Three Days of Creativity, Learning and Equine Photography

Day One: Slowing Down and Seeing More

We began Tuesday morning at the studio with coffee, introductions, and a discussion about everyone’s goals for the workshop. Before picking up our cameras, we talked through equipment choices, camera settings and how to prepare for the first shoot of the course.

Our first session involved six polo ponies turned loose into a large field. There were no poses, no pressure, and no carefully arranged setups. Instead, we photographed the horses exactly as they were.

We started by capturing the moment the horses were turned out from their stable yard into the field. As they trotted naturally towards fresh grass, delegates practised camera settings designed to capture movement and introduce creative motion blur into their images.

This quickly became one of the group’s favourite exercises.

Once the initial excitement settled, we introduced a challenge. For 10 minutes, everyone was asked to keep their camera to their eye and simply observe the herd. Rather than chasing obvious photographs, we encouraged delegates to work different angles, notice interactions, anticipate moments and photograph the horses simply being horses.

The results were incredible.

By slowing down and looking beyond the obvious, everyone discovered new ways of seeing. It pushed people outside their comfort zones and into a more creative space, producing some truly unique images.

We then invited the horses’ handler, Serena, to spend time naturally interacting with the herd. Without headcollars or direction, she simply enjoyed being with the horses. The connection between handler and horses created some beautiful storytelling moments and some stunning photographs.

For our final exercise of the morning, we collected the polo halters and asked Serena to walk the horses towards the photographers before bringing them together as a group. This gave delegates another opportunity to let go of convention, react to what was unfolding in front of them and create images that felt authentic and full of life.

Back at the studio, a well-earned lunch awaited before we downloaded the morning’s images.

The afternoon was dedicated to editing. We worked through several images from start to finish in a live editing session, discussing workflow, decision-making, and creative choices throughout. Questions flowed all afternoon as delegates gained insight into our complete editing process.

Day Two: Making the Most of One Location

Day two began the same way many good photography days do: with coffee, conversation and a chance to share favourite images from the previous day on the big screen.

Our second shoot took place at a beautiful country home, where a husband and wife welcomed us to photograph them with their two horses. The property featured stunning rose-covered walled gardens and elegant surroundings, but what surprised many delegates was how little ground we actually covered.

We photographed almost entirely from the driveway.

This became one of the most valuable lessons of the workshop.

Rather than constantly moving locations, we demonstrated how a photographer can fully explore one space and create an entire gallery of images by changing perspective, working with light and seeing opportunities others might overlook.

The horses remained relaxed and happy throughout the session, while delegates discovered just how much variety can be achieved without travelling from place to place.

Following lunch and image downloads back at the studio, Hannah led a complete live culling session using images from that morning’s shoot.

This is always one of the most eye-opening parts of our workshops.

Delegates were able to see exactly what had been photographed, which images would make the final selection, which would not and most importantly, why. We also covered time-saving shortcuts, efficient workflows and practical strategies to avoid both overshooting and undershooting during client sessions.

The remainder of the afternoon was dedicated to editing, one-to-one guidance and plenty of questions and discussion.

Day Three: Storytelling at the Farm

Our final morning began once again around the studio table with coffee and conversation before preparing for the last shoot of the workshop.

This time we travelled to a beautiful farm location where we met our model and her 12-year-old chestnut gelding, Dinky.

For this session, we made a conscious decision to focus entirely on natural elements. We wanted to create timeless imagery using very little that was man-made.

After loading into a Defender and exploring the farm, we selected a variety of carefully chosen locations and began shooting.

Over the course of the morning we photographed in long grass fields, beneath magnificent oak trees, along gravel tracks, through natural tree frames, beside traditional saddle stones and against beautiful stone walls.

Every location was chosen to complement the horse-owner relationship and create images that felt authentic, emotional and connected to the landscape around them.

Once again, we returned to the studio for lunch and the final image download of the workshop.

The afternoon was dedicated to critique, analysis and open discussion.

We covered everything from culling and editing to lighting, colour grading, Lightroom workflows, Photoshop techniques and much more. Delegates shared their images, asked questions, and reflected on everything they had learned over the three days.

Until Next Time

What makes these workshops so special isn’t just the photography.

It’s the conversations over coffee. The creative breakthroughs. The moments when someone sees something differently for the first time. The confidence that grows with every shoot. The friendships formed. The laughter shared.

Over three days we watched photographers challenge themselves, try new approaches, step outside their comfort zones and create work they were genuinely proud of.

To our seven wonderful delegates, thank you for trusting us with your learning journey. We loved every minute of it.

There were plenty of laughs, lots of learning and more than a few hugs as everyone headed home.

We can’t wait to do it all again at our next workshop in August.