5 Reasons To Book A Private Horse Show Photographer

Ontario, Canada

It’s been years since I’ve shown or even ridden a horse for that matter. I used to show competitively in both the hunters and jumpers. Within my 8 years of showing I only ever got about a handful of images of myself riding my mount each year and the majority of those images were of me over fences. If I got any photos of myself around the ring or chilling with peers it was because a friend or parent took it. While I love those images, the quality wasn’t the best. I truly wish that private horse show photographers were around when I was showing because I would have booked them in a heart beat just to have the variety of images illustrating my full show day and not just myself in the ring.

Over the years as an official horse show photographer, I’ve come to learn why horse show photos are so important to my clients. Many love buying their show photos for the memories. Whether it’s to remember that day, that course, a spectacular round or that mount you had, the photos were bought to be able to remember for years to come. Some like to buy images after they had an outstanding round and want to be able to see that milestone and progression in an image, being able to show off that moment with pride. Others enjoy having the images to share on their social media for friends and followers to see. Or to be able to post an image with a sponsored product they have. The biggest reason I find is that you can never have enough photos of your beautiful horse and that is just a fact!

So now the question is, if you can already buy horse show photos why do you need to hire a private horse show photographer? It’s an easy enough answer, official horse show photographers have to focus on capturing everyone’s rounds. Being able to catch candids is what they try to do in between but at some point in the day they are exhausted, tired and just want to sit for that 10 minute drag break then hunt for candids. I can’t blame them, I’ve been there and I’ve done exactly that. As a private horse show photographer my sole job is to follow and capture your day while you are showing. I’m your personal paparazzi and cheer squad while you show. I don’t have to focus on anyone else. I just get to capture you, your horse and the team behind you while you warm up, show and stand around at the ring!

My goal when you book myself as your private horse show photographer is to portray your whole day from start to finish. That includes warm up, waiting around at the ring, talking game plans with your coach, showing and your after ride debrief before heading back to the barn. Your horse show day is so much more than just the 5 minutes of showing and you’ve worked so hard to get there. Why should you only have a few images taken while you were competing and nothing else. You should have every image from your day and be able to have photographs of everyone helping you into the ring. Especially if someone special has come to watch you like a friend or grandparent, that’s when you let me know so I can specifically get images of them with you!

Still not convinced about hiring myself as your private horse show photographer? I’ve put together 5 reasons why that you can read through while you mull over the idea.

1. More Bang for your buck

When hiring myself you get a whole bunch of high quality images available to you. All of those photos are included in the price and you get them in your own private gallery within 4 days of your show date. The amount of savings you get is crazy when compared to if you were purchasing each individual image on its own. You can’t deny that the savings are amazing, making hiring that much more appealing

2. Story Telling Images

Your show day doesn’t just start once you are in the ring, it starts when you are warming up. No one picks up a book and flips to the middle to begin reading the story so why should your show images do the same. Let’s start from the beginning and illustrate your whole day from start to finish, no skimming the beginning and stopping before the end. I want to capture all the moments in between, that involve the team behind you and the support that drives you.

3. More than just a digital File

We all have a tendency these days to save a photo to our phone or computer and that’s the end of that. No more are the days of getting all your images printed and either kept in a box or album (at least that’s what my mum did). Your show photos should be shown off! Whether they are showcased as a print or canvas on the wall, a stack of prints in a memory box or a beautiful photo book of your season. You should be seeing your photos that bring you so much joy which is why all private clients receive a discount off print orders with their package.

4. Creativity and emotion

Gone are the days of getting the consistently generic over fence shots and candids that everyone else gets at every show. By hiring myself as your private horse show photographer you get creative new perspectives to your horse show images. Breathing new life into what horse show photos are. With my focusing being solely on you I have the ability to find new angles and creative perspective to your images, keeping them unique and making sure your images stand out from the crowd. Your photos will also show all the emotions that come with showing.

5. Long-term memories

In the end we are all human and over the years our memories begin to get muddy and fade as we continue on with our lives. It’s hard to remember every little detail from shows past and what those days were like. Being able to have an extensive amount of photos to look back on is what we all need. Being able to see yourself having a good laugh with your favourite groom while they try to calm the nerves they know you are trying to hide. Or even being able to see that moment of pure pride and joy on you and your coaches face as you walk out of the ring after an impeccable round. Those little moments captured as a photograph can bring you right back to that day and relive those memories all over again.

All of the reasons above are why I began offering private clients and why I truly believe to my bones that it’s so important to have. The importance of having these memories can’t truly be explained but I know you all have your own reasons why it is worth it. If you are interested in having myself out as your private horse show photographer please click the link below and get in touch!

