More than a Thousand Words

Buffalo native, Shelley Paulson, speaks to her success in equine photography

A canopy of trees, swaying ever so graciously in the July breeze, beautifully outlines the drive to the Paulson farm. It’s quiet, save for the sound of birds and the slow bite of tires on gravel, as you approach the homestead.

The silence is quickly interrupted, however, when you gently press the doorbell and the quiet serenity inside is disturbed. There is a series of alerted barks, coming from two lively schnauzers, as you are welcomed into the home by the smiling Shelley Paulson. The two need a few moments to adjust to the intrusion. Upon inspection of the situation and determining that things are indeed safe, Toby almost immediately warms up to you, giving your pant leg an affirming sniff. Charley, however, is hesitant, and retreats under the kitchen table, growling softly in complaint.

“You’re fine, Charley,” Shelley chides the canine less-than-seriously. “He’ll be okay once we settle in.”

 

Shelley Paulson

Sure enough, Charley takes up residence on his plush dog bed shortly after your arrival. He’s cautious, but content all the same. Toby, however, resumes his life, and welcomes you to the loveseat with his head tilted pleasantly to the side in playful curiosity.

You settle in, amidst a simply-decorated room. Painted in pleasant, earthy tones, one’s attention is immediately drawn to the elegant photographs of varying size, tastefully hanging around the room. Framed are a series of magazine covers, portraits, silhouettes, and candid photographs of majestic – and stunning – horses.

The saying that a “picture is worth more than a thousand words” suddenly becomes very real, sitting among Paulson’s gallery of personal and professional accomplishments.

Paulson is an award-winning and globally-recognized equine photographer, and has been actively taking photos since 2004. While horses were always a part of her work, her primary focus was, at first, wedding photography. At the top of her career, Paulson shared that she was regarded as one of the top 50 wedding photographers in the country by an online blogger, Weddzilla.

 She got her start in photography right when cameras were beginning to “go digital,” after spending some time doing graphic design work.

“Digital cameras really appealed to me,” she explained. “When I first started, my photos weren’t great at all, but the instant feedback of seeing my pictures on my camera helped me grow.”

That all changed, quickly. Paulson fell on a concrete floor and suffered a traumatic brain injury in California, which eventually eased her out of the wedding side of her business. Leaving wedding photography led her to focus more on photographing horses and related products.

“I really took a leap by quitting the wedding side of my business,” she said. “Wedding photography is so widespread and is always in such demand. After my injury, it just became too much.”

The rest, as they say, is history. What would  come would change her life, and set her career in a wonderfully successful direction.

 

Wild success

After the accident is when Paulson’s focus in equine photography launched.

Quickly, Paulson’s portrait work took off and garnered her publicity across the nation, opening doors of opportunity for her to travel with some of the leading brands in the business. Paulson has worked with brands such as Nutrena, Farnam, and Absorbine, to name a few. 

Horses have always been a love of Paulson’s, ever since her youth. And taking pictures of them was always a passion and “on the side thing” for her work.

“Every time I picked up a camera, horses were always just something I loved taking pictures of. If I was looking through a viewfinder, it tended to be focused on horses in my own time.”

The online phenomena of social media has really put Paulson’s skill and results in demand, and personal professional photography sessions are perhaps more accessible to everyday people than they ever had been. Before social media was on the horizon, people weren’t sharing photographs of themselves with their horses online – they were hanging them in their homes, thanks to print photography.

Also a large part of Paulson’s work is magazine publishing, where her photographs are regularly featured in equestrian magazines such as Horse Illustrated, Western Horseman, and Horse and Rider.

Then, in 2017, she was contacted by Amherst Media, who wanted to publish her work in book form. That resulted in her “Horses: Portraits and Stories” title, which won first place for “Best Equine Related Non-Fiction Book,” an award given at the Equine Media Awards.

Success on so grand a scale was never something Paulson imagined, though she is thrilled with her achievements. With horses being her passion, and photography a gift and love of hers, Paulson gets to pursue her dream each and every time she gets behind the camera to “go to work.”

 

A dream, fulfilled

 “What I love about this work is the beauty and meaning I am able to capture in the photographs I create,” Paulson shared. “Beauty makes you want to look. Meaning makes you want to remember. Coupled together, it’s the perfect mix for photography.”

Lighting and its use are a major factor for Paulson’s wild success. That, coupled with her innate talent, has led her to quite meaningful portraits that strike a chord with people all over the country and put her at the top of her field, and in high demand.

Paulson’s website shows her belief in the power of pictures in her biography section:  “I believe in creating photographs for horse lovers who are looking for more than just pretty pictures; they want images with depth, emotional impact, and meaning.

Paulson is self-taught – that is, she has no formal education in photography. Though, she has expanded her skill set thanks to mentors, workshops, and hours of dedicated practice. She has a degree in music from the University of Minnesota, of which she planned to use in pursuit of a career in opera.

Shelley Paulson lives in Buffalo, and has been married to her husband, Tracy, for 23 years.

What’s more, she is loving every moment with her schnauzers, cats, and two horses, Maggie Jo and Fritzie, who daily remind her why she not only loves these animals, but also loves her work. 

To view her gallery of work, and purchase her book, please go online and visit her website at www.shelleypaulsonphotography.com.

You can find Paulson on Facebook by searching “Shelley Paulson Photography. ”

Publication: 

The Drummer and The Wright County Journal Press

PO Box 159
108 Central Ave.
Buffalo MN 55313

www.thedrummer.com

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