It depends entirely on the horse–I like the far front reaching forward personally, as it just opens the horse up a bit. The near fore forward is not my fave–it sort of collapses the energy of the photo and can make a horse look thick/stuck through the poll/neck/shoulder. The outside front reaching opens all of that up.
Getting a good shot in dressage can be quite tough, and once you learn to do it you get into a rhythm and do in fact shoot each stride. Burst mode and it’s overuse is a total joke, and those using it to get good pictures are going to fail (and be giggled at!) 9 times out of ten.
Lets face it. Eventing dressage is boring. There are only so many moments in a test that look decent. Walk? Forget it. Trot? one moment. Canter? One moment.
The upper level tests can have a some decent moments to shoot, but you better be on your game coming down that quarter line with a shoulder in, and your horse better be engaged, or it’s all poop.
If a photographer is accustomed to capturing lower level tests, he shoots the sit phase of the trot without much consideration of the rising trot or tests with sitting trot. All dressage photographers need to know the distinctive movements that identify each test and work to capture those movements. Please tell the photographer your concerns because you are right.
