I experimented with many backgrounds before settling on this setup, pictured to the right.  Dark colored backgrounds tend to absorb too much light.  Pure white backgrounds are effective, but bland.

I tacked a piece of muslin fabric to the wall with pushpins.  The "pony stand" is made from acrylic boxes covered with a sari I got from Hawaii.  You could use small books for the stand.

The stack of books in the front is a stand for the camera.  A steady camera is essential for crisp, clear photos.

Lighting is also very important!  I usually have two natural light torchiere lamps on or a window open.

Here's the photo after cropping the image in Photoshop.  It's surprising to see how many people don't crop their photos.  It saves on loading time, disk space, and it makes your pictures look more professional.   If you are really short on disk space, there are programs you can use to further compress your images.

  I also added some text.  Be sure to "watermark" all of your pictures with your name to prevent image theft.

Props such as miniature flowers & silk flowers are useful for spicing up your photos.  I've seen some people use candles, feathers, shells, and other props.  Be creative!

Also, this may sound obvious, but make sure your pony is properly groomed before her photo shoot.  Other pony collectors will thank you for this. 

 Tip: if a pony's hair tends to stray, put a dab of water in to smooth it down.  Please don't use hairspray!!