It’s all in a day’s work for an equine portrait photographer... *H&H Plus*

Dale Wesley on his blend of patience and lunacy as he deals with equine divas in his work as a portrait photographer for our four-legged partners...

I started as a portrait photographer doing portraits in the street. Then I set up a small home studio. I really enjoy the interaction with people and showing them in a different way that they are used to seeing themselves.

I fell into photographing horses by accident seven years ago, when I was asked to do a modelling shoot in Newcastle. Afterwards, the mother of the girl I was photographing asked me to photograph their horses. The conditions were perfect but I still felt slightly out of my depth because I hadn’t even stood beside a horse before.

It has taken me a while to get used to working around such powerful animals and I am still slightly wary of them, but I have also learnt how gentle they can be.

This exclusive feature can also be read in Horse & Hound magazine, 25 March 2021 issue

You may also be interested in…

Lights, camera, action — when Super Nova turned supermodel

Go behind the scenes to see how ‘The Horse Photographer’ Matthew Seed created the usual images for Olympia's advertising campaign

A vintage album: H&H readers share some of their oldest photos and fondest memories H&H Plus

Photographic technology may have advanced over the decades, but some of our readers’ oldest photos bring back the fondest memories,

Equestrian photography: how to take the perfect shot, make your hobby into your job, and what happens when it goes wrong…

Whether you’re struggling to get that perfect picture of your beloved horse for Instagram, are looking for an equestrian career

The incredible photos that proved horses become airborne in gallop

A new exhibition of work by photographer Eadweard Muybridge at London gallery Beetles + Huxley, shows the photos that were