Monday 10 September 2012

Photographing a Horse for Sale FAIL

You may have read my page on how to sell a horse, including suggestions on how to photograph the horse. It’s all common sense, I hear many of you cry! Sadly, as your mum often told you, the problem with common sense is that it’s not actually that common.

Ensure the Picture is Clear and From a Good Angle

To be fair many of these shots are one of a couple, but they really add very little to a sale effort!

Head too big to fit in one shot?


Looks sweet and might well be beautiful but you're really not showing her off to her best here (P.S. What exactly is a skewball?!):


This is just terrifying! If this is the best shot you could get of this horse, I can't see many people lining up to buy her!


Can you actually get near these two, or is this the best shot possible?


Apparently the pics don't do this one justice - nooo really?! I can't link you to the ad as it's sold- somehow, with these shots!


Clean up the horse first!

This poor soul is the wrong colour to be presented for sale without a good brush...


























Only Have One Horse in the Picture

Yes they are selling the horse at the back here...


Selling a coloured mare, evenly marked- and no I don't know which one it is either! There's two shots of the same group and they are in different positions on each!





These folks are selling a black and white gelding- That could be either one of these!



Pay Attention to the Background

I do like adverts where I am not experiencing terror over what the horse might put a foot through...


Or waiting for it to strangle itself...




Wow, who'd have thought this would happen if you stood a black horse against a black background?!


And with this amount of blur, standing a bay horse against a brown background doesn't do it any favours either! Here's a suggestion- move the wood bits, use the white wall?


Make Sure People in the Shot Look Professional
I'd hide my head too if I were the person on this pony... BTW, he has a driving bit on another shot, you couldn't use that instead of the rope?

My baby backs all my horses....


Here's the part that boggles my brain- you can just see a chap's head behind the horse, and he's ducking down as if not to be seen- do you honestly think it LOOKS BETTER if it appears that no one is holding that baby?!
The two year old colt has now been sold which is why I can't link you to the ad, but apparently, this family had decided they'd keep the baby a while longer, but get rid of the toddler.... no one holding onto the child here!





Use an Appropriate Picture

Is it just me or does this look like the horse is stopping rather than jumping?! Surely if a horse is a potential showjumper you can get a better shot of it in action than this?!

Being sold as a potential competition horse but the blurry pictures don't inspire confidence- loose schooling over a jump might be better than standing there looking confused...


I am sure this horse has many good points- with forelegs like that I dispute the claim that jumping is one of them.


This horse might jump but I don't think this shot is showing her best side...


Although at least that explains why she looks so worried in this image... she's wondering if she'll still have her teeth when she lands.


Ok so I know almost all of us have got bad shots in our horse photo libraries, but here's the thing- we aren't trying to sell one!! If you're asking for money for a horse, it's good to look like you care about it a little. If you want a lot of money, you should look like you care a lot!

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