I should’ve known what I was getting into when, the second I removed my lens cap, one of the horses walked right up to me and licked my lens.

But did that stop me? Of course not. I wiped it off and kept shooting like the professional I thought I was.

Let me back up for a second. A few months ago, I thought it would be fun to try equine content. Our youngest daughter rides competitively and I’m at a barn 3-5 days a week. Plus when they find out what I do, they ask me. How hard could it be, right? Take some pretty pictures of horses, make some money, maybe discover a new passion.

Turns out: Horses have opinions about being photographed. Strong opinions.

The lens-licking incident was just the beginning. This same horse became absolutely enamored with me and my camera, which sounds sweet until you realize he kept nudging my arm every time I tried to take a shot. Picture this: me, trying to look professional with my Canon – EOS RP, while a 1,200-pound animal is basically photobombing every single frame.

Then there was the treat situation. I made the rookie mistake of giving a few horses treats early in the day. Apparently, word travels fast in the equine community because suddenly every horse coming out of the ring was trying to shake me down like I was running some kind of carrot cartel.

But here’s where it got really humbling: watching these magnificent animals canter around the ring at 12-15 mph while I’m frantically trying to capture the perfect shot. Do you know how impossible it is to photograph something that big, that fast, and that completely uninterested in your artistic vision?

And yet, I kept trying.

Because that’s what we do as creators, right? We chase the impossible shot. We deal with uncooperative subjects. We adapt when our best equipment meets real-world chaos.

Looking back, those horses taught me more about content creation than I realized:

Lesson #1: Your audience has their own agenda. Just like that treat-obsessed horse, your ideal client might be focused on something completely different than what you’re trying to show them. The trick is figuring out how to work with their interests, not against them.

Lesson #2: Sometimes your best tools can’t fix the fundamental problem. I had professional equipment, perfect lighting, and beautiful subjects. But if your subject won’t cooperate (or keeps licking your lens), all the fancy gear in the world won’t save you. Strategy beats equipment every time.

Lesson #3: The “perfect” shot might not exist. Those horses weren’t going to slow down just because I wanted a magazine-worthy photo. Sometimes you have to capture the energy and authenticity of the moment, even if it’s not technically perfect.

Lesson #4: Relationship building is everything. The horses who got to know me (yes, the lens-licker included) were actually easier to work with once we established trust. Same goes for clients – the ones who feel comfortable with you will give you their best content.

Lesson #5: Know your worth. Photographers don’t make enough money. Period. Whether you’re chasing horses or chasing deadlines, creative work has value, and you need to price accordingly.

Now, when I work with human clients, I remember those horses. When someone’s camera-shy or their content feels stiff, I think about how to make them as comfortable as that curious horse who just wanted to investigate my equipment (even if his investigative method was… unconventional).

The funny thing is, some of my human clients are harder to wrangle than those horses ever were.

And honestly? That says everything you need to know about both horses and humans.

P.S. I still have that Canon – EOS RP and yes, I still clean horse slobber off lenses sometimes. Different kind of shoots these days, but the unpredictability remains exactly the same.