Camera Gear for Equine Photography
I get asked a lot by clients and fellow equestrian photographers about the gear that I use to photograph horses. I wanted to take a second and share with you the lens that I have come to rely on the most for my equestrian photography.
What should you consider?
When photographing horses you should consider*:
Distance: how far away from the subject will you be? With horses, the majority of the time you’ll be farther away. (#safetyfirst) You're likely to be twenty feet or more (usually more!) away in which case you'll want a telephoto lens to get close up images. It’s also nice to have the variability of a zoom lens to give you adaptability.
Speed: How fast is your subject moving? Horses move relatively quickly with a canter ranging anywhere from 16km/hr to 27km/hr give or take. You’ll need a lens that can focus fast which means you’ll want something that has a wide aperture. Aperture controls the amount of light the lens lets in which impacts how quickly you can focus.
(*There are a ton of other technical considerations but I'm aiming to keep this article simple.)
My go-to lens
With these things in mind, the majority of equestrian photographers opt for a 70-200 mm zoom lens with as wide of an aperture as they can get/afford.
My all time “must have” favorite lens is the Tamron 70-200mm 2.8f lens.
The Tamron 70-200mm 2.8f lens
I use this bad-boy for 90% of my work and it makes up about 95% of my favorite images. It’s a phenomenal lens for photographing horses.
Here’s why:
It’s great for bokeh.
The shallow depth of field creates a creamy, dreamy bokeh that’s super beautiful to isolate the subject and create a beautiful stand-out subject.
It’s great for horses and people.
The length of this lens is flattering for horses and people and the range gives me the ability to zoom in and capture detail shots or zoom out and get the full shot.
I don’t need to be close to get close-ups.
Photographing horses is challenging because they can sometimes not be on their best behaviour. (What?! Yes, shocking I know…) I don’t always want horses in my personal space so this lens keeps me at a safe distance and also gives my clients the ability to work with their horse without me in their face.
It’s fast.
I’m normally shooting at around 1/1000 of a second or higher so I need something that’ll focus and fire faster than a bolting horse!
It doesn’t break the bank.
I shoot with a Nikon full-frame body and Nikon does have a 70-200mm 2.8f lens… but it’s almost $1000 more expensive than the Tamron lens. Now, full disclosure - I actually haven’t tried the Nikon lens so it could be well worth the extra grand but, at least for me, the Tamron is doing the trick for the time being.
BONUS: It also performs exceptionally well in low light conditions.
Get out there and shoot!
If you have the time, money and energy to invest in learning, I highly recommend giving this lens a shot.
While this is only a small fraction of the technical details that need to be considered, I hope it gives you some insight into the process behind my gear selection.
Of course, you can always leave it to me to worry about the details…