Shooting with the stars
There’s nothing like a great image of horse and rider to inspire us, and those images are all thanks to photographers like Michelle Terlato, writes AMANDA MAC.
For well over a decade, photographer Michelle Terlato has travelled the world, capturing images of the best-known equestrian athletes competing in the sport’s most significant events. Her portfolio includes Chris Burton, Charlotte Fry, Andrew Hoy, Boyd Exell, Shane Rose, Charlotte Dujardin, Hilary Scott, Edwina Tops-Alexander, Kevin McNab … and that’s just scratching the surface.
Michelle’s images, and those like them, touch our hearts – and there’s no doubt about it, we’d be poorer without that glimpse into the inspirational world of top-class equestrian athletes. But how often do we think of the photographers? The professionals behind the camera who bring us the spine-tingling moments we would otherwise never have witnessed. In many ways the job of the equestrian photographer sounds glamorous, and it is – but it is also, Michelle assures me, extremely hard work. “When you’re standing out in the pouring rain or 40º temperatures, and you’ve still got another 30 dressage tests to go, I do sometimes think, why am I not a food photographer?” She’s joking of course – not even for one red hot minute would she change what she does.
Horses have always been a big part of Michelle’s life. The only horse-loving member in her family – “my parents still wouldn’t know one end from the other” – she rode at Pony Club as she was growing up, participating in all the disciplines as well as trail riding through the countryside around her home.
But as much as Michelle loved horses, she also had a deep interest in photography, which she studied at school, learning the basics of the craft with film and in the dark room. After leaving school, she later completed a part-time course which delved deep into photography’s technical aspects.
Marriage followed and for a couple of years her camera was put to one side while she and her husband were busy running their own business. And then their young daughter showed an interest in horses. Michelle bought her a pony and not surprisingly, Pony Club and competitions were back on the agenda. “So I got my camera out and started snapping away,” she says.
But that’s a long way from working as an accredited equestrian photographer covering the sport’s best-known events – and although the road ahead was a long one, Michelle knew by then that this was something she wanted to pursue professionally. “I was lucky,” she recalls, “because early on, I had a contact who worked at an equestrian magazine. She asked me whether I’d be interested in covering a relatively small event for them, and that was the very first time I was given an assignment.”
Intent on honing her skills, in the following months Michelle attended a number of competitions, including the 2012 Melbourne International, where she wandered the cross country course experimenting with different techniques. It was then that she captured a shot (see April’s Behind The Shot) that she knew was special, but didn’t realise how special until it was featured on the event’s 2014 program cover, and was nominated as a finalist in the prestigious FEI World Photo Grand Prix.
Now a professional with many years’ experience covering events such as the Olympics, World Equestrian Games, Hickstead, the Adelaide International, and the Longines Global Champions Tour, amazing as it sounds, Michelle still suffers from imposter syndrome. “Sometimes when I’m with the other professionals, I feel like I’m not really a photographer because they have been doing it for such a long time,” she muses. “I find their work a mix of inspiring and intimidating, and I recognise that I’m always learning.”
For Michelle, one of the things she loves most about her craft is her innate ability to capture the emotional connection between horse and rider. “If you’re covering an event, you need to get the competition shots. But sometimes it’s the little candid moments that are so beautiful,” she explains. “I often think the best things happen behind the scenes, and I’ve learned over the years never to put my camera down, because I might miss something I really wish I’d captured.” Things like young riders kissing and hugging their ponies after completing their dressage tests at a recent competition, or Jessica von Bredow-Werndl bursting into tears when she realised she’d won gold at Versailles.
And they’re the moments that are the pay-off for some serious slog, not to mention financial investment. Getting ready to go overseas to shoot a competition, for example. “It’s not just popping your camera in your suitcase and off you go,” Michelle explains. And why would it be when you’re travelling with two or three camera bodies, and three or four lenses – which, by the way, are valued at many thousands of dollars, a significant outlay that obviously needs to be insured (an additional expense), but still does not guarantee your precious equipment won’t be lost or damaged on the flight, leaving you unable to do the job you came to do.
Then there’s arranging accreditation with the event organisers, which sometimes needs to be locked in many months in advance. “For the Paris Olympics it was two years ahead, so that takes a lot of planning, as well as paying out in advance for travel and accommodation, which for big events can be hard to come by and also very expensive,” she adds.
And let’s not forget the post-production. “Not so glamorous,” Michelle laughs. “You can sometimes spend ten to eleven hours photographing the event, and then you’ve got thousands of images to sort through and edit, a job which is more often than not time sensitive.”
Keeping fit is also critical, Michelle tells me. “I’d actually put that at the top of the list. I work really hard on my fitness. For example, Paris was 13 days back to back. They were long days and it was very hot, with lots of walking and lots of heavy gear to carry. I was probably the fittest I’ve ever been there and it made all the difference.”
Researching the competitions you’re thinking of going to is also important. In return for attending an event, some organisers expect photographers to give them as many as 15 high resolution images for use in future advertising at no charge. “I do feel that’s unfair,” Michelle says. “If you’re providing 10 images for commercial use, that represents thousands of dollars to the photographer. Most photographers are happy to give some images, but usually don’t make thousands of dollars from an event, so giving away that many just isn’t viable.”
Although Michelle no longer has horses of her own, something she misses terribly, she recently started volunteering with the Sunshine Coast Riding for the Disabled, and so gets a weekly equine ‘fix’. And then there’s her work, which keeps her around horses as well as giving her some career highlights, one of which was the Paris Olympics. “The venue itself was absolutely magical, and to meet the cream of sports and equestrian photographers was wonderful and big learning curve.”
Another favourite is Aachen, which, Michelle says, is like a Disneyland for horse lovers. “You’ve got all the disciplines in one venue. I’m very sad that I can’t go back this year, but I’m planning to go in 2026 for the World Equestrian Games.”
Despite some of the difficulties and drawbacks, Michelle is adamant that there’s nothing else she would rather do. “I consider myself so lucky that I get to combine the photography I enjoy, with the animals that I love, and the competition I love to watch. Just to see the connection between horse and human. It warms my heart, I love it.”
