Katie Mortimore Photography

16/02/2026

I have just heard the news from Michael Jung on Instagram that sadly at the age of 26 he has lost Sam this evening. 😢 Sam was an utter legend, one in a million doesn't do him justice. This horse rewrote all the record books and more with MJ at the reins. They were the perfect partnership.

To watch them many times was a privliedge, to photograph them a joy. This photo from Badminton 2017 is a personal favourite of mine, as although on it's own it's not necessarily anything hugely special it actually is when you look at the details. You can't see the fact the fence was huge, nor that it was soon followed by a huge corner (click on the photo and then on to the next to see the corner!), but you can see that MJ and Sam were perfectly in sync, both looking to that next fence. But also both totally at ease. They made an exceptionally difficult combination look like it was on a BE 90 course.

RIP Sam, you will be missed. And thoughts to all his connections, especially MJ his best friend of 20 years. 💕

Photo ©Katie Mortimore Photography, feel free to tag and share the original photos on facebook. Do not save, copy or use elsewhere without prior permission. Images available to purchase.

10/01/2026

Happy New year. All that follow me know I'm awful at the best times with social media and that's not going to change any time soon! Sorry! 🤣🙈

Work carries on though behind the social media scenes and I had a fabulous mixute of work in 2025 so a thank you to all my clients.

Today it wasn't a job though, today I found myself at a loose end this morning so volunteered last minute to be the photographer at my local park run at Teignmouth. If you don't know about parkrun you really really should. I would normally run myself but I was helping set up for my run clubs race later in the day which would be a fair bit of mileage plus doing the race tomorrow so it was best to have a week off, so only fair I took a turn to give back.

Enjoy the photos in a slightly random order thanks to FB! Plus at the end are a few body borders and kayakers who were enjoying the remarkably calm seas after Thursday's storm. The runners did not enjoy the deep sand left by the storm though, I was rather glad not to be running this week I must say!! 🤣

27/11/2025

Are you coming to the Westpoint Exeter Equine Fair this weekend? If not why not?! See below for a discount code for tickets...

I will be there with the opportunity to win an equine photoshoot, with gift vouchers all ready for Christmas presents, and also a selection of seasonal cards available to purchase.

I will also be bringing along the illustration side of my business Creations By Katie , I have a number of originals ready to purchase and also the opportunity to complete a very limited number of bespoke commissions prior to Christmas

Please do come say hello and take a look at some of my work.

Followers can buy half price tickets by using the code HALFPRICE when purchasing through the Westpoint website

Look forward to seeing you there

10/10/2025

It's World Mental Health day and I think it's an exceptionally important topic to talk about. How often is the instant reply to 'how are you' automatically 'good thanks' or 'fine'. Rarely is it 'I could be better' or 'If I'm honest I'm struggling'

Mental Health is seemingly a swear word when it shouldn't be, people should be able to say I'm struggling to friends, as even just saying it is enough to lighten an incredibly heavy load.

This week I was extremely saddened to learn someone I knew, had unfortunately reached the point that they could no longer cope. They weren't a close friend, but someone I saw regularly at horsey competitions and had the joy and privilege on being on teams together several times. I hadn't seen them in several years but we had kept in touch via social media. I had no clue the struggles they were facing until it was tragically too late. They were a truly wonderful human being and I will always retain some very happy memories together.

The photo was taken today on a 'mental health' walk. Personally I find a lot of benefit going out in nature, be that watching the Deer, or going to the beach and taking in lungfuls of fresh sea air. Taking some photos I can then share is just an added bonus.

If you are struggling please please speak with a friend or at the very least one of many amazing charities for example the Samaritans . If you are dealing with a loss can I also highly recommend Pete's Dragons who do amazing work. Please don't be afraid or ashamed to talk, vent away

01/10/2025

This evening was just incredible. I was going to share a pony with you but I fell in love with this photo so instead it's another deeroftheday, soz!

At this time of year I do my best to walk as often as possible with at least one of my longer lenses in the evening on clear days. It's good for the soul for starters (and my fitness!) and there are abundant opportunities for deeroftheday!!

