Alright, I've decided to end this now. Thanks to everyone who participated, who sent tips, and such things. The photo above was taken after I took all the suggestions into consideration, in case anyone comes back to look and is curious. Those who said my horses were going to jump my fence will be pleased to see the height's been doubled to keep the wild models inside the arena. ;)
Just as a side note to everyone: I've been photo showing since 1991, in that time I've shown in hundreds of shows, and judged hundreds of shows. I've seen just about every set up you can think of. Some of you might have thought I was posting this just to get cheap comments on my photos, but that wasn't the point. I really wanted to prove there's still people out there that wanted realism over non-distracting backdrops. Personally, backdrops don't bother me. I don't judge by them. I don't find them at all distracting, I don't find it harder to focus on the model. I guess it's different for a lot of people though.
Photo showing is a fun thing for me, but the most fun part about it is making a photo that stands out and makes everyone WANT the horse in it, just because the photo is that good. I don't know if anyone else has ever seen a photo like this, but over the years I've seen plenty that have made me run out and have to buy the model, or one like it, just because I fell in love with the way the horse looked in it. That's what I live to recreate, whether it's a realistic photo, or one that's not as realistic.
I have shown horses in front of the flower backdrops to many championships in the past, (though admittedly with a fence and grass footing) as well as the waterfall/dramatic light backdrop. Most horses blended in too much with the fall one, but I did have some success with it when I put a fence and some greenery in front of it. Which is why I was so disturbed once I came into the online showing world and the preference was for blue backdrops. Back when I first started in 1991, the photo show ring wasn't ANYTHING like it is today, you could still plop your horse on cement in front of your yard, or in front of a piece of blue posterboard, or even in knee high out of scale real grass and you'd win, even if your horse was blurry/dark photo/wrong footing/wrong angle.
Then, as the years went by, there was a strong preference for more realistic photos. Photo backdrops were in, in a big way, if you had them and your setup looked reasonable with it, you'd kick some major tail. Which is when I went all out and invested in the ones you see below (they weren't cheap I can tell ya). The flower backdrops are actual prints of paintings. The other two ARE paintings themselves.
But now, the hobby seems to be coming full circle once again. There's a definite split between people who think photo showing is about realism/realistic photos, and they prefer realistic backdrops. Then there's the people who just want to see the horse and they feel the best way to judge the 'horse' is to have nothing that detracts from it.
Which is what I wanted to prove. I wanted to prove there's still people out there like me who want realistic photos, who want their horses to look so REAL that people have a hard time knowing it's a model. I do have photos like that, where people can't tell if the horse is real or fake. I'd begun to lose hope that you all still existed out there, and I'm glad to see you do.
I chose to go with the blue backdrop for now, because it's easiest for me at this time. I'll have to invest in some things to make the others work perfectly, and then I'll try again. :)
It was a really interesting experience to see how many different things everyone judges by. Things I'd never think to judge on were brought up, and it surprises me people actually do judge by these things. Some of them I'd hope only came into consideration because the HORSE was exactly the same, and people don't actually knock down photos for trivial things like some of the things I was told if the horses aren't equal.
The second part of the survey didn't go as well, because most people commented on the fact that the sand didn't match so it ruined the backdrops. My fault, I didn't realize so many people would get distracted by that once I took the fence out. I live in the desert, there's dirt and sand EVERYWHERE, so it wasn't at all strange to me to have my horses standing in it with no fence, but I see the point that it doesn't match some of the backdrops without a fence. I'm absolutely shocked at how many people thought I'd taken the photos indoors. They were shot outside in the shade in the early morning, just like everyone who thought I took them indoors suggested. :)
Would that I could do indoor photos then I wouldn't have to haul 900 models outside hehe.
2nd part of the survey voting results:
(To see the pictures in question scroll down to the bottom)
Votes for Realistic Backdrops:
Total: 8
Preferences:
A - 4, most stating if I could get a light source to match the light coming down in the backdrop it would be better.
