How to Get Ready for an Equine Photography Session
Have you always wanted to book a photography session with your horse but aren't sure where to start or what it entails? Look no further!
It has been a busy Spring for me already, but I have been looking forward to something all year... my photography session with Violet! Violet was in my Save the Date photography session back in April of 2021, and I've been using a few of those photos of us together ever since. However, I always wanted to do a photography session with her. I tried to schedule one for last year, but with my wedding and Violet's splint surgery, it wasn't meant to be.
Full disclosure: I had a professional pet photography business in California before I moved to North Carolina. But, I had never actually participated in an equine photography session. I'm going to share some tips I learned while preparing for my own session.
Booking an Equine Photography Session
Pick a Photographer
The first step to booking an equine photography session is to pick the right photographer for you. There are many equine photographers across the country, and they often travel. The most important thing is to choose a photographer who regularly produces the types of photos you would hope to receive.
Ask any equine photographer, and the first thing they will tell you to do is look at their website or social media. The photos that they post are usually what they believe to be most representative of their work, and most likely the same style of photos you could expect to receive if you booked a photography session with them.
This part of the process is all up to your own personal taste. What style of photos do you like? Bright and airy or dark and moody? Do you like how the horses and models are posed? Are the photos reflective of your own goals for your session?
You will also need to decide if a certain photographer is within your budget. Most photographers at least indicate a minimum cost or range (often referred to as an "investment") on their websites.
These are some questions that I find helpful to ask:
How many photos can I expect to receive from my session?
What session types do you offer and what do they include? Do you have a price list?
Do your sessions include digital images licensed for personal use? How many are included?
What is your bad weather/rescheduling policy?
Do you come to my area? Do you charge a travel fee? How much is it?
How do I book a session? Do I need to pay a deposit? Is it refundable or non-refundable?
Choose a Session Type & Location
Once you've settled on a photographer, you need to decide what type (or types) of session you want to schedule and where you want to schedule it. The most common types of equine photography sessions are black/white background portraiture and horse & rider sessions.
Black (or white) background portraits are fairly self-explanatory sessions. A horse is posed in flattering, artistic poses and photographed in a barn aisle, covered arena, or another similar location. Then, in post-processing, the photographer will edit the photo so that the entire background is black (or white), any distracting details of the environment are edited out, and the horse is cleaned up to look her best. These are very popular because who lives in a spotless, perfect barn?
Horse & rider sessions focus on the relationship between you and your horse. These sessions can be mounted, unmounted, or a combination of both. Often, this is an opportunity for equestrians to dress up and take nice photos with their horses. Depending on your vision, a horse & rider session can be as creative and unique as you can imagine!
The location of equine photography sessions is typically where your horse lives. While most photographers will agree to meet you at a different location, I have found that it is less stressful for everyone—especially your horse!—to have a photography session where your horse lives and is most comfortable. Rest assured, photographers can find beautiful locations for photos in even the least flashy barns.
If you do not own the property where your horse lives, make sure to confirm with the property owner about any guest rules or photography policies prior to booking your session. Occasionally, property owners will have all guests, including photographers, sign liability waivers before being allowed on the property.
Schedule Hair & Makeup
Scheduling with a professional hair & makeup artist is a personal preference of mine because I am not very skilled at doing my own hair and makeup. I find myself much more relaxed on the day of my session if I don't have to worry about doing it myself. And, because the professionals do a much better job, I feel more confident because I am looking my absolute best.
Some photographers offer hair & makeup services included or as an add-on to their photography session packages. If not, you can always ask them for recommendations for local hair & makeup artists. Make sure your hair & makeup artist is available on your desired photography session date before booking, though.
Warning: Barn friends, including people you may have known for years, will not recognize you if you turn up to the barn in full professional hair and makeup. Ask me how I know.
Hire a Groom
Hiring a groom for your horse is also optional but is another preference of mine because it makes the day of the photography session go much more smoothly. As an added bonus, you don't have to worry about getting covered in hair, snot, sweat, dirt, etc. before you have to step in front of the camera yourself. If you're like me, you may also have friends who are better grooms than you anyway!
Many people choose to braid their horses for photography sessions, so if that isn't something you are comfortable with and regularly do, I highly recommend enlisting the services of a professional braider.
Persuade a Friend to Help
While most photographers have an assistant, trust me when I say you will want your own assistant on the day of the photography session. This might have been the element that I appreciated the least as a photographer, especially with horses. For liability reasons, most photographers will not hold your horse for you to change, so if you don't have a helper, you will need to tie your horse or put her in a stall. I find that the constant in and out of ties can add to the stress for a horse, and going into the stall gives her an opportunity to get covered in shavings, hay, etc. It's just easier for a friend to hold her real quick.
Also, you may need help getting dressed. Not all barns are suitable for getting dressed into evening wear with high heels (if that's the type of outfit you choose to wear!). Additionally, not all properties are suitable for walking around in dresses and heels. While you can bring an extra pair of walking shoes, it's much easier to have someone help you safely lead your horse between locations.
Book the Session
Selecting the best date for your photography session depends on a number of different factors:
The look you want to achieve in your photos
The type of weather in your location
Availability of your photographer, hair & makeup artist, groom, braider, friend, barn hours, work schedule, etc.
Different seasons give very different looks to photos. For example, a spring session versus a fall session can look very different in terms of foliage and lighting. Additionally, if you are looking to book for a very specific time, such as fall leaves changing colors or cherry blossoms blooming, be prepared to book far in advance and be more flexible with your session. For example, if you choose to reschedule due to bad weather, there may not be another opportunity during that window for your session.
In general, photographers will begin a session anywhere from 1-3 hours before sunset. During standard time, this will be fairly early in the day, whereas during daylight savings time, this will be later in the evening. This impacts your date choice because of availability, temperature, bugs, etc. You may also need to consider your barn's hours and your own work schedule when selecting a date.
