because it would have to be large enough to diffuse the light on both the person and the horse/pony wouldn't it?

Would one of these do the trick or would I need something bigger? It would have to be hand held because I likely won't have much room to work with. How difficult is it to use one of these?

Amazon.com: Lastolite LL LR3096 30-Inch 5-in-1 Reflector Diffuser with Gold/White and Sunfire/Silver Bottletop: Camera & Photo
Amazon.com: Lastolite 32" Tri Grip Collapsable Triangular Reflector, Translucent / Reflector, with Built-in Holder.: Camera & Photo

Not difficult to use at all, as long as you have someone to hold and aim it for you as you shoot. If you put it on a stand with an arm, you'll need to be sure you always position each new subject as they step up in the same place, or you'll have to adjust the stand/arm each time. An X taped on the ground to position them can help with that.

Those sizes are pretty good for head and torso shots, but for something as large as a horse and child though, I think I'd try to get a little more reflector coverage (I sometimes use 2 or 3 of that size in the studio).

Here's something you might try that will be inexpensive, and you can work it out beforehand to see how well it can work for you on the cheap: Get two white foam core poster boards at Walmart and tape them together along one of the long edges to make a large book-type shape that can be bent in and out a bit for more versatility working with the reflected light. Get the sun to the right or left behind the subjects, and have your assistant work the reflector to get the best coverage from the opposite side in the front, just out of frame to fill the shadows.

You could also set up a large diffuser panel using a simple white bed sheet. Depending on time of day, it doesn't necessarily have to be directly over of the horse, since you mentioned that some horses don't take to that very well. Set it up more as a wall, even a tall one that simply blocks the sun from the horse. You could put that together with a couple of light stands and some sand bags.

Best of luck with it!

 

[Netskimmer]

I will give the poster board a shot. As for the bed sheet wall, the light stands would have to be pretty tall for the bed sheet to get between the midday sun and a horse wouldn't they? They mentioned that I'd be shooting by the barn, I will have to run down there and get a good look at the layout. I may be able to use side of the barn itself as shade, possibly moving from one side to the other as the day progresses. I'll need to see what the background would be in that scenario. Might be able to run a bed sheet or something to block what is behind them. I'd hate to spend $$$ on a portable backdrop system since portraits aren't usually my thing. I might even be able to take them inside the barn for shade, it would make for an appropriate setting, assuming there won't be a lot of traffic going through it.

Thanks for wishing me luck, I'll probably need it. Having never directed a subject or shot portraits, other than candids, and having never really worked with kids... if the worst thing I end up with are harsh shadows then it will probably be a good day!

 

[gsgary]

I shoot horses a lot and you could have trouble shooting with a reflector or white board they could run a mile, l have shot them with studio lighting but you must take them towards the reflector dont take the reflector to them or there could be trouble

 

[Netskimmer]

Hmmm, well I would be taking the horses to the reflector and not the other way around. I could have whom ever in holding the thing angle it towards the horse as it is being led to the 'staging area' so they are sure to see it, though I wouldn't have guessed it would be a problem. There are usually signs and poster board everywhere at these things. If I end up using the poster board I will definitely do so with caution, thanks for the heads up. So as a veteran horse photographer, do you have any other tips you could pass on? I've been reading a good bit about taking equestrian portraits as well as human portraits and as far as I'm concerned there is no such thing as too much information.

 

[gsgary]

Hmmm, well I would be taking the horses to the reflector and not the other way around. I could have whom ever in holding the thing angle it towards the horse as it is being led to the 'staging area' so they are sure to see it, though I wouldn't have guessed it would be a problem. There are usually signs and poster board everywhere at these things. If I end up using the poster board I will definitely do so with caution, thanks for the heads up. So as a veteran horse photographer, do you have any other tips you could pass on? I've been reading a good bit about taking equestrian portraits as well as human portraits and as far as I'm concerned there is no such thing as too much information.

I have i box of tic tacs in my pocket so i can rattle them to get the horses ears forward

 

[Netskimmer]

Thanks! I will defintely give that a try.

 

[gsgary]

Thanks! I will defintely give that a try.

It works

 

[Netskimmer]

Very nice. I really like number one. There looks to be some illumination in the second one, was it a continuous light?

 

[gsgary]

Very nice. I really like number one. There looks to be some illumination in the second one, was it a continuous light?

I was just messing with on camera flash, only a quick grab shot, shot one was taken with a 5D and 200mmF2.8L

 

[Buckster]

Very nice. I really like number one. There looks to be some illumination in the second one, was it a continuous light?

I was just messing with on camera flash, only a quick grab shot, shot one was taken with a 5D and 200mmF2.8L

Out of curiosity, how did the horse react to that flash?

 

[gsgary]

Very nice. I really like number one. There looks to be some illumination in the second one, was it a continuous light?

I was just messing with on camera flash, only a quick grab shot, shot one was taken with a 5D and 200mmF2.8L

Out of curiosity, how did the horse react to that flash?

It didnt flinch, but horse shows over here they will not allow it