Vanessa Taylor photographing on horseback

About

I am a photographer with a life long passion for horses. I have been lucky enough to use the medium of photography to capture their beauty, spirit and human connection. Always remembering that “No time spent with horses is ever wasted”. I aim to blend authentic artistry with images that are good for the soul and that I also want on my walls.

Having trained in film in the 80’s and 90’s I have always loved the excitement of the analogue process. As Steven Spielberg famously said, film photography is a chemical miracle as you never quite know what will happen when the film takes a bath and the negative is revealed. The grain adds a three dimensional quality that feels alive, even a flower can seem to breathe.

This has lead me back to working with film, my sort of guilty pleasure of photographing flowers, one I hope you enjoy with me on my new adventure, especially the double exposures which definitely make you look more than once.

Vanessa Taylor with prints on show at The Old Bakery, Portobello RoadVanessa Taylor beside a wall of her framed equine prints at an art fairPhotographers and crowd on the track in Siena before the Palio

Testimonials

Vanessa has been my go to Equine photographer since my polo passion began, she has captured all the highs and lows over the last 25 years and as a result I have a stunning array of portraits of my beautiful polo ponies as well as a record of all the seasons between then and now. She has a unique ability to capture the blood sweat and tears of the sport as well as the individual personality of each horse. Vanessa also worked tirelessly with my different sponsors over the years making sure they had everything they needed for the brand, from Jaeger-leCoultre to Gallagher.

The Marchioness of Milford Haven

Thank goodness I came across Vanessa when I did — we were half way through creating a coffee table book for future generations entitled “Heaselands: a year in the life of a garden” when my photographer had sudden urgent family matters to attend to, thereby leaving me with an unfinished and unbound “coffee table minus a book”! Not a great look. Vanessa swiftly advised me as to the book layout and feel, together with all other aspects of production, timing, and cost. In addition she had to step in to the incumbent photographer's shoes and finish off the actual photography in the existing photographic style — no easy feat. Most importantly she came up with an utterly stylish and appropriate finished product. Vanessa was so easy to work with and she delivered a wonderful book which I firmly believe is a great present for future Kleinwort generations.

Sir Richard Kleinwort, Bt.

Vanessa Taylor's contribution as the Picture Editor of Cowdray Park Polo Club's coffee table book The Centenary, produced in collaboration with Lady Clare Milford Haven, is an outstanding testament of her professionalism. Vanessa was responsible for editing thousands of photographs spanning the first 100 years of the Club and many of her own photographs appear in this stunning publication.

Lt Col Paddy Bangham, Manager, Cowdray Park Polo Club

Thank you so much for our “Bourdil Blanc” album! You did a fantastic job of compiling our motley collection of rather amateurish photos into a wonderfully vibrant book that truly captured the spirit of our week together as a family. I know we shall all, and in particular my mother, treasure the holiday and your book makes those memories all the more vivid and enduring. Thank you for working your magic yet again!

Mrs Jeremy Evans

The book Vanessa produced of all my mothers photographs for her 80th birthday was the most beautiful present my mother could have wanted, she also catalogued all the photographs for me which means we will always be able to enjoy those fantastic memories.

Mrs Eric Wilkinson

Vanessa and her team, have worked for Jaeger-LeCoultre since 2007, photographing anything from Charity polo matches to Jaeger-LeCoultre polo ambassadors, producing hard back copies of all photography. These books are an invaluable tool for capturing and documenting the atmosphere and success of each event and continue to be used by Jaeger-LeCoultre as corporate gifts and marketing tools. Vanessa's experience in polo photography has meant that we can combine the action and vigour of the game with the refinement of the people watching it. Her eye for taking the delicate shots, from crowds expressions to the preparation of a groom pre match, are without a doubt what stands her apart from her competitors, a really compelling attention to detail and above all a pleasure to work with.

Harriet Grundy, Jaeger-leCoultre

Exhibitions

The Old Bakery, Portobello Road, 2022
2022

The Old Bakery, Portobello Road

Cyanotype yerba maté show — The Horses are coming to Portobello.

The Brick Lane Gallery, Brick Lane, 2023
2023

The Brick Lane Gallery, Brick Lane

Cyanotype yerba maté prints, part of a group show.

EQUUS — Oxmarket Contemporary, Chichester, 2024
2024

EQUUS — Oxmarket Contemporary, Chichester

An exhibition celebrating Sussex's long storied connection to the equine, with local and international artists. Vanessa showed six hand printed cyanotypes toned with yerba maté. St Andrew's Court, off East Street, Chichester, PO19 1YH.

The Old Bakery, Portobello Road, 2025
2025

The Old Bakery, Portobello Road

Shared show mixing Palio di Siena and platinum palladium prints.

Cowdray Living, 2025
2025

Cowdray Living

Cyanotype yerba maté prints on show for the polo season.

View price list 2026/2027