This month, I’m excited to share some of my favourite tips and tricks for using natural light in your equine photos—even if you’re not keen on a sunrise wake-up call! Great lighting can truly transform an image, and the best part is, you don’t need fancy equipment to make magic happen.
Lighting can make or break a photo. If you’ve ever seen images taken under harsh midday sunlight, you know how it can create squinting faces, washed-out colours, and unflattering shadows. For many photographers, the intense sun at noon is a nightmare. Yet, we all hope for sunshine on special occasions, don’t we?
Most of my clients also dream of a sunny day for their photoshoots. Picture this: sparkling prosecco, straw hats, floaty white dresses, vibrant meadow flowers swaying in the warm breeze, and a horse’s coat gleaming in the sunlight. It sounds idyllic, doesn’t it? And it can be—if the light is managed well. However, shooting in harsh midday sun, especially with no shade around, can be a challenge.
Turning Harsh Sunlight into a Creative Asset
One way to turn intense sunlight into a creative advantage is by embracing silhouettes and backlighting. For example, I love using backlighting for portraits like the one below, where the strong sunlight creates a beautiful glow around the subject. Sometimes, instead of fighting the harsh light, it’s about working with it and finding ways to use it to create something magical.
When shooting with the light behind your subject, you may lose some of the usual shine on the horse’s coat. However, the benefit is that humans aren’t left squinting against the bright sun.
The Power of Soft Light
These two images, taken just minutes apart, highlight how different the light can feel. In the first, the light was coming from the side, with Rosemary’s horse shielding her face from the intense sunlight. Moments later, as the sun dipped behind a cloud, I repositioned to capture the soft, filtered light that gently illuminated her face—only made possible thanks to the cloud.
Pools of natural light pouring through spaces—whether through trees or the doors of an indoor arena—can add depth and atmosphere to an image.
Golden Hour: Your Secret Weapon
If you want to make the most of light, golden hour is a photographer’s best friend. The soft, golden tones during this time of day are flattering and create stunning effects. Shooting directly into the sun during golden hour can add an ethereal, dramatic quality to your photos that’s hard to achieve at any other time of day.
Embracing Mist and Overcast Skies
When there’s a touch of mist or an overcast sky, the light becomes beautifully diffused, eliminating harsh shadows and allowing for more flexibility in composition. While you might lose some of the shine on the horse’s coat, you gain wonderfully soft light that brings out the details without overwhelming the scene. This image, taken in misty conditions, shows just how stunning the light can be in these softer conditions. The diffused light lets the horse’s features shine, without any distractions from the environment.
Another favourite moment for me is early morning, when a gentle haze lingers in the air. In this shot, Cat and Indi were still in the shadow of a hill due to the low position of the sun. The backdrop, however, was bathed in soft, golden light, creating an almost ethereal atmosphere that wouldn’t be possible at any other time of day.
Black Backgrounds with Natural Light
One technique I haven’t mentioned yet is creating black backgrounds with natural light. By positioning the model just inside a stable where the light naturally falls off, you can achieve a perfect, natural black background without the need for bulky backdrops. This simple technique can create striking, minimalist images.
The Beauty of Natural Light
One of the greatest advantages of working with natural light is the incredible variety of effects you can achieve, all without needing extra lighting equipment. It allows me to adapt to where ever the horse lands, working with what ever they offer, rather than trying to guide them into a specific position. Plus, there’s no gear getting in the way, so I can move freely and respond to the moment.
In just a couple of hours, I can explore multiple locations, using the light creatively to capture a wide variety of shots. Add a few outfit changes, and you’ll have a beautiful selection of images—all before your horse starts giving you those “I’m bored now” ears, and while you’re still fresh and enjoying the process!
A Touch of Flash
While I love working with natural light, I also occasionally use off-camera flash when I want to have more control over the light, whether that be to improve the ambient light or to create more dramatic lighting effects. Flash offers the ability to add dimension to your shots, for example adding light to draw attention to the bond between horse & rider. It’s a powerful tool for crafting the exact scene you envision, whether you want to play with light and shadow or create soft, flattering illumination. You can see examples of this approach in some of my earlier posts.
I hope this blog gives you a good insight to how I play with lighting during photoshoots. Whether I’m capturing the glowing beauty of golden hour, the soft serenity of overcast skies, or the striking contrast of silhouettes, natural light offers endless possibilities to elevate your equine portraits.
Also, just a quick reminder that I will be attending the upcoming Horsemanship Showcase from the 30th Nov – 1st Dec this year at the Bury Farm.
If you’re attending, please stop by to say hello! I’ll be offering a 20% discount on my standard photoshoot packages if you book during the show. And for a little extra excitement, you’ll have the chance to win a photoshoot—just like 2021’s winner, Aless, and her stunning horse, Storm!
Until next time,
Liz