Photograph © Rick Sammon

I felt like horsing around today.... so here are some tips on how to photograph running horses.

Try to get a shot with all the hooves off the ground. Set your camera on the fastest frame rate and fire away. Set your shutter speed to at least 1/1000th of a second to freeze the action. And . . . watch the background!

Plan your shot in advance. Work with the rider. This is key.

I took the opening image for this post at the California Photo Festival. We'll be photographing horses running on the beach in 2012, too. Join the fun!

Set your camera on the focus tracking mode - which tracks the focus right up until you press the shutter release button.

Photograph © Rick Sammon

When photographing several horses, try to have some separation between the horses.

Photograph © Rick Sammon

Shoot with a zoom lens for maximum composition flexibility. My two favorite lenses:
- Canon 100-400mm IS
- Canon 70-200mm IS

Speaking of composition, my latest Kelby Training class is on composition.

Photograph © Rick Sammon

Use plug-ins to add an artistic touch to your images. Here I used the Duplex filter in Nik Color Efex Pro. To see all the plug-ins that I use, click here.