As I walked along the footpath soaking up the evening sun a stag climbed up on to one of the bridges in the deer park at Powderham and became the most perfect shot. In the background the buildings of Lympstone loom into view, in the foreground a scene bathed in golden hour light that looks arguably more Africa than East Devon! It gives a new definition to Urban Jungle!

I really do feel very lucky to live in this little corner of Devon...

25/09/2025

Good news if you like deer, bad if you don't, it's that time of year again, it's deer of the day 😁😆

It's rutting season, the oranges are arriving on cue and golden hour sun was shining bright tonight. This stag had a rather glorious 'hat' of fern going on, although it was probably more of a mask at times. I'm not sure how he could tell where he was going!

24/09/2025

An important aspect in organising your equine photoshoot is the location. Some people have the luxury of multiple options including, fields, woods, tracks, quiet country lanes and more. Others will have very limited options and may only have their field. In extreme circumstances we may only have the stable the horse is in. The good news is I can work with whatever you can provide.

My ideal is obviously to have a variety of uncluttered backgrounds but it is surprising what can be done with even relatively uninspiring locations. I can make fencing disappear amongst other distractions.

The thing with locations is you need to have permission from the landowner. There is no 'public land' in the way many think so public woods, moors etc can not be used without the land owner saying it is ok. There are public rights of way which can be used but me and you have to stay on the right of way unless express permission is given. Even on a livery yard you need to check with your yard owner. 99% of the time there will not be an issue but you have to check first.

This doesn't mean that woods, beaches etc can't be used just that the correct procedures have to be followed to get the right permissions. Sometimes this means applying for a license from the owners and possibly paying a fee, other times it's simply asking for permission and that is it all done.

There are a lot of people who will say portrait photography is not commercial photography and therefore a license for example isn't needed but any photography where the photographer is paid to take images is classified as commercial so even on council owned land permission is required unless it's on a right of way (this includes roads!)

Swipe to the right to see some examples of different backgrounds including before and afters to see how they can magically be cleared up.

07/09/2025

Editing this evening and these two photos jump out for me making me smile. The first the three young girls look like they're dropping their new album cover and the second it's the cheeky heifer in the background that I just can't stop giggling at.😆

What do you think the band name would be for them? 😁

19/08/2025

📸✨ Happy World Photography Day! ✨📸

Did you know the very first photograph ever taken dates back to 1826 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce? Yep — he pointed his camera out a window in France and captured a grainy but groundbreaking image that changed the world forever. Fast forward just shy 200 years, and here we are — with cameras in our pockets, drones in the sky, and more photos being snapped every two minutes than in the entire 19th century! 🤯

Whether you’re a professional with all the gear, an amateur experimenting with angles, or just someone who loves catching candid shots on your phone — today is a celebration of YOU and what you create. Because photography isn’t just about perfect lighting or the sharpest focus; it’s about freezing time, telling stories, and sharing the way you see the world.

So, cheers to blurry selfies, golden-hour portraits, breathtaking landscapes, and even the photos that didn’t quite turn out how we planned (sometimes they’re the best ones 😉).

Keep clicking, keep creating, and keep capturing moments that matter. 🌍❤️

I've included a few random photos from this year which celebrate and created memories in all parts of life.

15/08/2025

Jersey oh Jersey! I've just got back today from a lovely trip to my home Island of Jersey. I don't get back nearly enough and it was great to spend a bit longer this time than my flying visit in June for the Island Walk!

I had the most fabulous week with my family enjoying the scenery, once again taking part in the Jersey Battle of Flowers (which is somewhat of a family tradition), and eating far too much fantastic food, amongst too many other activities to mention!

Have you ever visited Jersey? If not I must thoroughly recommend it, and yes I know I'm bias, but really it is the most beautiful island.

14/07/2025

A little retrospective. The very talented Tony O'Connor - The Equine Artist has just done another painting using this photo of mine as a reference. It gave me the nudge to have a little dig through the archives back to 2018 and I thought oh I would edit that quite differently now so I decided to actually see just how different it would look. As you can see it really is quite different!

I used to put quite a bit of purples into my shadows and was somewhat harder with the contrast! Now the purples are gone and I've concentrated on the texture on the face and highlighted the eye. I've also tidied up a few bits including clip lines and stray hairs and made the image concentrated on the face by toning down the back.

So what do you think? Do you prefer then or now?