You love horses.

You love photography.

At some point, those two things collide and you have the brilliant idea:

I should make this a business.

And I get it.

There are few things I enjoy more than creating photographs of horses and the people who love them. Building a business around that has given me opportunities, relationships, and experiences I never could have predicted when I started.

But there's something I wish more aspiring equine photographers understood.

Being good at photographing horses and being good at running an equine photography business are two very different skill sets.

You need both.

Building a successful equine photography business requires photography skills, horse knowledge, safe working practices, a solid business foundation, marketing, pricing, client communication, systems, and ongoing education. You don't have to master all of those things before you start, but you do need to understand that becoming a professional equine photographer means learning much more than how to photograph horses.

Because once people start paying you, you're no longer just photographing horses.

You're running a business.

And that comes with a whole bunch of things nobody mentions while you're happily shopping for lenses.

Loving Horses and Photography Isn't the Whole Job

Photography is obviously important.

You need to understand your camera, light, composition, posing, editing, and all the technical pieces required to consistently create professional work.

But once you start a photography business, you also become the marketing department.

And the sales department.

And customer service.

And accounting.

And scheduling.

And IT.

And occasionally tech support for the client who absolutely cannot figure out where her gallery password went even though it's in the email directly above the sentence asking where her gallery password is.

Welcome to entrepreneurship.

There are contracts to manage, inquiries to answer, expenses to track, galleries to deliver, products to order, websites to maintain, files to back up, and clients to communicate with.

Then there's the actual photography.

The photography is the product.

The business is what allows you to keep creating it.

Learning how to run that business deserves just as much attention as learning how to create beautiful photographs.

Build the Business Foundation First

Starting a photography business isn't just announcing on Facebook that you're officially taking clients.

There are actual business things involved.

I know. Very inconvenient.

What you're required to do will depend on where you live, so learn what's required to legally operate a photography business in your city, county, and state.

That may include registering your business, collecting and remitting applicable sales taxes, obtaining licenses or permits, setting up bookkeeping, and understanding your tax responsibilities.

You also need contracts.

And insurance.

Especially insurance.

We're working around animals that can weigh 1,000 pounds or more and have the ability to go from quietly grazing to THERE IS A PLASTIC BAG AND WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE in approximately half a second.

Things happen.

Talk with qualified legal, tax, and insurance professionals about what your particular business needs rather than copying someone else's contract or assuming your existing insurance covers your photography business.

This isn't the exciting part.

Nobody starts an equine photography business because they've always dreamed of reconciling QuickBooks.

But building the foundation correctly gives you something much more important:

A business you can actually build on.

Learn Horses, Not Just Photography

If you're going to photograph horses professionally, you need to understand horses.

You don't need to be a professional trainer.

But you should understand basic equine behavior and body language. You need to recognize when a horse is uncomfortable, distracted, frightened, or simply reaching the end of his patience.

You need to know where it's safe to stand.

And where it isn't.

You need to understand how your movement, equipment, and assistants may affect the horse you're photographing.

Because safety comes first.

Always.

But horse knowledge affects your photographs, too.

Equestrians notice things non-horse people don't.

They notice ears.

Hooves.

Tack.

Reins.

Leads.

Rider position.

Conformation.

Muscle development.

Mud.

And yes, they will absolutely notice the manure pile you somehow failed to see until you opened the photograph on your computer.

Understanding horses helps you recognize what matters before you press the shutter.

The more you understand your subject, the more intentional you can become with your photography.

Don't Try to Learn Everything Alone

I would not be where I am today without mentors.

I've had several throughout my career, and they've helped me with very different things.

That's important because you don't necessarily need one magical mentor who knows everything there is to know about photography, business, marketing, image competition, lighting, sales, horses, and the meaning of life.

You need the right person for what you're trying to learn.

Sometimes that person may be an equine photographer.

Sometimes they won't be.

I've learned incredibly valuable things from photographers who work in completely different genres because the skill I needed wasn't horse-specific.

