Mid March I finally began an akward return to social media - not just for my business but personal too. Admittedly it felt akin to the first day back at high school after the summer holidays...

Swithering forever on how to update pricing for 2026, I finally decided to increase my lowest fee sessions LITE & LIVERY (latter being the print option) by £5 & £15 respectively & to exclude P&P. Pragmatically, extra hours of editing can be absorbed at my desk - but with my packaging / tracked postage eating a minimum of £15 per tube, covering P&P is simply no longer sustainable.

Adobe's monthly subscription has recently risen by 25% & my business insurance by around 12%...
so while my beautiful Hahnemühle papers & Canon inks have never paddled at the shallow end of expenses, compromising the quality of my in-house prints is out of the question.

Clients love my giclée, external framers enthuse over quality & if honest, perfecting / calibrating my colour dynamics was such a steep learning curve (glossing over the initial cost of the printer) it's an element that uplifts me *every time*.

...had to read the email that arrived several times to actually absorb I'd been awarded runner-up in the Equine Photographer of the Year category for The Guild of Photographers. As an international submission event with over nine thousand entries, it's fair to say I was over the moon.

Not only does my work again get to grace the pages of the infamous year book (perfectly printed by Loxley Colour) but I'm now proudly displaying my very first "glass" next to my desk. Hopefully it will serve as a reminder to shoo that shadow of imposter syndrome when it undoubtedly rises again!

Both Top Ten images are of the fabulous family pony "Missy" owned by S. Ballantyne, Fife, Scotland.

January is always quiet - festive gifts have been exchanged & we're all watching our pennies. Usually I'll take a few weeks to update my website, sort out my socials & plan model calls / events for the first quarter, however this year I can't seem to get my bahookie into gear - it's hugely frustrating.

Last November I was thrilled that two of my works were shortlisted into the Top Ten (Equine) with The Guild of Photographers, so really didn't have any excuse to feel "flat". Yet, instead of bounding enthusiastically into a new year (of the Fire Horse no less) I found myself ruminating over another long, hard slog stretching far into the soggy distance just to keep the leccie bill paid...

For me, photography is innately connecting with subjects who consider you a stranger. The softening spark in a wary eye or tippy-tail wag that becomes a whole booty shoogle - these responses ignite something in my chest I've never been able to explain. I often struggle once prints are posted - are you pleased? What frame did you choose? Does it look as you'd hoped on your wall? The difference just *one* message of positive feedback can make mid flounder is phenomenal (YKWYA)

The rise of AI - more specifically animations of fake horses across social media is really troubling me. Big company professionals are funnelling audiences with "almost, but not quite" manipulations & the impact is frightening. As thousands flock to follow, platform algorithms punt more of the same into feeds - adversely throttling organic reach of small creatives. Prospective clients simply can't find us.

While well aware of the "digital killed the darkroom" argument & that AI is simply another evolution, I strongly feel 2025 heralded a detrimental shift. Many traditional photographers / artists (myself included) acknowledged the late 90's digital era & retrained - repurposing experienced eyes to utilise our innate understanding of light, composition & colour theory across new, emerging mediums.

Of course there are problems beyond the scope of this auld mare's blog - quite apart from the unsustainable drain on already challenged global resources, we run the risk of losing those trained, experienced eyes in generations to come. Will text-prompts hang framed in galleries one day?...& will anyone venture to view them?

It's been over a decade since I last wrote a "blog" - detailing progression for a uni module & I was hopeless at it. I struggle with dates / numbers (having both dyslexia & dyscalculus) - anything chronological or alphanumerical & my head fills with sherbert... so you'll need to bear with me.

2025 was an exciting year - my first Gold Award (& Image of the Month), first exhibition & first time being OP for Royalty (more on these later). Like many photographers, there was a noticable decline in bookings, certainly due in part to the rise of AI (another blog in the making) but if honest, I've needed to reduce my photoshoots for a long time. Enthused as I remain, I forget I'm a decade older until my knees / back / pick any arthritic body part / reminds me...

Photography is immeasurably fulfilling. I can't think of another profession where the longevity of delight you bring to another is equalled (perhaps with the exception of midwifery, although a photoshoot is undoubtedly cheaper!). Next year will be my tenth owning a camera & my fifth in business - bonkers timing, launching the first day of Covid lockdown *sheesh*.

Acheiving that elusive work / life balance becomes tricky when beyond the demands of business, comes an overwhelming desire to improve. Evenings are swallowed by self development - perpetually striving while trying to silence the ever present "imposter syndrome". Last year was the first I felt my work began to reflect the (enjoyable) effort, but by it's end I was definitely in need of a creative break.