I contacted Jon because I saw some of his farm call images. As I explored his website, I found out that his main gig is Saddle Horse Shows from all over the country. I’ve been wanting to have some interviews with show photographers, so I was delighted when Jon was willing to come on the podcast and tell us about his history with horses and his equine photography business.

What makes a great horse show photographer?
How do you learn to run a horse show business?
These are some of the questions that we answered in today’s podcast with Jon McCarthy of Jon McCarthy Photography.
SHOW NOTES:
Website: www.jonmccarthyphoto.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Jon-McCarthy-Photography

John started college as a pre-med major, then discovered horses. Shortly he transferred to William Woods University for an Equine education. It was there that he started to experiment with photography.
Jon got the photography bug in College after getting the horse bug
He had lots of subject available to photography. Then he started shooting some of the lessons, people working with their horses, etc. This started him on the path toward horse show photography.
Learning what was expected from various breeds and disciplines is important
This is also when he was able to learn about various breeds and what was needed and expected for “best images” for the breed or discipline.
He graduated with a degree in equestrian science with the intention of being a trainer. He got a job at a large Morgan operation.

Finding a mentor in the show world
He went to show and introduced himself to the top name in Morgan horse show photography. In talking to him, it became clear that this is the direction that he wanted to go in. He was invited to help out with an upcoming show. He was able to work for him and still to this day he is Jon’s go to person for learning and building his business. His larger shows started coming in from this mentor when he was not available, he would pass them along to Jon.

Jon does about 26 shows a year at this time. Ideal shows are 100 head or more. Shows used to be huge, but now many shows are multi-breed formats. So now there might be 60 head Morgans, 30 Saddlebred, and various other breeds. Reflecting back, his first year he didn’t feel the quality of his images (getting the right shots and timing) was very good. After working with his mentor and shooting at his shows and getting trained and feedback, he improved greatly and was able to get out on his own much better.

He is set up for people to make selections at the shows, but he does not do actual printing at the shows. He does all the printing and culling and post production himself. His trailer has selection stations and he has someone there to help in the process of placing orders while he is out shooting. Between classes, they upload and prepare the images for viewing.
Why does Jon LOVE doing horse show photography?
What makes horse show photography a fun business for you , Jon?  He loves the relationships he develops with people all over the country. He loves traveling across the country and exploring. He gets to see so much of the country because of his business.
He discusses what it takes to make a living at horse show photography. Average prices and purchases are discussed including publications and dealing with deadlines. Recent changes with the popularity of Facebook were discussed along with meeting the needs and desires of his customers. Digital files for ad requests are uploaded directly to the advertising department of the publications in most cases. We are constantly battling the clock to get adjust and upload the images.
SALES