Business is business.

Light is light.

Composition is composition.

Teaching is also a skill of its own, so don't choose someone simply because they're successful.

Choose someone who can help you understand why you're doing something, not just tell you what they would do.

I've written an entire article about how to find the right mentor for your equine photography business, because there's a lot more to that decision than finding the person with the biggest social media following.

Your Next Purchase Probably Isn't Another Lens

I love photography gear. Most photographers do.

New lenses are shiny.

Accounting software is not.

Unfortunately, the thing your business needs next isn't always the thing that's the most fun to buy.

Before spending money on another camera body, lens, lighting system, or gadget you discovered at 11:30 p.m. while scrolling through photography videos, stop for a minute and ask:

What can I not do with the gear I already own?

If you can't come up with a good answer, you may not have a gear problem.

If your current equipment genuinely prevents you from consistently creating the work you need to create, then yes, equipment may be the answer.

But sometimes the better investment is education.

Or insurance.

Or a better website.

Or sample artwork.

Or software that saves you five hours every week.

Or mentoring that helps you fix a pricing problem that's costing you thousands of dollars.

Buy equipment because you need what it allows you to do.

Not because buying gear feels suspiciously like making progress.

Those are not always the same thing.

Look Outside Equine Photography for Inspiration

Some of my best photography and business inspiration has come from people who don't photograph horses at all.

That's intentional.

If all we study is equine photography, it's very easy for equine photography to become an echo chamber.

We start seeing the same poses.

The same locations.

The same lighting.

The same marketing.

The same ideas.

Look outside our little corner of the photography world.

Study fashion photographers for styling and posing.

Look at wedding photographers and how they build client experiences.

Study architectural photographers for composition.

Look at commercial photographers and how they approach branding and usage.

Study portrait photographers who are exceptional at selling finished artwork.

Pay attention to advertising.

Movies.

Magazines.

Paintings.

Design.

Then ask yourself:

What can I take from this and interpret through equine photography?

Inspiration doesn't have to come with four legs.

Find Your Photography Community

Photography can be a lonely business.

But it doesn't have to be.

One of the best things I've done throughout my career is become involved with professional photography organizations.

Local, state, and national organizations can all offer different opportunities to learn, compete, volunteer, teach, and build relationships with other photographers.

And no, everyone you meet doesn't need to photograph horses.

Actually, I think there's tremendous value in surrounding yourself with photographers who don't.

They see things differently.

They solve different problems.

They work with different clients.

Some of the most useful conversations I've had about my own business have been with photographers working in completely different genres.

You don't need a room full of people doing exactly what you're doing.

You need people who make you think.

Photograph What You Love...Then Figure Out the Business

There's nothing wrong with building your business around the type of photography you love.

I did.

But loving something doesn't automatically make it a viable business model.

So ask yourself three questions:

• What do I love photographing?

• Who will pay for it?

• What are they buying?

Those answers matter.

Maybe you love photographing barrel racing.

Great.

Does that mean you're building a volume event business selling individual images? Are you creating commercial content for competitors and sponsors? Are you offering portrait sessions to riders?

Those are very different businesses.

Maybe you're fascinated by wild horses.

Wonderful.

Who is your customer?

Collectors? Publications? Conservation organizations? Workshop participants?

You need to connect what you love creating with someone who values it enough to pay for it.

Otherwise, you may have a wonderful passion.

You just don't necessarily have a business yet.

And there's nothing wrong with that, either.

Not everything we love has to become a revenue stream.

Build Simple Systems Before You Think You Need Them

When you have three clients, it's pretty easy to remember what's happening with each one.

When you have thirty?

Not so much.

Start creating repeatable systems before your business becomes complicated enough to force you into it.

• Where do inquiries go?

• What happens after someone books?

• When do clients receive preparation information?

• Where are your contracts?

• How are you tracking payments?

• How are images backed up?

