For almost all equestrian brides there is the magic dream that you can have your own horse at your wedding. It is possible but a lot of consideration should go into whether or not it will be practical and very importantly safe, for you, your horse and your guests. I was lucky and was able [...]
The majority of churches are poorly lit and do not allow the use of external lighting. Light is vital for taking photographs. If we had our own way as photographers, we would only utilise venues and times of the day when the light is ideal, but more often than not we don't have [...]
All photos from Badminton Horse Trials including the four star, Mitsubishi Motors Cup and the prize giving of the BYEH are now edited and available for purchase online. Commercial sponsors and media outlets can download instantly after purchase (download link will be within confirmation email). If though you are looking for multi images for commercial [...]
I’m sitting in my living room pondering the enormous task that still befalls me, to be ready to leave for Badminton on Tuesday morning, and I'm hoping beyond hope that today’s rain is the last to fall and Monday’s forecast is incorrect. My camera equipment is nearly ready other than a few bits I need [...]
I often get ideas for various projects, but don't always that often get to create them in to a lasting reality. A few weeks ago with the help of the team at Harroway stables I was able to bring one of my ideas to life. I have always loved the elegance of side saddle, and [...]
Every creative person whether an artist, author, photographer or otherwise has sources of inspiration. Those sources could be anything and I really do mean anything. Personally I have a collection of sources that I regularly utilise in different ways. Now I will start by saying I don't go out and actively copy other photographers but [...]
I'm often asked about my workflow for editing a photo shoot so let me take you on a whistlestop tour of what I do from taking the photos to delivering the final images. In general I edit photo shoots in the order they take place. The slight exception is weddings which I dip in and [...]
The majority of the time I only aim to take one photo at a time but occasionally I will take a few successive frames which when merged together can make a great sequence. The keys to making a good sequence are to be relatively side on to the fence, so you can record the horse [...]
If you were ever a Scout or Girl Guide the phrase 'be prepared' will be well known to you. Preparedness is vital in becoming a successful photographer in so many ways. Prior to the cross country at Badminton I will walk the course at least once in the preceeding days. It allows me to [...]
Have you wondered how I create the beautiful low key black background portraits? This article will give you a behind the scenes look into how I use powerful portable studio lights that I can use almost anywhere within reason. I personally favour a one light set up as I like the dramatic shadows that can [...]
Photoshop is a very very powerful tool when you know how to use it and can literally make the impossible possible. I utilise it on an almost daily basis but I try and use it to make photos 'cleaner' and try not to use it for things that are unbelievable. Occasionally I will do something [...]
Shutter speed, aperture and ISO are the three fundamental settings when using any DSLR camera. So what are they and how do they work both on their own and together? Firstly we will look at each individually. Shutter speed - This is fairly self explanatory. It is the speed at which your shutter works within [...]
It's Autumn here in England and the oranges are simply divine but sometimes it is worth enhancing the colours to really make an image stand out. BUT and this is a big but, if you are going to do it you need to do it correctly. I have seen an increasing abundance of orange photos [...]
Have you looked at three photographers one charging £50 for a photoshoot, another £150, and another £500 and wondered the difference? Let me try to explain to you, and more importantly how and why that is not their 'hourly' rate. To break it down I'm going to let you know a little bit more about [...]
Last week I took the opportunity to meet up with three fellow equestrian photographers, Rose, Laura & Louise, for an afternoon of idea sharing and education. All four of us are established photographers but have different styles and areas of expertise, so what better than the chance to throw around ideas and see how each [...]
Do you work in a business that needs marketing images? Do you have a project to do for college, university, school or even work? If so the majority will probably have utilised google image search to find a suitable photo to use at some point. There is no denying it, almost everyone has, but the [...]
Horses are naturally wary animals and many are known as being spooky especially at new things. Portable lighting which I use for my studio lit photoshoots are incredibly powerful and do result in a wide range of reactions from horses. From all that I have photographed though only one we decided it was in the [...]
You may think this post is going to be a rant and it is but perhaps not in the way you will expect... 'Everyone thinks they are a photographer' and the truth is everyone is. In the same way that everyone is a cook. Some do it well, some do it badly, and lots are [...]
Now I love to photograph tight crops. The reason? The photograph is (normally) all about the subject and cluttered backgrounds detract, tight crops focus in on that subject and allow you to tell a different photograph. Granted there are times where you want the background as it in itself tells a story but I will [...]
I love love LOVE the golden hour, although actually it's normally not an hour long and there are two of them per day (weather dependant!). As the sun progresses through the sky during the day it starts low to the horizon moves over head until again dropping down to the horizon at sunset. If the [...]
Portrait created utilising my Elinchrom portable lighting system There are so many different forms of photography, even within portrait photography you have everything from newborns, maternity, weddings, family and so on and so forth. Different photographers specialise in different areas, some are jack of all trades some are specialists in one specific area, [...]
When I was going through my photos of the action at Barbury on Sunday I had the sudden strong urge to go almost all black & white for editing. I don't normally put so many black and white images in an event but the backdrop and the competition itself just lending itself to the format. [...]
You may have noticed that when uploading photos to Facebook and other social media platforms that the quality is somewhat horrendous even if you uploaded a high resolution image. There is a simple reason for this, and that is whenever you upload an image unless it meets a very strict criteria, the platform (Facebook, instagram [...]
When I started my photographic journey I was keen to share my photos wherever I could in large numbers, it didn't matter if they weren't as good as they could be I just wanted to reach the largest audience possible, thinking this was the best way to get my name out there and heard especially [...]
Rules are there to be broken on occasion and that is certainly the case with the rules of composition! The 'rules' are great and lead to some fantastic photos but it is ok to bend or even break them on occasion to create something even more special! It is perhaps better to consider them as [...]
