Photographer. Educator.
Horse lover.
About Eliane
Meet Eliane van Schaik
And the woman behind The Equine Photography Method.
For more than 15 years, horses and photography have been at the heart of my work.
Today, I’m bringing everything I’ve learned into The Equine Photography Method to help photographers around the world create better work, find their own style and build something they’re proud of.
What started as a passion grew into a full-time photography business, an education platform for equine photographers and a career that has taken me to incredible horses, clients, events and opportunities.
Before there was a photography business, there was Pentium.
My journey into photography didn’t start with the dream of becoming a professional photographer. It started with my very first horse, Pentium. I simply wanted beautiful photographs of him. While I was still in secondary school, I started saving money for my first camera so I could capture our life together. I had no idea at the time that this one decision would eventually shape such a huge part of my life. Pentium became the reason I picked up a camera and started learning photography. But he taught me so much more than that. Through him, I learned about horses, their behaviour and the responsibility that comes with caring for them. He shaped the way I look at the equestrian world and played an important role in developing my perspective on horse welfare. Pentium has since passed away, but the photographs I have of him have only become more valuable with time. And maybe that’s one of the biggest reasons I still believe so deeply in what we do as equine photographers.
We create beautiful images. We preserve a relationship, a story and memories that one day may become priceless.
Without Pentium, there probably wouldn’t have been an Eliane van Schaik Photography.
And there certainly wouldn’t be The Equine Photography Method as it exists today.
I didn’t start out knowing exactly where photography would take me. Like so many photographers, I started by experimenting. Learning my camera. Making mistakes. Trying different editing styles. Photographing as much as I possibly could. And somewhere along the way, photography became more than something I loved doing. It became my profession.
For more than 15 years, I’ve been photographing horses and the people who love them. I built my own photography business, developed a recognizable style and learned what it really takes to turn creative work into something people are willing to invest in.
But something else happened along the way. I discovered how much I love teaching it, too.
From photographer to educator
Sharing what I know became part of the journey.
As my photography business grew, more and more photographers started asking me how I created my images.
How do you photograph horses?
Which settings do you use?
How do you work with light?
How do you edit your images?
How do you find clients?
How do you turn photography into a real business?
That eventually led me to create my own photography education in the Netherlands.
Over the years, I’ve taught thousands of photographers through online courses, tutorials, workshops and educational content.
And what started as sharing my own way of working became something I became incredibly passionate about: helping other photographers discover what they are capable of creating.
More than 15 years behind the camera.
Along the way, my work has opened doors I could never have imagined when I first picked up my camera.
15+ years
of equine photography experience
Thousands
of photographers taught through courses, workshops and online education
Speaker & educator
at major equestrian and photography events
Guest judge
on the Dutch television photography competition Het Perfecte Plaatje
Published
equine photographer with work created for clients and publications in the equestrian world
Author
of my own equine photography book (sold out)
Founder
of The Equine Photography Method
Creator
of five Lightroom preset collections, four Photoshop action sets and a posing guide
My philosophy
I don’t believe there is one “right” way to be a photographer.
I can teach you the technical foundations and show you how I work. I can explain how I use light, pose horses, edit my photographs and run my business. But the goal isn’t for you to become another version of me.
The goal is for you to become the photographer only you can be.
01
To understand your camera well enough that you stop thinking about every setting.
02
To understand light well enough that you start seeing possibilities everywhere.
03
To understand horses well enough that their wellbeing always comes before the photograph.
04
And to develop the confidence to make creative choices because they feel right to you.
That philosophy is at the heart of everything I teach.
The horse will always come first.
Working with horses has taught me that creating a beautiful photograph is never just about photography. It’s about photography the connection and understanding behaviour, recognizing tension and knowing when a horse needs space. That’s why horse behaviour, body language and wellbeing are an important part of the way I photograph and teach equine photography.
A beautiful image should never have to hide discomfort to become beautiful.
When I’m not behind the camera...
Horses aren’t just part of my work. They’re part of my everyday life. I live in the Dutch countryside with my own little family, with our horses at home, cats and dogs which means my days are often a combination of photography, creating new ideas, family life and being outdoors.
A lot has changed since I first started my photography business. But my love for creating, horses and building something of my own has always stayed.
And now, a new chapter begins.
For years, my photography education was primarily created for Dutch photographers. But somewhere along the way, a bigger vision started growing. What if I could take everything I’ve learned over more than a decade and share it with equine photographers around the world?
Creating ◆
Editing ◆
Building
And that idea became:
The Equine Photography Method.
An international platform where equine photographers can learn, develop their own creative identity and, if they want to, build a business around their passion. I’m only at the beginning of this new chapter. And I’m incredibly excited to see where it takes us.
Ready to start your own journey?
Whether you’re picking up your camera for the first time or you’ve been photographing horses for years, there’s always another level to explore.