• How do you know which clients are waiting for artwork?

• What happens after an order arrives?

Your systems don't need to be elaborate.

You don't need seventeen automations, twelve pieces of software, and a dashboard that looks like you're preparing to launch a spacecraft.

You just need a reliable way to make sure things happen when they're supposed to happen.

Because storing your entire business in your brain works beautifully.

Right up until it doesn't.

If this part of your business currently lives mostly in your head, start with systems and workflows for photographers.

Keep Learning

Your education doesn't end when you know how to use your camera.

Actually, that's when things start getting interesting.

Study lighting.

Business.

Marketing.

Sales.

Communication.

Color.

Composition.

Printing.

Technology.

AI.

Image competition.

Study things you already do well and things you absolutely do not.

Take classes. Attend workshops. Join professional organizations. Find mentors. Enter competitions. Ask questions.

And then actually use what you learn.

Collecting education can become its own form of procrastination.

At some point, you have to stop taking notes and try the thing.

That's usually where the real learning starts.

Remember: Continuing photography education doesn't just make you a better photographer. It can make you a better business owner too.

You Don't Have to Know Everything Before You Start

If you've made it this far and are now thinking you need to master horses, photography, marketing, accounting, sales, legal contracts, customer service, technology, and seventeen other things before you're allowed to charge someone for a photograph...

You don't.

Nobody starts knowing all of this.

I certainly didn't.

You learn.

You make mistakes.

You fix things.

You discover that something you were absolutely certain would work does not, in fact, work.

Then you learn some more.

The goal isn't to have the perfect photography business from day one.

It's to take what you're building seriously enough to keep getting better at it.

Learn your craft.

Learn your subject.

Learn the business.

Find people who can help you.

Build systems as you grow.

And don't forget why you wanted to photograph horses in the first place.

Because when you combine the thing you love with the knowledge required to build a real business around it?

That's when things start getting interesting.

Frequently Asked Questions About Becoming an Equine Photographer

Do I need to own horses to become an equine photographer?

No. You don't have to own a horse to become an equine photographer, but you do need to understand horses well enough to work around them safely and confidently.

Learn basic equine behavior, body language, handling, tack, terminology, and safety. You should also understand what matters visually to horse owners.

If you don't already have that knowledge, spend time learning it before you start putting yourself, your clients, and their horses into photography situations you're not prepared to handle.

What skills does an equine photographer need?

An equine photographer needs strong photography skills, but that's only part of the job.

You also need an understanding of horses and equine safety, communication skills, organization, marketing, sales, client service, basic financial knowledge, and the ability to run the day-to-day pieces of a business.

You don't need to become an expert in all of those things overnight.

You do need to be willing to learn them.

Do I need expensive camera equipment to start an equine photography business?

Not necessarily.

You need equipment capable of consistently producing professional-quality work for the type of equine photography you're selling. Beyond that, more expensive equipment isn't automatically better for your business.

Before buying another piece of gear, ask what your current equipment is preventing you from doing.

Sometimes the answer really is a new lens or camera.

Sometimes your money would be much better spent somewhere else.

How do equine photographers make money?

There isn't one equine photography business model.

Equine photographers may earn income through horse-and-rider portrait sessions, equestrian senior photography, horse show and event photography, commercial and branding photography, fine-art sales, stock or editorial work, workshops, or other specialized services.

The important part is understanding who your customer is, what you're selling, and why that customer values it enough to buy it.

Loving a particular type of equine photography is a great place to start.

Building a business model around it is the next step.

Do equine photographers need business insurance?

If you're operating an equine photography business, insurance is something you should take seriously.

Photography businesses can face risks involving equipment, clients, locations, employees or assistants, and liability. Working around horses introduces additional considerations because you're working around large animals whose behavior isn't always predictable.

The type and amount of coverage you need will depend on your business, location, services, and circumstances. Talk with a qualified insurance professional who can help you determine what coverage makes sense for your specific business.