01/04/2023
💡 TUESDAY TIPS 💡
Photographing XC courses!
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As an event photographer, a big decision we have to make whilst covering an event is choosing which jumps to photograph on cross country. After all, with sometimes in excess of 100 horses in each class and leaving the start box every 2 minutes, discovering part way through that your jump isn’t photographing well is a tricky situation to be in!
Ask any competitor and they’ll say they want a photo over the biggest jump! Sometimes we look at a XC course, and there is a ‘stand out fence’; one that’s solid, up to height, visually pleasing, in good light and against a nice backdrop. Often however, it’s not as straight forward as that and these are some of the factors we have to consider;
📸 Lighting 📸
Ideally you want the sun behind you, shining onto the horse and fence to capture them at their best, with a blue sky and good colours. I have on occasion had to break this rule! With some classes running almost all day, the light can change, and if it's jumping well and otherwise makes a good photo, then this is sometimes a compromise we make!
📸 Fence numbering 📸
We always have 3 photographers on XC and it’s usually a good idea, particularly at the lower levels, to have a photographer early on. If there’s a fence on course that is notorious for catching riders out, then it’s a good idea to have one of your photographers before this point to try and capture all of the competitors on course. We are then able to position the other 2 photographers at more challenging points around the course.
📸 Background 📸
I always try to keep the backgrounds clear. Nobody wants a photo on their mantlepiece with a portaloo in the background. Occasionally, fence judges cars are unavoidable but most fence judges are on side and are happy to move to avoid being in the photos. We are absolutely spoilt for backgrounds at Broadway as demonstrated here!
📸 Positioning 📸
Sometimes there are fences we’d just love to photograph but that you p