Equine Elegance on Display

Showcase Your Horses with Stunning Equestrian Studio Portraits 

Eeeek… you can’t contain your excitement. 

How are you going to hold your big surprise until your barn’s annual Christmas Festival? 

Your equestrian holiday festival is truly a unique experience for children and families in your surrounding area to enjoy. You plan the event a year in advance to make sure everything works out smoothly. 

Lunch with Santa. Cookie decorating, ornament making, face painting, wagon rides, and an opportunity to get up close and personal with the horses. 

Each year, your western pleasure riding team and hunter/jumper riding team love to dress up as elves and help serve the families. Teaching the kids about horses is a bonus. Although no riding happens that day, the children connect with the horses. Brushing them and leading them around the arena is enough to bring a big dose of smiles for all.

In your 15th year of holding the event, along with giving back to your community, you also want to thank your riding teams for supporting your barn. And to also recognize their accomplishments as national champions. Your western pleasure and hunter/jumper teams both took home the tricolor ribbon in the spring of this year. Making this the first time BOTH teams came out on top. What an achievement.

Both your teams ride with grit and determination. They are humble. Kind. Selfless. Encourage one another. And HONOR their horses. 20 riders and 20 horses in all. They give back to you and the community at large. 

Since they won their title, you’ve looked for the perfect gift idea to pay tribute to their hard-earned national ranking and thank them for the work they do around the barn. 

Equine Studio Photography — Just What You Are Looking For!

After visiting one of the most prestigious horse farms in St. Johns county for an annual fundraiser, you found the perfect idea. As you meandered through their beautiful barn, you saw equine portraiture you’d never seen before. Horse images that took your breath away. Some of the best equestrian horse photography you had ever seen. Dramatic lighting highlighting the horse’s curves and muscles. Simple, yet so elegant. 

Very different from the standard.

Powerful. Refined. Celebrating the physical details, attitude, and expressions of the horse. Solely focusing on the animal. Capturing subtle nuances and emotions — only an expert in the field of equine photography services could pull off. 

WOW!

Thankfully a small logo was in the corner of each photo.

Yes! You got it! A fantastic idea for your talented teams. Equine studio portraits. One for each rider. To be presented at the Christmas Festival award ceremony. Ensue happy dance!

And, why not use the photos to hang in your barn as well? To show off the beauty and athleticism of the wonderful horses in your program. Win, win. 

Now to get all the horses together and ready for their one on one photoshoot. 

Before the Big Day

You and your professional equine photographer meet before your photo session to discuss the details of the day: 

The best location for the shoot ✔

Background color choices ✔

How much time spent on each horse✔

Making sure the horses are fed before the session✔

Cleaning up the barn aisle✔

Lighting in the area✔

What to expect on the day✔

What you are looking for with your photos✔

There are several background choices available for equine studio portraiture. You can pick a black background portrait or a white background horse portrait. Brown and grey are a choice for backdrops too. But won’t be used in this session. Your equine photographer explains how the different colors produce a moody low- key image or a bright and airy high-key image. She helps you determine what you are looking for and hope to get from the photography session.

Horse studio photography can include the rider. But for these shots, the focus is on the horse. 

Prepping Before Go Time

The riders bath and scrub their horses the night before the shoot thinking they’re getting ready for a sponsored photo session. The teams are used to helping their sponsors market their tack and show attire. Boy, were they in for a surprise. 

Their bridles — clean and oiled

Sparkling white socks. Ears and whiskers clipped. Braided manes, and tails. Beautiful. 

A little bit of show sheen to allow the lights to pop off their shiny coat. 

The photographer suggests having some horse treats, clear or black hoof polish, and a clean towel for each handler to use. 

Showtime

On the day of the shoot, your professional equine photographer sets up her studio in the barn aisle. She organizes her equipment and lighting to create artistic images your riders will fall in love with. 

She helps each rider pose their horses this way and that, working to capture the emotions and eloquent flair from behind the lens. 

The day goes off without a hitch. The horses move through their sessions and put their best hoof forward. 

You and your teams are already amazed and you haven’t even seen the equestrian portraits yet. The barn is bustling with excitement. 

The Presentation

Fast forward to the evening of the Christmas Festival. 

The activities of the day were a complete success. Kids and parents alike enjoyed the many activities. Happy hearts, Big smiles. Memories made. 

At the conclusion of the festival, after all the families leave, you roll out a catered dinner for your teams, your barn staff, and all of their family. A royal feast with all the fixins. Pumpkin pie and fresh whip cream served for dessert. What’s not to love about this night?

But, it gets better. 

Finally, it’s time for the presentation and big reveal. You call all of your riders up to the front of the makeshift dining room in your arena. First, you introduce each of them. Followed by a short video from Nationals. A few bloopers to get everyone laughing. 

With tears in your eyes, you praise your riders for the once in a lifetime achievement of BOTH teams winning the national championship in the same year. Your barn manager and her husband walk the perpetual trophies up to the front and the crowd erupts in applause. 

The team captains give speeches and thank everyone for their support.

You ask the riders, all 20 of them, to line up facing the rest of your guests, and close their eyes. A  team of people carry-in the equine photographs in large satin sacks. 

The riders carefully open their gifts. Revealing the most amazing and luxurious 20X30 portraits printed on beautiful archival paper designed for longevity. Hand-signed by the artist. 

Horse images they have never seen before

Equestrian studio portraits that capture the sheer power and expressive beauty of their beloved and honored steeds. Celebrating life with horses.

Everyone is in awe. 

Gratitude 

Life is full of twists and turns. Highs and lows. Accomplishments and defeats. You must celebrate the wins. You must make an effort to recognize and highlight the wonderful in your life. 

Have a grateful heart.

Exude thankfulness. 

Show gratitude for the good that comes your way. 

Embrace it. Celebrate it. 

Commemorate it with beautiful photography. So you remember. 

Because the lows will return. But, the memories feed your inner strength to push on. 

Are you looking for a horse photographer in Florida? Are you looking for horse photography ideas? Equine photography ideas that are inventive. Distinctive. Artistic… And different than anything you’ve seen before? 

Look no further than Fast Horse Photography. Serving clients in Northeast Florida. 

Artistic expertise in the world of equestrian portrait photography and equine studio photography. 

Be amazed. Contact us today!