The Work Of Jon Stroud, Equestrian Photographer

Image © Jon Stroud

Jon Stroud photographs everything from show jumping to dressage and his name is synonymous with quality photos in the equestrian industry. 

Jon says he is a specialist at working with horses, knowing how best to photograph them, work around them and get the best out of the riders. He uses the D4s and D810 as his main cameras. 

He says people can sometimes get bogged down by the 'rules' of photography and forget to be creative with their craft. 

"The worst thing is having meetings with the picture desk when they insist they only want action shots with the horizontals horizontal and the verticals vertical. Yet there are so many other ways of doing it, and changing angles can add a whole new dynamic – otherwise all the pictures end up looking the same. I think it's very important that you photograph in your own way – I don't think you should be bullied away from that by picture desks or clients.", he says.

Jon started off with a fully manual DSLR kit and has been a Nikon man for 27 years. "I've got a D4S and D4, and I use my old D3 as a remote in competitions – it's certainly seeing out its days. It's great underneath jumps; I fire it with a Pocket Wizard so I can capture the horse going over the top of the jump. I also have the D800, which I got originally for editorial but I now use more and more for shooting the competitive side of things, and the D810 takes this one step further. The rendition of the detail is quite mind-blowing.", Jon enthuses. 

"My lenses include the 400mm f/2.8, the 70-200mm f/2.8, the 24-70mm f/2.8 – a great all-rounder – and the 14mm f/2.8, which has beautiful perspective. I use it a lot for my remote shots under jumps. I do love the 16mm fisheye too, which I've used on loan a few times. I borrow the 200mm f/2 quite regularly – it's at the top of my lens shopping list – and I'm also very keen to buy the 300mm f/4."

Find out more about Jon and his work on the Nikon In Frame website.