Southlands Foundation – Photographing Horses – Oct
Southlands Foundation
Southlands Foundation – Photographing Horses
Join our photo lessons at the Southlands Foundation, which is one of the excellent locales in the rotation of many Hudson Valley Venues that offer terrific photo opportunities.
Thanks to Digital Photo Academy Instructor, Lynn Alaimo, who is one of our talented DPA Instructors in the Hudson Valley, this workshop will provide special access to The Southlands Foundation, in Rhinebeck, NY. Join this small group, and you will have an array of photo ops that cross an extensive variety of photographic themes, camera control operations, and examples of classic photo composition strategies that will provide useful experience for all future photo excursions.
You might imagine that photographing horses is an obvious option at this venue, and you would be correct, but there is more than one way to photograph a horse. Lynn will demonstrate and supervise the many ways these beautiful creatures can be depicted in portfolio-worthy images. For example, you might want to capture the horse out in the open field, and how, by controlling depth of field, you will obtain visually appealing results that also showcase the soft, blurred, fields in the background. Get closer and capture a larger portion of the horse and less of the background for a striking portrait. Compare images which show the horse looking at you as the photographer or create another narrative when the horse is looking away from the camera, alone with its thoughts.
Then there is the barn, crucial to any horse farm. The Southlands property has a beautifully restored barn, surrounded by rolling grasses and trees. Lynn will provide different perspectives and a few composition strategies to explore. Place the long barn in the very center of the image, and its white expanse pops nicely against the lovely greenery. Walk closer to the barn, revealing interesting structural patterns of the exterior of the building, and the row of cupolas on the roof. Include the fence which provides a leading line to guide the eye of the viewer toward the barn, the main subject.
How about horses in open fields, the fences and outbuildings juxtaposed to the horse as a framing element? Your photograph can share insight into the daily life of the equine with the inclusion of the fields, flowers, stable, and the backdrop of tall trees and a broad canvas of sky. You will learn the composition strategy of the rule of thirds, strategically placing the horse, non-center, either to the left or right. This technique will allow the viewer to focus on the main subject, but also lead the eye within and around the frame of the scene.
Be sure to include the typical elements of a horse farm such as the shiny yellow and green John Deere tractor, big wheels and all. And where there are horses on horse farms, there are always birds, either perched on the fence or soaring above. Lynn will teach the art of panning and capturing movement with and without blur, depending on your preferences.
Lastly, there is the property itself, worthy of attention, to sooth the soul. We have all driven past these sprawling properties which provide photo ops that you might want to print and use to decorate your walls to admire for years to come.
Meet in the parking lot at The Southlands Foundation –
5771 US-9, Rhinebeck, NY 12572
Call Digital Photo Academy at 1 877 372 2231. Lots of people seem to hang up if our welcome recording comes on instead of a live voice, but we promise to return your message within a day or two if you leave one with your name and number. It would be even better if you included your e mail address as well as the date and city of the class you are considering. If leaving a voice mail message is not your thing, please email us at DPAbooking@digitalphotoacademy.com.
