Cut off horse

[Tyson L. Sparks]

Does the horse's head being cut off ruin this picture?

[KenB]

Ruin is a bit harsh but it would be a much better pic, IMO, if the whole animal was in there. The flying dirt hints at motion but you can't see it.

[Mr Yuck]

The lighting and action are excellent, but it would be improved if entire head was in frame, the white trailer at the head of the horse is a bit bothersome to me as well. Don't trash the shot though, though not perfect, it's a keeper.

[Frog]

I agree. Not ruined but would be better. That's why I avoid action shots.

[Tyson L. Sparks]

I agree. Not ruined but would be better. That's why I avoid action shots.

Just look at the beauty here on this shot, I lost it with the frame. Look at the horse's muscles. The rider so perfect and I blew the shot.The girls butt is off the saddle, horse racing around the track. Beautiful shot. And I had to blow it.

[SmartWombat]

I looked through your Hartford Fair Week shots, and the ones in capture a stranger.

Many of them seemed to want either a zoom lens, or zooming with your feet.
Most of the horse shots, looks like you needed to shoot wider to get the whole horse.
But if you're at the limit of your lens, and other things get in the way as you step back, there's not a lot you can do.

Others seemed to be shot with the centre focus point, which means you tend to follow the action with the focus point and cut off the bottom while including lots of sky. I know, I 've done that a lot !
I find myself now selecting the focus point depending on the action so that I can get the composition I want while still getting AF on the subject.
It's only taken a year for that to become somewhat automatic - so you keep at it !

You'll find that after doing action shooting for a while your shots will improve, just with a little thought on the camera setup and maybe a little planning for where the action is going to be.
That's the really hard part, you have to understand what you're shooting and anticipate where it's going to happen and when, and be in the right place at the right time.
In the beginning it feels like luck, but this is one place where I think you can make your own luck and inprove your chances of a good photo.

But I know what it's like to be in a crowd on the rail, and you can see that a foot or two to the right would be a perfect shot ... but you have to take it from where you are because the action is happening right NOW and you can't move because of all those people.
You just can't have every shot perfect


Phew, enough waffle.
You're right about the detail in the horse, that's fantastic.
But I think you're beating yourself up far too hard on cutting off the nose, legs, and tail !
I have gigabytes of images with bits of cars cut off, and quite a lot of empty track.
I just go out and try again.

[fx101]

In the future try to always leave some room. Remember, you can almost always crop, but you can't create what's not there. I don't focus so much on the horse's mouth, however, so I would say the loss of it is minor.

[freygr]

I have to say a wider shoot is always better, as you can crop it down. But with horses I've found out you have to keep the shutter above 1/500 of a second to stop the feet.

[GB1]

Hard to say if it ruins it. It's still an excellent capture, Sooo sharp. A bit of business in the background. Even so, the sharpness and the action make the shot.

[Tyson L. Sparks]

You guys are great! Thank you everyone. I went back to the fair today and didn't have time to go back to the horses. I had to cover the Rough Trucks for the news paper. I liked the horses much better. All that noise and red neck action is not for me. I enjoyed the Motor Cross much more that the red necks killing perfectly fine trucks for a $150 prize.

Check me out I am famous!! (just kidding)

http://www.newarkadvocate.com/apps/p...708100301/1002

[swmdrayfan]

Tyson,
Congrats on the newspaper shot. It's always a thrill to see one of your own in print.
John

[GB1]

Tyson - My congrats too. Nice shot and too the point.
G