Lets share our tips for getting the best photos of those ponies! 

Takes a minimum of 3 people.  

1 to hold the horse

2 to take photos and

3. . the most important. . the one with the youtube video of horse noises on their phone to get those ears forward and perky views.

Cliff notes version.  HA!

Let these horses be clean and brushed with no manure piles on the ground in the photo.  I've seen some sale photos that make me cringe.  

I have taken 60-80 photos at one time with one person holding, one person in the background waving their arms..still to not end up with a good one lol. 

Take a pic when it's light out and the sun is behind you. Let the horse be clean, get a GOOD conformation pic from both sides, front and back. The horse shouldn't be grazing, in a shelter, in the shade etc. No tack on the horse. 

And seriously, if you are asking 40K for a horse.. you should be able to provide these and SELL your product. I was horse shopping last year and if the owners weren't willing to provide me with a solid pic or video, I would just assume they didn't need to sell their horse that bad and moved on.

Hire me! Haha... there is a reason why sale catalogs use professionally-taken photos, it isn't as simple as some people think to make them look good! A lot of photographers will offer an affordable package if you have a few sale horses you need photos of (I know I do) and it can be well worth it for how much traffic it drives to your ad when you have good photos.

If you want to do it yourself, a few main points... shoot in late afternoon with the sun on your horse's side so you don't have shadows all over. Stand back away from the horse. Especially if you're taking pictures with a cell phone, your photos will be distorted by a wider angle lens if you're standing close. Make sure the horse is standing square - your horse holder is important for this. And then to get their ears up/neck to look good - use something to get their interest, not to scare them. You don't want a giraffe with their ears up. I have an animal noises app, or a whip with a pom-pom thingie on the end I'll have someone shake in front of them as long as they aren't too spooky. I don't really like using treats/grain because a lot of horses won't keep standing still when you're teasing them with food.

(All of this assuming it's a given to have them well groomed, shoot in a clutter-free area..... etc. Again, if you have trouble, contact a local photographer and ask if they offer any mini shoots for sessions like you need! Especially right now, a lot of photographers may work with you to get the work ;) )

Love this! 

Thank you for the tips, and please comment or PM your business page :). 

@jamiesnyderphotography on IG or FB, I'm happy to help anyone trying to take photos themselves!