Danielle Crawford -- A Touch of Style

A TOUCH OF STYLE

A TOUCH OF ST YLE Danielle Crawford

expo in Michigan and from there, he invited me to groom for him at U.S. Nationals. In 2011, I was introduced to Zac and Lisa Powell of Powell Training Center and spent the year grooming for them at shows. Since then, they introduced me to many of the clients and friends I have to this day. My current Arabian gelding, Bosco Afire (Afire Bey V x Bacharah) lives at their farm.

In 2016, I decided to offer my photography and design services full time, launching Danielle Crawford Productions. I no longer groom at shows, but I do occasionally get to be an exhibitor, or offer braiding services. I am thankful for my experience as a groom, as this has not only introduced me to many new people, but has also given me more grooming skills that I can apply to my photography clients, such as clipping, braiding, and making sure those tails are nice and straight.

Where did you go to school or how did you learn your craft? My mom has always had a passion for photography, and spent days with me as a child, teaching me the basics of photography, such as composition, lighting, and angles, on her film camera. I took photos of my cats and dogs and flowers to enter in the local fair. So, I grew up with the love of visual art. When I was a teenager, my mom invested in a DSLR, which I quickly borrowed to take photos at the local horse shows for fun. I spent summers down at the fairgrounds practicing my timing and angles on all different breeds of horses: Quarter Horses, Paints, Appaloosas, Arabians, Morgans, ponies, etc.

During this time, I had also taken a course at our local college in Graphic Design, and I quickly became interested.

While I attended college to earn my Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, I continued to hone my photography skills. Then one day, fresh out of college, I decided that photography was going to

How long have you been associated with the Arabian horse industry? My mom purchased my first Arabian horse, Sensation Al Lite (Sensation Al Z x CS Firelight) when I was 14 years old. I’ve been hooked ever since!

Have you been involved with various aspects of the Arabian horse industry? And if so, please share your road of travel. The day we picked up my gelding, his previous

owner gave me a giant box full of Arabian Horse Times and World magazines from the 1980s and 1990s. I spent many hours of my childhood studying the horses and trainers.

In fact, I still have all those magazines to this day—my husband has begrudgingly moved them across the country many times! I showed 4-H and local shows with Lite, but always wanted to work with industry professionals.

While I was in college, I met Tommy Garland at a horse

be an art that I pursued. I contacted Brandy Johnson (Phillips), a photographer and graphic designer in Florida. I expressed my desire to learn more about photoshoots and the need for hands-on experience. Although we had never met in person before, she kindly invited my husband and I down to a large photoshoot in Virginia.

After that, she has always allowed me to stay in touch with her when I have photography or design questions.

I photographed clients and designed graphic work part time while I worked full time in the corporate world. I have learned the majority of what I know now through talking to other professionals, taking workshops, reading DIY books, and when all else fails, YouTube. I also study the work of other professionals I admire. I particularly enjoy photography by Brandy Phillips, Stuart Vesty, Howie Schatzberg, and April Visel (with whom I hope to attend one of her workshops in the future).

When it comes to your photography and design, how would describe your sense of style? I believe above all, when someone is looking at one of my images or designs, I want them to feel emotion. In my photography, I like to capture small, personal moments between horses and their humans. Those moments where nobody even realizes that I’m clicking the shutter. But don’t get me wrong, I love the energy of working with a strong, powerful English horse. For my design work, I tend to gravitate towards moody, texture-filled backdrops. I love using bright, vivid colors that complement the subjects as well.

A TOUCH OF STYLE

layout that sticks out in my mind is the U.S. Nationals ad for Rooker Training Stable that was in 3D—how unique and creative!

And I’m particularly inspired by the stallion video completed for PA Kid Khan for the 2016 U.S. Nationals.

Who would you like to design for? I would like to design for anyone who would like to truly push creative boundaries. I enjoy clients who are open-minded enough to realize that sometimes a design can be left for interpretation, and don’t always need to be explained with a page full of text. Most of all, I want to work with clients who understand the importance of communication and flexibility, and want to work with me to achieve a great final product.