Once the stars have aligned on a session date, confirm with your photographer clearly how you can book that date. It may require a contract, a deposit, full payment, or something else, but always make sure you get your official photography session date in writing as a confirmation.
Preparing for an Equine Photography Session
Woohoo! You've booked your photography session! Now, what's next? (Besides obsessively refreshing your weather app.)
Outfits
If you're going to be in the photos, you need to decide what you are going to wear. This is primarily personal preference. While you should consider amping up your normal look for a photography session, never pick something that does not make you feel confident and beautiful.
First, confirm with your photographer how many outfit changes are included in your photography session. You do not have to use them all if you don't want to! Then, decide if you are going to wear equestrian clothing or something else. Some people choose to wear show-type outfits, whereas others may wear something they would never usually wear to the barn.
Your photographer is a great resource for helping you pick out the right outfit for the style you want to achieve in your photos. You can also look on social media or Pinterest to get inspired by others' outfits. If you're planning to wear heels, make sure to bring at least one pair of comfy shoes you can slip on in between photos in case you need to walk to a far location during your session.
Be sure that you buy your outfits early enough to allow time for tailoring or pressing, if necessary. If it looks wrinkly to your eye, it's going to be magnified in the final photos.
I would also recommend getting a manicure the week of your session. Many of the photos will include your hands, so make sure your nails are free of chipped polish, hang nails, etc. I prefer a neutral shade of polish that enhances your nails without being an unncessary distraction.
Horse Tack
There are no rules about what tack you should put on your horse for your photography session. This really depends on the type of session you are doing and the style you are trying to achieve. Typically, horses usually wear a leather halter or bridle + reins. If you don't want any tack to appear on your horse, she can wear only a neck rope so it can be edited out of the photos later.
Whatever you choose to use, make sure it is clean before your photography session.
Grooming
While you probably have everything you need to groom your horse in your regular grooming tote, I wanted to share a few items that I find very useful for photography sessions:
Absorbine ShowSheen. You really can't have enough for photos!
Absorbine SuperShine Hoof Polish. This hoof polish makes a huge difference for photos. You can get black or clear polish, depending on your horse's natural hoof color.
Absorbine UltraShield EX Insecticide & Repellent. You can use any kind of fly spray, but I particularly like this kind because it does not leave any greasy residue on the coat.
Quic Braid. Even if you're not braiding, a little Quic Braid at the base of the tail, top of the mane, and/or forelock really helps to tame flyaways.
Shapley's Show Touch Up. If your horse has any scars or blemishes, this stuff really works to hide it for photos. It also comes in many different colors to match a variety of coat colors.
Witch Hazel Wipes. These wipes are very effective at cleaning out dirty ears.
As your session date approaches, consider what grooming choices you need to make ahead of time, including:
Coat length
Mane length and bridle path
Tail length
Condition of hooves
I could write an entire blog on just a few elements of grooming, but it's a good thing to keep in mind as you consider how you want your horse to look on session day.
Session Photos
Your photographer should guide you on posing, and you're likely to receive some sort of welcome guide that goes over what to expect during your session. However, if you have specific poses or styles you want to emulate in your own session, make note of those. Ideally, you can send them to your photographer ahead of time, but if not, make sure to let them know at the beginning of your session.
Timeline
You know what they say about plans and horses... However, it's still a good idea to have a day-of plan in place. Here is an example of my day-of photography session timeline:
11:00 – 12:00
[Violet] Training ride
[Haven] Drive to HMUA studio
12:00 – 12:45
[Violet] Break (in stall)
[Haven] Hair & makeup appointment
12:45 – 1:45
[Violet] Groomer arrives and bathes Violet
[Haven] Hair & makeup appointment
1:45 – 3:45
[Violet] Water, dinner, and hay (in stall)
[Haven] Lunch and arrive at barn
3:45 – 4:15
[Violet] Final touch-ups and hoof polish application
4:30+
Session begins
Depending on your horse, you may want to consider riding or lunging her before your photography session. If you aren't actively riding in your session, a tired horse is a good horse. For the most part, all horses need to do in a photography session is stand quietly, so that is often easier if they've had a chance to get some energy out prior to all that standing around.
Be sure to account for downtime for your horse. While they may not be expending a lot of physical effort, the photography session can be a lot for them mentally. Hours without food or water can really stress them, so make sure they have ample opportunity to relax in a quiet place with plenty of hay and fresh water.
If you're planning on using commonly-used areas of your barn, it's courteous to let your barn manager and fellow boarders know when your photography session is scheduled for. Especially if you need exclusive use of an area, make sure you share/ask for permission ahead of time.
Day of the Session
Anything that costs a fair amount of money and is bound to a timeline can cause stress. The worst thing you can do on the day of your photography session is to arrive already stressed. This will affect how you feel, how you look in photos, and most importantly, how your horse feels.
Photography sessions with animals can be unpredictable, and you need to be able to go with the flow. Trust that your photographer knows what she's doing, and you will get many beautiful photos, regardless of how chaotic it may feel in the moment.
With that in mind, I have a few tips for minimizing the stress of your session day:
Bring as many things as you can to the barn ahead of time, especially for your horse. For everything else, put it in your car.
Make a list of each of your outfits, including shoes and accessories. Pack an extra outfit, just in case.
Unless absolutely necessary, do not feed your horse a soaked meal after their bath.
Drink a lot of water. More than you think you need.
Bring snacks. Or find a friend to bring you snacks.
Don't tell your partner how much all of this costs.
Relax and have fun. We are so lucky to share our lives with these amazing animals and even luckier to be able to capture that connection through photos.
I will be sharing the photos from my photography session with Violet soon!