When you scroll through the equestrian world on Instagram or pick up a glossy event program, chances are you’ve seen the work of Black Grouse Media without even realizing it. The duo behind the lens — James and Maddi Burchell — have carved out a space in commercial equestrian photography and videography, producing everything from high-end promotional films to polished product shoots.

We sat down with James to explore his journey, his proudest moments, and the stories behind his lens.

Starting Out

What’s your name, and what do you do in the equestrian world as a photographer?

My name is James Burchell, and I’m one half of Black Grouse Media, which I run together with my wife, Maddi. We specialize mainly in commercial equestrian photography and videography, working with brands of all sizes, producing content for promotional videos, product photos, and social media content.

How did your journey with equestrian photography begin?

I have always had a passion for photography ever since my Grandad took me to a bird sanctuary and let me use his camera at a young age. My journey into equestrian photography only began when I met my wife some 21 years ago. Maddi owned two beautiful grey PREs and was competing at Dressage in shows across the South East, and asked me if I’d take some photos of her whilst competing.

Maddi bought me my first DSLR camera, which, in hindsight, clearly had an ulterior motive to ensure I upped my dressage photography game!

My first ‘pro’ job was as the official photographer for a local dressage series, which I loved doing, and it was always handy having a professional dressage coach at home to tell me the best shots whilst I learned what a good trot looked like! The rest, as they say, is history, and having spent a lot of time and even more money upgrading my skills and equipment, I still love working with horses and riders.

A Day On The Job

Walk us through a typical day when you’re out on a shoot.

It varies so much depending on whether it’s a commercial shoot or something more personal, and a typical commercial shoot and be so different depending on the level of detail in the brief beforehand. But usually, the first priority on a commercial shoot is coffee, followed by a chat through the plan for the day. I need to understand the brand’s objectives for the shoot, the messages they’re looking to put across with the imager, and importantly, what we’re working with in terms of location and models.

I’ll then usually have a wander around the location, usually in awe at the spectacular places I get to photograph, whilst working out where we’ll be shooting. I need to think about light, whether that's natural light from the sun, how bright it is, what direction it is (no one likes squinting models), or whether artificial light is required for any of the locations.

I’ll have another chat with the brand representatives so we can work out the final plan, and we’ll let everyone know what we’re doing, when, and where, so the models can get ready and horses can be tacked up at the right time.

Then it’s all systems go, we’ll try and stick to the plan as much as possible to keep everything efficient. The brands I’m so lucky to work with usually want to get the most out of the day, so they might have many products to work through, so we need to keep everything as smooth as possible. My game face is definitely a scene of serenity, even if inside it’s a bit different!

Highs & Challenges

What part of your photography makes you feel the proudest?

There have been a few moments in my career where I’ve been immensely proud of what I do, but I’ll single out just two. The first was seeing a promotional film I’d produced for a leading bedding brand being played on the large screen at Bolesworth International Horse Show. I’d spent so long editing it to make it just right, including finding the perfect piece of music to accompany it. I remember sitting on the grass banks watching some jumping when I heard the music come on...

...And I turned around to see my film playing. It was quite a surreal moment, but amazing.

That film was then played at the Longines Global Championship Tour across the world, which was just fantastic.

The other part of my photography that makes me incredibly proud is developing others in their photography journey. We run equestrian photography and videography workshops, and I have been lucky to teach people of all levels of abilities and help them improve their photography in many ways, whether that's sharper photos, better exposure, or nailing a jump shot in one take.

Some of the people who come to our workshops are kind enough to send us photos they have taken since coming to see us, and seeing the improvements they've made is just fantastic.

What’s one challenge you’ve faced in your photography journey, and how did you overcome it?

Imposter syndrome. Definitely.

I went through quite a long period where I thought my photos were frankly rubbish, and it wouldn’t matter how many people told me they were really good, I’d dismiss the compliments out of hand. I pushed through that period by focusing (no pun intended) on the things that I thought let my photos down and worked on my own skills and development to address them. The brilliant thing about that was that when I came out of the other side, I’d really found my own style and was producing images I was really happy with and, more importantly, so were my clients.

There was another moment that really helped me during this period, when I photographed a major show for an International Equestrian publication for the first time. I was standing alongside other professionals who’d clearly been doing it a while (my hair is going the same grey as theirs now), and I thought they’d find me out at any moment. But….they were all really nice and supportive. They could clearly see I was young(ish) and was probably quite inexperienced, but they gave me loads of advice and tips on the day, not to mention lots of compliments on my photo, which were subsequently published in said publication, and I couldn’t have been happier.