When you design an advertising campaign for a client, what is the most important aspect that you take into consideration? I believe the most important aspect of a client’s campaign is their brand. Every client has values that are important to them and their business’s image. Although I personally like to push creative boundaries, not every client is comfortable with that, while other clients love it. So, I really strive to be flexible; you tell me what you are looking for, and we will work as a team to come up with something that we are both happy and proud of.

What has the Arabian horse industry provided for you? As cliché as this may sound, the Arabian horse industry has provided a second family for me. I spend most of my time with other members of the industry talking about Arabian horses. I look forward to seeing friends at horse shows and it always feels like no time has passed since the last time I saw them. I love drinking beers with everyone while we laugh at stories about past horses, or shows, or just general events. Most of all, I truly love meeting new people and learning about their accomplishments, hopes, and dreams.

What design have you done in the Arabian horse industry that you are most proud of? A design that sticks out most to me is one that I completed for Powell Training Center last August for the Region 13 Directory. I love that it is bright and vivid, and full of textures. I think it really stands out with its geometric shapes and is not something you see in a lot of other layouts. I am also proud that I provided some of the photographs that were used in the design, as I strive to be an all-inclusive service provider. However, what really sets this ad apart for me is that this is the first design that I received accolades for from the publisher and my peers.

Do your subjects speak to you? Absolutely! Is that not one of the best aspects of the Arabian horse? They are full of personality, and boy, do some of them like to show off for the camera. Therefore, I do try to translate that emotion into my images and designs.

Where do you get your inspiration from? I’m a very competitive person (just ask my family), so I am constantly striving to put out images and designs that are modern, fresh, and unique. When I see other great images or designs, this fuels me to push myself to keep researching new techniques or ideas. I have a very long list of “dream shoots” that I have waiting for the right horses and models to come along to work with. I am also inspired by music, and have a list of songs that I reserve for stallions or certain sales horse videos.

What is your favorite part of what you do? For me, there are two parts: I love that I get to express myself creatively using a ridiculously beautiful subject that I have been obsessed with since childhood, and that my schedule changes all the time with new adventures. I’m a gypsy at heart, so I love the traveling and new challenges.

Name some of your favorite designs. I really enjoyed the U.S. Nationals ad for Rick Gault Training last year with the image of the American Flag socks and cowboy boots on the cover page. I think that it is fun and goofy, and expresses Rick’s personality. Another

How do you overcome ‘designers-block’? It’s quite difficult to stay fresh and creative, while still utilizing elements that are unique to your design aesthetic. It’s easy to use colors and shapes that you are familiar with, and this leads to your work all looking very similar. I do struggle with not automatically designing in my comfort zone, and to keep pushing the limits of my creativity without losing sight of who I am as a designer. If I find that I am stuck by “designersblock”, I do turn to creative resources in other industries, such as fashion magazines, wedding advertising, other breed magazines, or even sites like Instagram and Pinterest for inspiration. I look for small details or concepts and use those to create designs around.

Often, I’ll start with a design in my mind, and as I continue to work, the design ends up completely changing as it unfurls itself. I think having inspiration outside of the equine industry does help to bring a new perspective to our world.

If all else fails, I will simply take my dog for a walk to get some fresh air, pull weeds around my backyard, or go for a bike ride with my son; anything to just turn off my brain for a while so I can come back to my design work with a fresh set of eyes.

How do you like to spend your time away from work? With my husband, Andrew, and our son, Evan, as well as the rest of our family and friends. I also enjoy riding Bosco, or taking my Boston Terrier for a walk. I love camping, fishing, taking road trips, or just taking a hike through all of Michigan’s beautiful forests. And while this is still technically work, I am in the process of building a photography studio in my home for my 1940s vintage-inspired Pin Up photography, so I enjoy going to estate sales and antique markets to find clothing and props.

What is your perfect day? I thrive off new challenges and projects, so I get bored if I have the same schedule over and over. Therefore, my perfect day varies from day to day. Some days I want to travel the world taking photographs of beautiful horses and people, other days I want to just sit on my couch in a nice soft blanket watching 1940s movies. Other days I want to go camping, and swimming, and enjoy a nice cold beer in front of a campfire. My perfect day, above all else, means that my family, my friends, and my pets, are all happy and healthy.

If you could describe yourself in one word, what would it be?

Passionate. n