B - 2, stating the colors went really nice with the bay horse but the footing was off
C - 1, stating the vibrant colors helped the horse stand out
1 - stated no preference as to which
Votes for plain blue:
10 - at least half stated they voted this because the footing didn't make sense with the others though. Most felt that the other backdrops were too busy, and while the blue isn't as realistic, it didn't detract away from the model.
Votes for neither:
3 - one felt all the backdrops were too distracting, the others stated they didn't like either type but wanted something in between, or a blurred out backdrop.
Several people told me my photo backdrops would work much better if I could move the model out enough to blur them a bit so they didn't detract from the model.
So there you have it, folks. What does it prove? Nothing much except that every judge is looking for something different, so you should go with what your personal preference is and some judges will agree and some won't.
Thanks for looking, and thanks again to everyone who participated.
Tips that were given:
There were so many GREAT tips that people took the time to give me, that I thought I'd pass them along to anyone who might need them. In no particular order:
One person shared that most photo backdrops look like they're going up a steep hill behind the horse. I hadn't thought of that before but once they said that I could see what they meant.
Several people said I needed more light. Everyone pretty much suggested taking the photos outdoors in the shade, but since that's where I was taking them already... ;) I did learn that the light source should be coming from behind your shoulder, so that did help me to change the direction my stuff was sitting in and get a proper light source direction (though I was rather surprised someone would knock down points for light coming the wrong way o.O ) I had my setup facing so the light came from the right before to avoid shadows and glares on the backdrop, but luckily I was able to work it so shadows weren't an issue and the glare only happened on my photo backdrops, the blue was safe.
Most people who weren't too distracted by my flowers said the colors in those backdrops did bring out the horses' colors better, so perhaps if they were blurred it would've been best.
Someone suggested making little scenes/bases to go with the backdrops and that would improve realism and help the horse fit better with the backdrop. A great idea, but since I'm currently broke, not a feasible one, maybe someone else can use it. :)
Some people felt my garden backdrops were unrealistic, because no one would shoot a real horse in front of gardens.
A few people expressed that a plain blue backdrop is not realistic because one can't find a plain blue sky in real life without something in front of it (if you can, we envy you). Others stated real horses are shot in front of plain skys, plain barn walls, and such things so the background doesn't detract from the model. A few people thought that realistic backdrops showed the person was trying harder/caring more about what their photo looked like and they preferred that over someone who just plopped the horse down in front of a plain backdrop with no thought to making a 'scene'.
Several judges stated they'd go with whichever horse had the best 'personality', 'yummiest color', or just had something 'special' that stuck out over the others.
Several people expressed ALARM over the fact that backdrops are even considered in judging, stating the horse should be judged and nothing else.
A few people pointed out my angle was off in the photo of Magnificence, and the poor boy looked like his legs were too short. Apologies to those people, I knew better, but I was in too big of a hurry so the angle suffered. But the general consenses was that one should aim for the 'withers' and not the head to avoid shortleggedness.
The ones disturbed by my footing made sure to make a point that the footing/backdrop/horse all need to be in harmony, if they're not you need to not have anything but the horse. My sand didn't 'fit' without the fence, and I needed a fence to indicate the horse was in an arena if I were going to use any backdrop that didn't have sand in it.
Several people felt the fall backdrop would have been perfect if the footing matched, suggesting more of a cobblestone base to match the rocks in the backdrop instead of the sand.
Someone pointed out that the blue backdrop changes the color of the horse, giving him a blue-ish tint.
Most people felt my flower backdrops were definitely too busy if they weren't blurred, though the colors were nice.
Oh yes, and for the stud spider grouping, most people agreed that the fence was definitely out of scale and it needed to be left off if I couldn't make it bigger (which I did).
Group A - Judged! Thank you, check out the results below.
Photo A Photo B
3 votes - one admitted to liking the other backdrop better 11 votes - most said this was more realistic
Group B: Judged, the judges were asked if they preferred the blue over all the realistic backdrops. The results are posted above.
Photo A Photo B
Photo C Photo D
Photo E
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Also, in a brief plug because people have asked, yes I do run my own online show club now. If you want more information you can ask about it when you email me since that's not the purpose of this page. :)