Finding Growth in Your Horse & Rider Photoshoots
Do I consider my photography the best? No.
Do I understand that it is a work in progress? Absolutely!
I critique my own work every single time I get home. I sit down with the images and figure out what I did well and what I need to improve for the next photo shoot. I am always pushing myself to be better, and self critiquing has allowed me to grow within my own style, and find confidence with every photoshoot.
Does that strive to always be better come from a child who never received praise in whatever I gave was never enough? Yes.
Has it helped me as a photographer? Yes.
But I need to balance it out with recognizing what I did well, and also realizing that every photoshoot is going to be different, as well as the individual horse and rider, the landscape, the lighting, the colors, the textures, the camera setting the atmosphere, etc. etc. Even if I photograph the same horse and rider two days in a row, I will never be able to create the same image. Instead of getting frustrated, this actually encourages me to push my creativity and allows me to nitpick and refine every pose and every emotional moment that is encouraged in front of my camera.
So how do I foster self growth?
When I go to a photo shoot, I have a list of goals in mind. I write these down and have these easily available either on my phone or on a written paper. These goals include the following…
Client goals or “must have” images provided when they signed the contract.
New client goals realized since signing the contract, or as we talked prior to the start of the photoshoot.
A realistic goal for myself.
A stretch goal in case the horse and rider are amazing and I can push myself to practice or learn new skills.
With that in mind, I also understand that every horse and rider are going to be different.
For instance, if you have a horse that cannot stop moving, capturing portraits of a horse with a soft expression, snuggled up with the owner may not be a realistic goal.
Or if the rider struggles with listening to direction, it is going to limit the poses, or the ability to refine the poses.
Two things you don’t have control over, but depending on your approach, you may be able to excel and capture photos you are obsessed over!
Here are some ideas for your own realistic goals or stretch goals
(remember to start small, increasing difficulty as you master the previous goals):
Insuring I have a wide angle shot, a full body shot, a head shot, and a detail shot.
Confidently directing and photographing 5 different poses.
Practicing 360˚ Posing to recognize new quality photos from the same pose.
Utilizing 3+ locations with variation throughout the backgrounds (barn, pasture, arena, etc.)
Finding 2+ different lightings (backlit, full sun, silhouette, etc.)
Encouraging different expressions from the rider (happy smile, serious, totally in love with their horse, etc.)
Capturing candid moments where the horse and rider aren’t posed.
Bloopers that will make the client laugh and fall in love with their horse more!
So what will that look like for goals and the resulting images? Here is an example:
Client Goal: “I want to highlight the beauty of the property, and capture memories around the barn and under saddle from our first year in Florida.”
MY Realistic Goal: I want to utilize as much color outside and contrast that with the modern, state of the art architecture of the barn.
MY Stretch Goal: I want to capture a balance of horse & rider portraits, portraits of just the horse, and under saddle photos, in a timely fashion, with quality results (I tend to extend the photoshoot timeline to photograph more images, and then am guilted into editing WAY more photos - because I can’t leave any out!).
MY Stretch Goal: I want to find ways to capture the beauty of the facility and landscaping through creative framing or angles, when using the outdoor arena for under saddle photos.
These were a handful of the resulting photos, shown in the order that we captured them. 👇
Realistic outcome resulted in…
Client goal fulfilled! ✅
My realistic goal fulfilled! ✅
My stretch goal:
Horse & Rider Portraits ✅
Portraits of just the horse ❌ The horse hadn’t settled into the new facility, so we opted to photograph these another day, but I did get a head shot of the horse in the arena working under saddle.
Under saddle photos ✅ /❌ We were restricted to the indoor, so while I capture the photos the client wanted, I wasn’t able to fully meet this goal, as we didn’t use the outdoor.
Photoshoot completed in a timely fashion with quality images. ✅
Bonus opportunities:
Photos of the horse learning Spanish Walk! ✅
Photos of the horse, rider and the rider’s mom! ✅
Silly bloopers of the horse smiling! ✅
An incredibly client experience and open door to come back whenever I had time or wanted to push myself creatively. 💕
What did I do well: This facility was STUNNING and I struggled with focusing on staying on time, while creating quality images. I wanted to photograph everything, everywhere, so this was a struggle for me! I felt like what I was able to capture was more than enough, and the skills I have practiced leading up to this paid off. 💪
What could I have done better? I could have utilized google maps to look at locations on the property I had my heart set on, and asked a head of time, if the horse would be comfortable there, or if they could spend time in that area to ensure the horse was comfortable for the day of the photoshoot. I could have also changed up the horse’s “outfit” and done some images in just his bridle, instead of all images in full tack. That would have provided even more variety in her photos. Her trainer was present, and I could have easily grabbed the trainer and added her into 1-2 of the photos, capturing more of the horse & rider’s memories and their excitement of working with the new trainer. 📝
Client happy ✅ Beautiful photos ✅ New personal growth ✅ Business growth from a good client experience ✅ I call that, a job well done!! (pats my head and eats a piece of chocolate. 😂)
Most importantly…
Always remember to recognize what you did well. Carry that confidence with you, and over time you’ll become an expert at your own style of photography! Now go practice this and HAVE FUN!
Behind the scenes photos from this photoshoot - curtsey of the client’s mom. THANKS MOM!! 💕