Julia Lawrence with Sander | Lifestyle Horse & Rider Session

Pickering, Ontario

I absolutely adore this session of Julia. I’ve known her for a couple years while I helped out on the OCEA circuit doing in-gate for west and central zone. Always the happiest and perkiest person in the morning and I knew it would be a great day in-gating if Julia was there helping me. So it was no surprise how happy I was when I found out she had won the free mini session I had donated to the University of Guelph Vet students to help fund their trip to Africa.

Unfortunately luck was not on our side for the first two dates we had picked. Both days had decided they wanted to rain on us which was disappointing but I guess there was a reasoning behind the madness. The third session date we had chosen turned out to be really something special so all the unfortunate rebooking definitely worked in our favour.

I had been to Pickering Horse Centre many times for OCEA shows and to just go to watch friends show there as well during the summer. So I knew the property pretty well when arriving. Julia’s biggest worry was finding spots to shoot in but I need not worry about that. You can make just about anywhere work with a little bit of angling and perfect lighting. We started by their outdoor arenas, which are lined by beautiful mature trees. It was such a perfect spot to start and Sander was such a cutie pie!

We ended off the night in the massive backfield on property. The sun was setting just behind the tree line, giving this beautiful glow to the images. It was also the perfect spot to capture the beautiful purple pastel skies we were graced with that night. Never would I have imaged such a gorgeous sunset to finish off the night!

Behind The Image | A Dawn Of Feathers

Dosquet, Quebec

A Dawn of Feathers. That name took me two days to create and settle on. I spent both those days bouncing ideas back and forth with my amazing friend Tilda from Sweden. She thankfully was far more helpful than I was for creating a name and between the two of use we came up with A Dawn of Feathers. Dawn referring to the beautiful sunrise when it was taken and the feathers bringing light to the ducks flying away in the image. I honestly couldn’t be happier with the name and all thanks to Tilda for her fabulous help!

The Story

This image was taken back in the Fall of 2017. It was a few months after I had gotten back from an equine photography tour in Poland and I was rearing to take some more fun and creative shots. I partnered up with fellow equine photographer Sabrina Cousineau hailing from Quebec and fellow Polish/Canadian equine photographer Katarzyna OM. We created a fun 5 day photo trip around Quebec photographing a variety of horses.

Our second day of the tour started here at Centre D'attelage Équin-Star owned by Sébastien Boutin and Sophie Moore. They were nice enough to let us stay the night so we could be there right in the morning to capture the sunrise. The weather the night we had arrived had been a massive thunderstorm, so we had doubts if we would even have a beautiful sunrise. That evening however while we slept there was a massive plummet in temperature. That made the clouds clear and for fog to gather around the varies ponds on property creating a picture perfect backdrop.

We woke up early, had the quickest breakfast we could and headed out to start shooting! We walked with our model Justin Time, a KWPN stallion who was full of personality as you are about to see. As we headed to the paddock we could all see just how gorgeous this morning was going to be. The sun was going to rise behind a beautiful tree line dotted with red, orange and yellow trees. The fog had really gathered in the paddock due to the two surrounding ponds and finally we noticed the ducks that had all piled into the paddock we were using. I want to say we were all probably thinking the exact same thing in that moment; Will Justin Time run perfectly towards the ducks, giving us a beautiful once in a lifetime moment? It was truly all up to fate and a little bit of luck on our side for it to happen.

Looking back on the images it almost looks like Justin Time knew what we wanted and methodically moved the ducks into place. He ran past them a few times while getting familiar to the field. Each time he passed he bunched them closer and closer and a few began to leave. Some ducks did stay however, as if they knew something special was about to happen! Our window of opportunity was closing and none of us truly knew if the moment we were all hoping for would happen. Then finally, out of no where, he began trotting to the far end of the field lining himself up to head directly to the ducks. Then he finally picked up a gallop, showing off his power and strength while going through the flock of ducks. Never in my life had I been so focused nor so scared to miss a shot. It was pure magic watching it happen through my viewfinder. I’m sure it was a lot more impressive for Sophie and Sebastian watching from behind us, no camera in their way to enjoy the moment.

