While a picture may be worth a thousand words, a good photograph of a bull can help it sell for $100,000 or more.
Rams, bulls, and other livestock can fetch tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars at auctions with online listings showing comprehensive data and images of each animal.
But have you ever thought of the photographers behind the scenes and just how they manage to take such amazing pictures on the farm?
Getting their attention
When it comes to photographing stud rams and bulls, the biggest challenge for photographers like Andrew Morphett is just getting the animals to stand still.
“That’s probably one of the hardest things … to get an animal to present and to present well. You really want them to be standing right to show their structure,” he says.
Andrew Morphett of Pandy Films in action. (Supplied: Pandy Films)
He has several tactics to get the money shot.
“I sometimes carry a stockwhip and I don’t even crack it. I just swirl it around, just to get their attention,” Mr Morphett says.
When filming rams, he often makes sure their mates are in the pen next door to make them comfortable, or he enlists the help of a working dog.
Sometimes he even uses a drone to incite their curiosity by making it hover above.
“It gets them intrigued,” he says.
“And sometimes you can get some magic.”
Mr Morphett says the SheepMaster are one of the easiest breeds to photograph. (Supplied: Pandy Films)
The farmer or owner of the animal also plays a big part in that magic, particularly when it comes to precarious situations.
“I trust them because sometimes I’m just sitting on the ground, and if a bull is deciding to charge me, I gotta have full faith in … my client,” he says.
Andrew Morphett says trusting how their owners have handled their animals is key. (Supplied: Pandy Films)
Coming from a cattle station himself, Mr Morphett can see firsthand how the animals have been handled and can then trust the owners.
He also considers himself lucky to have such an interesting role in the livestock industry.
“[Where] this job has taken me … it’s been quite unique seeing different parts of Australia,” he says.
Angus cattle proudly on display. (Supplied: Pandy Films)
“There are so many great people out there [in rural and remote Australia], the friendships that I’ve made, and they are return clients that I see every season.”
Photographing the farmer
But it isn’t just livestock on farms that need photos.
Freelance photographer Jacqui Bateman has been in the industry for the past 20 years, taking photos of livestock, saleyard auctions, general farm operations, landscapes, and portraits, all with a rural edge.
Jaquie Bateman got her start in the industry helping photograph livestock auctions for the Stock Journal. (ABC South East SA: Elsie Adamo)
The hardest thing to photograph on a farm? According to Ms Bateman, it’s not the animals.
“Farmers … they’re the ones who are the most difficult,” she says.
“[People] are very self-conscious.”
To get the shot she wants, much like their livestock, the key is making farmers feel comfortable.
“A general rule of thumb when photographing a farmer is to give him something to do,” she says.
To photograph cattle, Jacqui says it is all about getting the angles right and staying out of the way. (Supplied: Jacqui Bateman)
Going viral
For those interested in rural photography, Ms Bateman recommends practice, patience, and taking your camera with you everywhere.
This ethos allowed Ms Bateman to take her most famous photograph, The Naked Gun, which won the International Federation of Agricultural Journalist Rural Photo of the Year back in 2016.
Jacqui Bateman never expected her photography would lead to international awards and travel. (Supplied: Jacqui Bateman)
While you may think the shot had been staged, Ms Bateman says it happened organically on an otherwise normal afternoon in the shearing shed.
“It was just the spur of the moment,” she says.
“The other shearers started laughing … I didn’t know what about.
“[Telf] came out of the pen drafting the sheep buck naked, so of course I grabbed my camera and started photographing.
“When I went through the photos there was only one frame I could use in polite society.”
Ms Bateman kept the photo on file for years and only published it on her social media accounts in response to a PETA campaign. The photograph then went viral.
The press coverage of the photo prompted her to enter, and win, international competitions.
“I think [that was] the highlight of my career … it was huge,” she says.
