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Chasing the Wild Elegance: Mastering Horse Photography in the Camargue

Everyone has seen those vibrant, expressive photographs of snow-white horses galloping through the sea, spraying golden drops of water into the air. Such scenes are almost always shot in Camargue. If you think you can just head to the south of France, drive along the coast, find a herd of horses, and photograph them, you’re deeply mistaken.

There are indeed many white horses in Camargue—they’re endemic to the region. Fun fact: their foals are born dark and gradually turn white as they age. But wild horses are nearly impossible to encounter, and they don’t naturally enjoy splashing in the sea. To take part in such a shoot, you’ll need to join a dedicated workshop. These are held frequently in summer, but organizing one is far from cheap.

The horses’ owners are typically large Romani families, common in the south of France, where entire festivals celebrate their culture in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. At a pre-arranged time (I usually book about six months in advance), they’ll bring 5–7 horses to the beach. Pray for good weather because the shoot happens an hour before sunset. Over the course of that hour, handlers guide the horses through three main locations: the sea, shallow wetlands for shots with fine splashes from their hooves, and sand. Everything happens very quickly, so you must be prepared.

Tripods are useless here; at most, you might use a monopod if your lens is heavy. I personally use a 100–400mm zoom lens, though I’d prefer a 150–500mm if I had one. You’ll need a camera with fast autofocus, a large memory buffer, and—most importantly—a sensor capable of handling high ISO since it gets dark quickly. I shoot at 1/500 of a second or even faster to capture sharp, motion-free images with crisp splashes.

Part of the shoot involves standing waist-deep in water, while other parts have you lying on the ground—often muddy. I usually just wear swim trunks; in July, the water and earth are warm enough. If you prefer, bring something like a camping mat to lie on. I’ve often heard about the presence of biting insects during these shoots, but I’ve been lucky and haven’t encountered them.

Bring plenty of memory cards, set your camera to its fastest burst mode, and if you’re shooting in backlight, adjust exposure compensation to -2/3 stops. Use shutter priority mode and continuous autofocus. Work exclusively with your zoom, and keep your finger on the shutter button at all times.

Good luck and good light! If you have any questions, feel free to ask—I’ll be happy to help!