In this digital age, does anyone make money from photography and how did you start?

[Jim Bryant]

Yup, you can make a lot of money off horse shows. My daughter rode English Dressage and Western Gaming for a number of years. Folks that spend money on horses (black holes) do have money to burn. This is an area I've been thinking about getting into since I know how to make the horses and riders look good. Smart thinking on your part too!

[Jim Bryant]

Julie rode English dressage for about 5 years, before she grew tired of it and rode Western Gaming her last three before falling off the horse turning a barrel, breaking her shoulder in about three places, which ended her riding career.

The one thing I noticed about English Dressage is to capture the horse and rider as they come around the track at 3/4 angle with the rider sitting up straight in the saddle, Always try to capture the rider in that position.

In Western Gaming, all that matters is good action, dirt and pony tails flying.

I used mostly thee cameras, one with a 16-35mm, another with a 70-200mm and the third one with a 400mm lens. Most of the shutter speeds ranged from 1250 to 3200 of a second, f-stop f3.5 to 4.5 and ISO set at 250. I used a shallow depth of field to add impact and put emphases on the rider and horse and to blur out the distracting backgrounds.

I don't worry about the backgrounds, to me the most important elements are the horse and rider. Also, you have to process some knowledge about the event and where to stand to get the best photos. If, not, like me, I got plenty of advice from the parents.

[Jill H]

hmm that is good advice etexjess & Jim and has got me thinking about our pony club where I live. Thanks!