We were lucky to catch up with ATALYA BOYTNER recently and have shared our conversation below.

ATALYA, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

In equestrian sports photography, more often then not, you will find yourself working on a crew serving someone else’s vision rather than your own. This means dealing with stress, human relations, and juggling ever changing work conditions from moment to moment all at the same time.

Being honest and sincere even in the most difficult of times has been the greatest hallmarks of success I have found so far. It can be really uncomfortable and downright painful sometimes to be told you did something wrong, you misunderstood instructions, you missed the shot, or you chose to shoot something in a way that didn’t serve your leader’s vision. But taking ownership for your actions and receiving the corrections as humbly as possible is sometimes more important than any work you can produce.

No one is perfect and even when we try to treat everyone compassionately and sincerely with the very best of intentions, we mess up. Even when we show up ready to bring our A-game to the field, we stumble and miss. Being honest with yourself and understanding that you might not be in the mental position to get the prime shot can mean you don’t walk away with the moment of the day and that can be tough to step back for someone else to shine. But in carrying that honesty as part of your professionalism, you foster trust in your abilities and limitations. Success follows when you are trusted.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Photography was always a hobby for me but was not something I intended to pursue professionally. In fact, for many years, my goal was to attend the Olympics as an athlete in equestrian sports. But when I realized I wasn’t capable of the sacrifices necessary and that I didn’t have enough talent, it was the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic and there weren’t a lot of job opportunities around for a big career change.

I did a bit of everything: Instacart driver, Airbnb cleaner, and admin worker. I even applied for a couple graduate schools to further my education but was not accepted. There was a point where I really wasn’t sure what the next steps were going to be.

Serendipitously, I met Tina Fitch, another equine sports photographer here in California, who happened to be looking for some crew to assist at a competition she was hired to cover. Having taken a couple of classes in college and completed an internship long ago for another photographer, I offered my limited expertise to the cause. She was gracious and taught me a lot of the important aspects of sport photography before connecting me with other photographers, who connected me with others and so forth.

These days, I work for a variety of different crews in different capacities across North America. I’ve been lucky enough to have attended competitions in Canada and Mexico as well as in the US in different disciplines of equestrian sports. I’ve been able to learn from so many different people about how they work and think about their photographic endeeavors. Some of the work I now do under my own name and some of it I still work for others. But my goal every time I pick up the camera is the same two-fold question: what do I have to do to create photos that capture something of the experience of the place and the moment? How do these photos serve the job I have been given?

Even when I do a portrait session outside of the field of play, I hope when people look at my images, they feel the effort or the emotion of the moment. That this is something the subject cares about deeply and it is worth memorializing in photographs.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Simon Sinek of the Optimism Company and his incredible TED Talk “How great leaders inspire action” is one of my great sources of philosophy in general but specifically also in management and entrepreneurial thought. I don’t often have the opportunity to manage people right now but in the chances I do, I attempt to let his words guide my actions. The saying that resonates with me the most is: “Leadership is not a journey through the ranks. Leadership is a journey to help those around us rise.”

I cannot speak for other parts of the photography industry but in equestrian sports photography, there is often mentality of secrecy and one-upmanship. The idea that someone else’ success somehow equals your failure or impedes your own success is something I wholeheartedly attempt to overthrow in my day to day life and in any interactions with fellow professionals.

To the very best of my abilities, I begin every photoshoot with the words “Photography is the art of collaboration. It’s between you [the subject], the environment, and myself. Let’s work together.” Bringing that mindset into the sports side of it, where the collaboration can be between yourself, the action, and other photographers, will only lift all boats in a rising tide. To be sure, the practice of it is challenging. People are imperfect and we make mistakes, speak without thinking, and even when we speak with the best of intentions, we still can hurt each other or misunderstand. But when we make our success equal to other’s success, there isn’t a way to fail except together.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

It has to be the problem solving in the moments of shooting.

Every day brings new and unique challenges. Some I feel very well prepared for and some blindside me completely as things I never thought I would have to worry about.

How I prepare for a very wet day of shooting versus how I prepare for a very hot day of shooting; what the brief I have been given asks for versus how the field of play is set and where I can get the shot; how to streamline my workflow versus getting the shots I need; how to slow down my thought process when the action is flying past me so I don’t miss.

But most importantly, participating in preservation of some of the history of the sport I enjoy and hopefully help viewers enjoy it too is a problem I love solving.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.atalyaboytner.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atalyaboytnerphotography/