A Day in the Life of a Horse Show Photographer

I wanted to share this little glimpse into my life as Official show photographer because many people who have attended my Equine Photography Workshops have aspirations of one day  following my career path. And becoming a full time Equine Photographer.

A way of life I can wholeheartedly recommend if you love to work outdoors with horses and their people.

I am also planning a competition in which you can enter to win a day with me

And Be a “Show Photographer for the Day”

OK the day starts bright and early  -

  • We arrive around half an hour before the show starts to check in with the show secretary and get the “Day sheets”  these tell us what is going on in each ring and at what times. They will also indicate whether there will be a break for lunch (very important)
  • Set up a display table  - with samples of work and information
  • Next  - eat a hearty breakfast – this might be the only meal you get, and take a large coffee to go (make sure you have a wide bottomed travel mug that wont tip over on grass) The condition of the available bathrooms will determine how many times you refill your coffee.
  • Apply liberal amounts of sun screen and bug spray – and don a wide brimmed hat.  The hat is very useful to throw in the air to attract a horses attention, just be careful not to spook the horse  - or you might be taking pictures of the North end of a South bound animal.
  • OK now you have to decide where to start  - My objective is to photograph everybody doing something spectacular.  This decision is not as hard as it seems as the set up of the rings and the direction of the sun will pretty much determine where you can start.
  • Introduce your self to the judge in each ring and establish the guide lines as to where they will allow you to shoot from. We do not want to be a distraction to either the judges or the riders.
  • Now we are in place at the side of the ring time to do a few equipment checks and exposure readings to determine what camera settings will work best for the day ( each day is different and the lighting conditions change throughout the day) especially in Alberta it can start out sunny and end up snowing . All of which you have to adjust for to ensure you capture all the action.
  • OK its show time
  • At jumping show I will very often walk the course to establish which jumps are going to be my target jumps and also to learn which direction the riders will be heading once they land.
  • For the next 8 – 10  hours I watch – aim and click
  • Then there are the special awards and Championship photos – these are very important and great care must be taken to pose both the horse and sponsors in a flattering way.
  • And the show is over for the day so I pack up my display and head off home
  • However my work is far from over now I have to download all the images usually around 1400 from an average show ( more if it’s a dressage event)
  • Then I start the process of editing and preparing them for viewing on my web site www.imagineitsold.ca for sale

Its not a very glamerous job I am on my feet all day and very often running from ring to ring.  Or sometimes to get “The Shot” I am sitting in the muck ( this is very often the case at the Rodeo).

However the thrill of capturing all the action and being an integral part of the Show is extremely rewarding . I personally couldn’t think of any other way I would rather spend my days.

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Comment by Linda Finstad on December 17, 2010 at 4:31pm

I shoot with a canon 1D and a 70- 200mm lens ( my favorite horse lens)

Working as the show photographer is a tough job - long hours in all weathers is not for cissies

But I love it and couldnt think of a better way to spend my weekends

Comment by Ashley on December 17, 2010 at 4:24pm

Very cool blog post! As a fellow photographer and equestrian, it's nice to get a glimpse into the life of someone who puts these two passions together! What do you shoot with? :)

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