What It’s Really Like… To Be A Photographer

Martina Regan is one of Ireland's leading photographers and established her new business, The Equine Photographer, last year. In addition to her press and commercial work, Martina takes fine art portraits of horses and was commissioned by Barack Obama's cousin Henry Healy to shoot a portrait of Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Lord Windermere and jockey Davy Russell. The beautiful image was then presented to the US President at the White House on St Patrick's Day. Martina spoke to us about eschewing a high-flying career in New York to follow her passion for photography in the West of Ireland...

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Tell us a little about what you do… I am a commercial photographer based in Galway, specialising in press/PR and corporate photography. In the past year, I have also ventured into equine photography, which is fine art equine portraiture aimed at people who love their horses and would like to have that relationship captured. The Equine Photographer.ie is very much a personal passion for me and they are shoots that I love being a part of. Whether they take one hour or all day, I’m simply happy to be there. I feel very lucky to have a job I love getting up for every morning. How did you get to your current position? I lived between New York and Silicon Valley for almost ten years working in the corporate industry in various jobs in marketing and publishing and eventually, executive recruiting. With a yearning to do a more creative job and having an avid passion for photography, I decided to return home to Ireland and pursue a career in that field. Giving myself two years to see results (before I would pack my bags and return to New York), I slowly began to build the business to what it is today. What is your typical working day? My days, thankfully, are never the same. Depending on bookings, I may have a job on location at 9am and the last job that same day at 8pm.  At the beginning of the week, I pencil in the times I have between bookings and post-production for administrative work and other ‘in house’ jobs that need to be covered every week. I am fortunate that I can be flexible with my life and no one day is ever the same – days off are varied every week and my schedule is my own to work with. Why did you choose your current career? I love the idea that I can capture people, places and moments that are forever a part of life. My photography has indulged my own creative side and opened up so many opportunities in my world. What are the biggest challenges you face in your career? Doing the books! What are the most rewarding aspects? When the books get done! But more importantly, being self employed makes me responsible entirely to myself for my own success. Could you ever see your work taking you away from Ireland? Absolutely, but not permanently. I have had shoots in the US and Europe. Ultimately my goal is to take the equine photography to the US and the Middle East. What is the best piece of advice that you’ve been given? My dad’s favourite saying, which has always stuck with me is, “It’s nice to be important, but it’s important to be nice.” So, essentially treating everybody equally, as I would like to be treated. What has been the one ‘pinch me’ moment of your career so far? A presentation of one of my equine portraits to President Barack Obama on St Patricks Day 2015 in the White House. I’m still pinching myself. What do you think is the biggest misconception about what you do? I think sometimes, because photography is so widely available now with phones and apps like Instagram, where filters are the norm, people feel that you can just take a photo and that’s all folks! It’s not that simple in the professional world. After a commission, photos are downloaded, named, corrected, titled, uploaded and shared. As photographers, we understand composition, lighting and very importantly, posing. All of these are essential and cohesive in making an excellent photograph, rather than a ‘good’ photo. What is the biggest mistake that you think people in your chosen sector make? I can’t talk to what mistakes other people have made in photography – everybody’s business is different. But for myself, the mistake I made was not making myself understand the accountancy side of the business from an earlier point in my career. However, I have learned well from that. Describe what you want to achieve in your career with one sentence. World peace… just joking! Bring TheEquinePhotographer.ie to the Middle East… and world peace:) To find out more about Martina's work, see www.theequinephotographer.ie or find @MartinaRPhotos on Twitter.