For Equine Photographers : Let's Talk About Gear!
I’m sure we’ve all heard it at one time or another, “Wow, your camera takes such great photos!”, and while it can feel like a punch to the gut to have someone equate the quality of your work with the quality of your gear alone, gear can be very important and is something worth talking about! I’ve avoided posting about gear on here up till now because I truly believe that you can be a great photographer without the newest or fanciest camera but I’ve finally decided it is worth talking about. So let’s see what I keep in my camera bag!
Camera Bodies
Honestly I don’t think your camera body is the most important part of the equation, I think your lenses are but it is still worth mentioning. Currently I have 2 Nikon D750’s. They are a great camera and I have loved them, very versatile and a great first full frame camera but I am already thinking about my next upgrade. I’ve had the 750’s for a little over 2 years now and they have been excellent work horses but nowadays companies are investing all their money and brain power into the next best thing, mirrorless. Eventually I’ll be switching out one, or both of my bodies for the Nikon z9, but that is a ways down the road (seriously, check the price tag on that bad boy, I’m going to be saving for a while).
Lenses
I’m a big believer that you NEED separate lenses for horse shows and portraits. Some people believe you can get by with just a solid 70-200mm for everything but I’m personally not in that camp. Good glass will make or break your images and what that good glass will look like is very different for horse shows and portraits. For portraits (horse and rider and black background) I will live and die by the Sigma ART 85mm 1.4. Nothing can top this lens in my mind and I don’t plan on ever getting anything different. While a prime lens provides less flexibility, it more than makes up for it in image quality and it forces you to be more creative at your sessions and move around more, something that will have you producing better and more interesting images! For horse shows, the 70-200mm is a staple. It has good flexibility as far as focal lengths go, it performs well in low light and works great to stop the action and freeze moments in time quickly. But, I think having a second lens is always worthwhile and I love to pull out the 300mm at horse shows as well. While it doesn’t have the flexibility of a zoom, it has a longer focal length for those big rings and produces beautiful images. While it is my least used lens, I still love it and plan to keep it in my bag for a long time!
Everything else
If only a camera and a good lens were all you needed! Investing in good memory cards, extra batteries, a backup camera body and more are all important! Not to mention the things specific to equine photography, like always carrying around slobber rags, horse treats, a gazillion funny noise makers, a mirror and so much more! That’s why a good and spacious camera bag is also important, you are going to need to carry around a lot of stuff, and try to save your back as much pain as possible! There is always going to be that “one more thing” you need to stuff in there, so having extra compartments is very important! I was gifted the Tenba 20L Solstice Bag by my boyfriend and have totally fallen in love with it, I seriously have zero complaints! It fits everything I need and is comfortable to wear for hours at my long sessions, and so far I don’t seem to have crippling back pain (yet haha)!
I started out this business with just a Nikon D3500 and the 18-55mm kit lens. I broke all the rules of equine photography, working for years with a 35mm lens and for years didn’t have a backup battery let alone a backup body. All this to say that if you are out there and reading this, feeling bad about your gear and dreaming of upgrading, please don’t take that as the point of this blog. Upgrade when you are ready but not because you feel you can’t be a good photographer until you do! Any photographer can learn on any camera and you can capture fantastic images on a starter body or with lesser quality lenses! If you are thinking about upgrading, consider buying used from a reputable source like B&H, that is where I have bought a lot of my gear, and yes, I will buy used! So whether you are just starting out with a beginner camera or have a fully decked out kit, enjoy the gear you have and be thankful for the moments it let’s you capture, instead of always waiting and saving for the next best thing!
