Today we’d like to introduce you to Devan Marie.
Hi Devan, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My mother is a horsewoman. While growing up, my sister and I were homeschooled, and we would take trips from Long Island, NY, to Hilltop Farm in Maryland with our horses to take lessons. At the time, digital cameras were the cool new thing, the little silver ones that could make the telescoping lens. I would sit by the side of the ring, watching my mom ride and snapping away with my little box camera. I took a photography class each year in high school, working in a dark room with a black and white film. I didn’t always agree with my teacher and would get points off when I kept “imperfections” in my shots instead of removing them with a technique like she wanted. I always like the imperfections. They gave backstories to my pictures or made them unique. My mom bought me my first digital camera, a Nikon with multiple lenses during this time.
In the winter of 2015 – 20016, I worked the winter horse show season in Wellington, Florida. I took pictures of our horses constantly and at every horse show. It didn’t matter what riding discipline I worked on, learning the correct timing for them all. When I was caught up on work, I would sit by the ring and take pictures of everyone in the barn, like when we all went to shows. I would do basic editing on them and give them to the riders to enjoy. I noticed that my pictures began to be many riders’ social media pictures, and some even began to use them on their websites. One young rider’s mother came down and thanked me for taking pictures of her daughter at the last show and said my pictures were just as nice or even nicer than any other professional show photographer’s picture they had purchased. That was when I decided to watermark my pictures. I wasn’t selling them, but if they were being used, I would be attached to them and receive credit.
In 2018 I moved to the Carolinas, restarted my life, became a nurse, wife, and now recently a Mother to the most beautiful baby boy. My mother has a horse training barn and began selling horses. Her clients had seen my pictures of her and asked if it would do the pictures. I have always taken her pictures, but now that I have a busier life, know the timing of equine movement, and have the skills to edit pictures, I have started making a small side business of my pictures. I still mostly take Equine pictures as that is my passion subject. But I love shooting dogs, nature, and candid people. I also do portraits, but I love the emotions you catch in candids. My pictures have been posted across social media throughout the equine industry, used for organizations like the United States Dressage Federation, and used by numerous professionals for business promotion. While this is all amazing/ humbling, my favorite is still taking pictures for the owner’s enjoyment so they can have that moment to look at their special animal. Getting that one candid shot that they didn’t realize you were snapping that shows their love for their animal and sport is priceless.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Well, life isn’t smooth. For the most part, since I had other primary sources of income, my photography has been a smooth road. I never pressured it, so it developed naturally and when I was ready. Bumps that have come are things like learning to be confident enough in the value of my time and work that I know is worth charging for. Learning new techniques and equipment can be frustrating. You have this grand idea of what the images will be, and sometimes it only comes to fruition once you learn how to use that new equipment.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. What can you tell our readers who might need to be more familiar with what you do?
I specialize in equine images; I especially take movement images of Dressage horses. Dressage is like a choreographed dance between horse and rider. I am a United States Dressage Federation (USDF) Bronze medalist; this helped take my pictures to another level. Knowing the sport helps you take pictures of it since the sport is all about timing and the horse’s footfalls. Next, you look at the muscles of the horse and rider for relaxation and unity in the pair. Being involved personally in these animals from birth to competition gives me a unique understanding of photographing them.
What matters most to you? Why?
Passion is most important, both in life and in my pictures. I take pictures because I get joy out of it. I would stop doing it if I no longer got fulfillment out of it. Also, in my pictures, lighting, timing, and background are important, but for me, what sets an image apart and makes it one I keep looking at is the emotion behind it. Can you feel that intense moment of that horse and rider making a hard move, the release when they do their final salute and the test is over, the excitement of a new foal running in the field with their mother, or the content of an owner looking at the best friend? If an image doesn’t evoke an emotion, it misses the mark.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @devanmariephotograhy
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/devanmariephotos
Image Credits
Pictures taken by Devan Davis of Devan Marie Photography
