Interview with a Horse Show Photographer

INDUSTRY INSIDER

An Interview With a Horse Show photographer

An area horse show photographer shares what she has learned working at the local shows.

by Christy Chajon, Contributor

Laura Elcock has been a professional horse show photographer in the Kansas City area since 2005. She is a life-long horse lover and has been riding horses since she was five. great, because you can take a picture and then look at it right away to see if it is a good one or not.

How did you get started as a professional horse show photographer?

When I started going to horse shows, I made friends with Maggie VanMeter. Maggie was the photographer for the local shows, and she offered to give me advice and help me get started. She is a very talented photographer and a great friend.equestrian studies

Do you have some tips on how to take a good picture?

When I first started, I would count in time with the horse’s front legs: one, two, one, two. Once you get the beat down you know when to take the picture. You want the horse to have one leg straight on the ground and the other one at the height of its motion.

Fulton, Missouri

What is your favorite thing about be-

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Practice! Go out to the barn and What kind of equipment does some- horse and rider in the ring. You journalism, legal studies, art, pre-vet and a therapeutic focus take pictures. It takes lots of prac- one need to start taking pictures of can see that the horse loves what it  Offers Equestrian General Studies degree tice to get the timing down. Just horses?  is doing. I am keeping a history of Applied instruction in dressage, get a camera and start shooting, so At first, all you really need is a those memories. n hunter/jumper, saddle seat and western you can figure out what you like. basic camera. Digital cameras are  Active exhibitor in open USEF, AQHA and USDF-recognized events ride with us. show with us. grow with us. equestrian studies william woods university Riding Lessons & Camps

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