10 Top Tips on training with Emily

Equine photographer Leslie Bliss has worked and trained with Emily for a few years now. She has kindly written her top 10 tips on how to get the most from training with Emily, as well as her experiences working in the competitive equine photography industry..

‘1. Watch, listen and learn. Emily’s business expertise is what makes her courses special. There are many talented photographers out there, so you need to know how to run a business and market yourself to be in with a chance of becoming a successful professional photographer.

2. Never be afraid of competition. It is a highly competitive market, so use it to your advantage by being inspired and striving to be the best

3. Never give up. I won’t lie to you, this is not an easy journey and there will be many ups and downs, but it’s so worthwhile and the best job in the world. You need determination and staying power. Don’t expect to be successful overnight

4. Practise makes perfect. Photography is a skill and it takes time and effort to develop, excuse the pun.

5. And then you have to keep working at it! Nothing worthwhile is easy.

6. Don’t undersell yourself. This is so easily done. If you sell your images for a pittance it means you don’t value your work. Doing a photo shoot including a USB with all high-resolution JPEGs for £35 not only devalues your work, but also damages the industry as a whole.

7. Having a mentor like Emily and continuously working on improving your photography and business skills makes all the difference. If it hadn’t been for Emily giving me regular kicks up the preverbial, I wouldn’t be where I am now.

8. Make friends with other photographers. It’s a lonely job in many ways, so having a support network of likeminded friends is wonderful and rewarding in so many ways.

9. Don’t expect Emily or your photographer friends to do the work for you. There are some things you need to work out for yourself. You need to put in the hard graft and use your own initiative and talent to make a success of it.

10. Believe in Emily’s words and it will work. Her system has done so for me!’

 

Spencer Wilton, Supernova, Miss Babs (lab) and Lola

Why train with The Training Barn?

One of the Training Barn graduates has kindly written a little blog post about her experiences of working with Emily at the Training Barn. The most important thing in life is to actually enjoy what you do! Read Esther’s story below to see how training with Emily changed her outlook on photography…

‘Two years ago I decided to enrol on a 12 month mentoring programme with Emily Hancock to help me push my equine/pet photography business forward.

I had been a self employed social photographer for 12 years. Previously I found myself busy being commissioned for a varied mixture of commissions ranging from weddings to events! This didn’t leave me much time to photograph what I love to photograph, horses and other animals!  The years went by and I became more and more despondent about my photography business which almost made me give up!

But thankfully two years ago, after a particularly dull day editing a local council job, I picked up the phone and called Emily! I knew it was the right time to specialise in my niche area. Equine and pets.

I’d followed Emily’s career and admired her work and what she had achieved over the years. Joining Emily’s mentoring programme via The Training Barn was the best investment I have ever done for my business. It has elevated my career in a very short period of time. She has given me the tools to succeed and the drive to pursue my photography dreams.

You have to be prepared to work hard though. Its not always plain sailing,  a photography business can come with many challenges but Emily is always there to steer you back on the right path and help you see clearly again.

My mentoring programme was for 12 months  but even now I’m still in touch with Emily if I need advice. She has even developed a community of very talented like minded photographers (who have all been mentored by Emily) across the country who all support each other and are available for a chat through our social media group any time.

Two years on I’m being commissioned for equine and pet photography shoots. I’m working with some top business names in the equestrian industry like John Whitaker International providing commercial photography. Im also working with animal charities and giving back through my photography. My fine art photography has been published in magazines and I am now working on my first art book and forthcoming exhibition called “Wild Hearts”.

I’m truly loving what I do! I would recommend The Training Barn to anyone who has a passion for photography, who is willing to work hard and wants to be trained by one of the best equestrian photographers in the industry.’

-Esther Marie, Esther Marie Photography