Capturing Emotion

What’s the most memorable moment you’ve captured with your camera and a horse?

I had one client, a friend of my wife’s, who was leaving the UK and emigrating to Australia. The saddest part was that he was leaving his horse behind in the UK, and he asked me if I’d go over for a shoot to capture him and his horse one last time.

It was such an emotional day, and I wanted to make sure I produced something really special for him.

We spent hours together photographing all kinds of images, black backgrounds, hacking, dressage, in-hand bits in the field, and some with his husband and dogs. You could really feel the emotion in every shot I took. I remember how happy he was when he saw his photo, and that will always stay with me.

What’s something most people don’t realize about being an equestrian photographer?

It’s harder than it looks! To do it properly is anyway.

Any equestrian photographer who produces quality images is taking hours over planning your shoot, photographing, and then editing your images, and although having good kit helps, it's the person behind the lens that really makes the difference. Learning the timing and angle of shots, working with available light, all take skill.

Lessons & Advice

What advice would you give to someone starting out in equestrian photography?

Invest in learning, not kit…and when you do buy equipment, good lenses are more important than a good camera.

There are so many learning resources out there for photographers these days, including much of it free and online, so the more you can learn, the better.

Work on your technique, work on your editing, and when things go wrong (and they will), spend time working out why and what you need to do to improve. When you get that inevitable imposter syndrome, just power through - remember, they chose you!

How do you keep yourself motivated when shoots or editing days get tough?

I don’t really struggle for motivation during shoots as they’re usually so fast-paced, and I have a really clear plan in my mind of what we’re doing; they whizz by.

But editing…ugh...

In the early days of photographing dressage shows, I’d regularly come back with several thousand photos to edit, and of course, everyone wants them as soon as possible.

After a long day on your feet, either sunburnt or absolutely soaked and freezing cold, the last thing you really want to do is sit in front of the laptop for hours and hours picking images and editing. But I always remember they’re not for me. They’re for people who want memories of their day, and for all I know, it may be the best memory of their horse they’ve ever created, so every image is important in that sense. Also, gin helps.

Inspiration

Who in the equestrian or photography world do you admire or learn from?

The person I really looked up to when starting out was Jon Stroud, who has captured some fantastic moments in his career and still produces some of the best equestrian photos around, in my opinion.

Nowadays, there are some really talented equestrian portrait photographers that blow me away all the time, too many to mention, really!

In the equestrian world, I’d say my wife’s trainer, Carl Hester, is an absolute machine of an equestrian.

His dedication to the sport over such a distinguished and successful career is something to behold and admire, and I’ve been lucky enough to spend a bit of time with Carl whilst he was teaching my wife, as well as getting to do a few shoots at his yard, and he’s just a lovely human being. I think he quite liked the fact that I was totally un-equestrian when we first met, which was probably quite a novelty for him in his world!

If you could change one thing about the industry from a photographer’s perspective, what would it be?

People stealing images, definitely.

I really feel for all the show photographers who go out and stand in the beating sun or pouring rain, taking images for riders, only to find their images all over someone’s social media with the copyright watermark still on. It used to happen to me a lot in the early days. People liked the image enough to share it, but not enough to pay £5 for it, and it was really frustrating. Some show organisers are really hot on it nowadays, but it’s still an issue. 

Moments that stay

What do you hope people remember about your photography shoots?

The laughter, hopefully, oh, and the images! I always try to make our shoots fun and relaxed. I know people can get nervous in front of the camera, and it can be really unnatural for some, so I do my best to reassure people that they look amazing and the photos are going to look amazing.

Getting people to laugh and smile and capturing that moment often produces better images than the staged ones anyway!

What’s one small moment behind the lens that made you smile recently?

I was producing a promotional film for the bedding company I had made earlier, and there was a shot in the film where the model was demonstrating how well the bedding held together out of the bag before kicking it and spreading it all over the stable. For some reason, the model thought the best option would be to kick the bedding straight at the camera…and therefore me.

I was absolutely covered head to toe in shavings, much to the amusement of the model and everyone else there!

The shot was amazing, though, so thanks to the model for that!

From battling imposter syndrome to producing films that play on global stages, James Burchell’s journey with Black Grouse Media is proof that passion, persistence, and a love of horses can carry you far. Whether he’s covered in shavings mid-shoot or mentoring a new photographer through their first jump shot, his work carries both polish and heart.

Want to see more from James and Maddi?