What Is A Painted Background Image?

For me, I consider Painted Backgrounds edits where the background is removed through editing (in Photoshop) and a new painting-style background is added to create Fine Art or a studio effect where there is no studio in real life. For horses, an actual studio with a backdrop is tricky. It is possible, but it is difficult if you do not have the space and requires a lot of equipment that is not realistic to bring to multiple barns. Creating custom backgrounds digitally also allows more flexibility and creativity than using backdrops.

I offer Painted Backgrounds for both portraits and action photos (such as horses as liberty or riding images). There are many styles of Painted Background edits that photographers offer, but I enjoy a colorful style that complements the horse's coat color, may include colors matching their tack, or may be a color that the owner chooses.

How Are They Different From Black Background?

In my opinion, I think they serve different purposes and can fit different aesthetics. I find that Black Background Images can be a very classic and clean way to show off your horse. Because the background is black, your horse will be the only focus of the image by default. I love my Black Background images, but I believe Painted Background images make better wall art for most homes due to covering the space (the fine art print, canvas, etc.) and can be made to match your decor better rather than a large portion of the canvas being black.

Painted Backgrounds for Show Images and Liberty Images

I love to create Fine Art images out of show images and photos of horses at liberty to elevate them and create works of art that can be displayed. Some show venues and barns may not have a great background with other riders in the image or cars or other items in the background that are distracting. Removing the background and creating something custom is one of my favorite ways to highlight each horse individually and offer something most equine photographers do not.

I offer them for all disciplines and they can be done in most types of lighting. Generally having a dirt or sand floor is preferable, as it is easier to blend the ground into the background more naturally. My favorite discipline for Painted Backgrounds is dressage because there are no obstacles in the way and generally larger, more expressive movements make more dynamic images.

I challenged myself recently to do a Painted Background for each of the Rainbow colors to show that any color can work for it and to show that essentially any gait can become a painted background even if not the most "exciting" parts of the movements. While I wouldn't necessarily choose most of these colors for most of these horses (and the client requests win out over my preferences anyway), I thought this project was a good challenge for me to do something I don't typically do since these were not specifically for clients, but for my portfolio.

Painted Backgrounds as Wall Art

Here are a few mockups to show some examples of what Painted Background images can look like on your wall! You can transform your living space and even your barn or office with unique art that is both personal to you and timeless. It can almost look like a painting while including real aspects from the original images, offering a perfect mix of art and reality.