Pony photography tips? Plus, show off your pictures!

[mlpkatie]

I have some good photos scattered around on my instagram
http://instagram.com/mlpprincesskatie

[cazz25]

Great thread, with some really helpful advise, I've been meaning to take some pony pics for ages!

[PinkiePieSightings]

To echo everyone -- LIGHTING!  :-D

What Pony Adventures referenced is commonly called "the golden hour," for the lovely golden hue it tends to give things.  (I'm the one who took the photo of Pinkie in front of the old tree, by the way, but she's gotten some beautiful golden hour shots.)

A few general tips from my experience:

- Find ways to subdue harsh lighting:
-- Avoid backlighting your subject (unless the goal is a silhouette effect like the Princess in Pony Adventure's post)
-- Indoors, try putting a sheer curtain over a window to soften the light
-- If your phone / camera has an HDR mode, this can equalize the lighting slightly to prevent your pony from being washed out (I use this a LOT, especially on sunny days)
-- Cloudy days are GREAT, because clouds can act as one big light softener
-- When shooting with a camera flash, a coffee filter is a great way to soften the light if you don't have the equipment that clips onto SLR flashes

- In general, try to use the rule of thirds to help with framing

- Ground-level views can bring photography more into the pony's perspective (I get on my knees a lot when composing Pinkie Pie sightings)

- Macro mode can be extremely useful when shooting in close proximity to your pony

- Don't think you have to be satisfied with the first shot you take (I retake almost everything and delete probably two thirds of my pictures)

I hope these tips are helpful. 

And now a few of my favorites just for fun! I tried to follow the rule of thirds for most of these, almost all of them were shot with HDR mode to balance the lighting, and I also tried to shoot from a low angle for a better pony's eye view when I can.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

link

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

link

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

link

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

link
(An example of sub-par lighting balance -- the HDR mode helped, but there was too much contrast between Pinkie and the soil, so she's a little washed-out.  I still tried to center her and the rhubarb with enough framing to follow the rule of thirds.)

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

link
(Golden hour!  Same photoshoot as the oak tree.)

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

link
(Using cloudy weather to help soften the light.)

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

link
(Pony's eye view)

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

link
(HDR mode to keep Pinkie from being too washed out in bright sunlight.)

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

link
visitors can't see pics , please register or login

link
(You can also use HDR mode to keep things from being too dark in dim, indirect light.)

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

link
(Challenging backlighting -- if HDR doesn't help, explore your camera's other built-in modes and have fun!  These were either sunset mode or low-light mode.)

[Pony Adventures]

Whoa! Great advice, Pinkie Pie Sightings! I didn't know about the rule of thirds or HDR.

*aggressively implements new tactics into my pony photography*

[PinkiePieSightings]

*aggressively implements new tactics into my pony photography*

*aggressively waits for bigger and better pony adventures*