It was truly such an amazing moment that I will never forget and I am forever grateful to Sébastien Boutin and Sophie Moore for allowing us to come out and photograph their beautiful horses! Who knew luck would be on our side giving such a beautiful opportunity to capture a once and a lifetime moment

Equipment & Settings

Nikon D810

Nikkor 70-200 2.8 lens

ISO 250

F/3.2

1/2500

200mm

Amanda Ferguson with Niall | Lifestyle Horse & Rider Session

Erin, ON

I was so excited when Amanda booked her session for her and Nialls, as it had been a few years since the two of them had last graced the front of my camera. Amanda gave me a heads up that the property was massive and we’d have so many spots to choose from. Boy I wasn’t ready for just how massive the property actually was. Driving down what had to be a 1km long driveway just gave me a little taste of what was in store for us. We started with her giving me a low down on the entire property and some of the spots she was keen on taking photos in, from there I could honestly go nuts and crazy with the other spots and that I did. We started by trekking all the way to the back of the property and would work our way up to the front. This also gave me a chance to see some possible spots we could use during our trek back to the barn. When we got to the back of the property, probably a good 5 minute walk I may add, I was floored by the beautiful tree lines and stunning grass paddocks. The foliage was endless and I was getting super excited to start shooting.

I absolutely loved this spot we started in, the massive tree line of old trees was stunning and I loved all of the overgrowth underneath it. It was also luckily right by Nialls paddock with all her friends so every once and a while we would get visited by the other horses saying hello and wanting to get in on the session. It was very cute! Next we continued on our walk back to the front of the property and began to pick and choose some other spots. The bugs unfortunately were getting terrible at this point but we continued on while getting eaten alive by mosquitos in some areas.

We finally got to the spot we both wanted to use which was by the pond. Everyone knows that I love shooting close to, with or in water. It just brings such a tranquil, calming element to images and really just adds this picture perfect vibe. I loved this pond because it was lined with trees everywhere and there was some beautiful overgrowth around it as well. Fun fact, a lot of these images around the pond included a boat that I had to remove from the majority of images. Where I had to remove it from though you’ll never know haha.

We spent the final half of the session, after a well needed 5 minute break for Nialls, just jumping between the driveway and a beautiful field filled with vine covered fences. The sun was setting behind that field so it made for a perfect back light setting to finish the session off. The light was just stunning and you’ll see just how stunning. Also scroll to the end to peak the little and big surprise Amanda had waiting for me during her session. She knows how much I love photographing different breeds and foals and she did not disappoint!

Ready for the surprise Amanda had for me? Well here it is! a beautiful Mini foal and a gorgeous Friesian!

Braid Project: The Beginning | Andree-Anne Brunet Photography

Some where in my imagination

As many of you know, I love a beautifully braided horse. There is just something about their perfection, beautifully lining the horses neck, accenting the crest. My eyes just get drawn in and I just have to photograph that moment. Many of you have probably seen me around the show grounds finding beautiful braids on hunters and jumpers in between photographing rounds. I’ve even been known to stop people on their way to and from the ring to capture a picture.

I think this obsession started in the spring of 2016. I was at a May Palgrave. Of course for some crazy reason it was snowing that day because Canadian springs suck! I was talking to a friend who was holding her show mount for the year, Fritz. As you can imagine he had a pristine neck of hunter braids. I just began shooting for fun but then something special happened when I got home. I loaded the photos and noticed how perfect the image was. It honestly looked like something that should be hung as a fine art piece in any equestrians home. The cloudy snowy skies in the background just made this beautiful white on white image and showcased his hunter braids beautifully. From there on out I was addicted and knew this was going to be a new obsession for me. Every year since then I have strived to capture more new and interesting perspectives of braids.

Fritz

Well, queue 2020 and the year from hell. At the beginning of the year there was talk whether or not show season was even going to happen due to the corona virus. This had me worried I wasn’t going to get my yearly fix of braid photos but I wasn’t going to let that happen, thus began my braid project. It was a project I had been wanting to start for a while but just never had the motivation to since I always got to photograph braids all summer. I guess I just need a world pandemic to make it happen haha. My braid project idea however was to take the tradition equestrian hunter and jumper braid and elevate it to a fine art, coffee table book braid image. Glamourizing the beautiful braids I love so much and breathing new life into what you could do with them. I had some crazy ideas and I needed a brilliant braider willing to help and go along with my idea.

That spring I got into contact with local braider Emily, who I knew well from photographing on the “A” circuit the past couple of years. I knew she’d be the best person to ask since she also enjoys getting super creative with her braids for her own horse and for clients horses. Thankfully when I asked, Emily was completely game to join and help with my project. She probably didn’t imagine how farfetched some of my ideas were for 2020 but she took all of them by stride and made my dreams come true! I can’t thank her enough for all the help she has given during this project and I can’t wait to start working on 2021 braid projects with her!

Stay tuned for more parts to this project as I showcase the beautiful braids we captured in 2020!