Meet Cari Cusinato | Equine & Sport Photographer, Owner Cusinato Equine Photography

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cari Cusinato and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cari, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Years ago, when my daughter started riding, I realized I needed something to keep busy during horse shows so as to remove myself from my competitively focused daughter. So, I picked up a camera and started shooting. For seven years, I shot my daughter and the girls she competed with, perfecting the art. I found that shooting at horse shows led to me carrying a camera nearly everywhere I went. I would take every available opportunity to pull out my camera and take pictures. That led to the decision to make photography a business. I wanted something I enjoyed to fund the horses.

But why equine photography? The equine world is hard and it’s expensive. My desire is to provide professional-quality photos for an accessible price to everyone. I pride myself on keeping my costs low and my quality high. I adore the horses and love watching my daughter and everyone around her compete. Through the joy I found in photography and horses, I have realized my time and efforts provide a quality product at a fair price.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am committed to keeping professional quality equestrian photos reasonably priced. If you are an equestrian, and you show, you know that show photos can be nearly as expensive as the show itself. I want to provide quality photos to the equestrian that is trying with everything they have to simply compete.

Professionally, I hope I never stop growing and challenging myself. Although horses have been the main focus of my business, my portfolio includes landscape, flowers, children and more. I want to keep shooting horse shows and have branched out into other sports and have been loving the challenge. Has it been easy – no, but I wouldn’t call it hard. When you love looking at life through a camera lens, you see things differently and it has helped me change my focus.

I’ve learned the sun can create challenges in focus, cold creates challenges with equipment, rain is just wet; but the right equipment and supporters around you make all the difference.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Much like my daughter, my best friend has chronic complex medical issues that can make sightseeing difficult. So although we might like to try and go to Pike’s Peak or feed the giraffe’s at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo or hike any one of Colorado’s state and local parks, we’re more likely to hit up small downtown areas to window shop, stop at the local park and chat next to the creek running through. We’d check to see what was showing at DCPA and try to catch a show or two. We love to laugh and would likely try to catch a comedy show and a couple of movies. And of course my best friend was also an equestrian, so we’d try to go for a ride or at least go give some love to our horse. Any time I get to spend is quality time and I will cherish it always.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My inspiration is my Granddad & Grandma, Ted & Pat Busse. They loved horses. They raised, bred and trained quarter horses and taught me at a young age to have a respect and love for these magnificent creatures. I would spend hours in the barn alongside them learning everything they would tell me. Not just about the horses, but about life. My Grandad was in outdoor sporting equipment sales and strongly believed in quality products for a fair price. He believed in hard work and a strong work ethic. I lost that connection at a young age and too fast, as Parkinson’s Disease took my granddad’s ability to care for the horses and his life. But the lessons provided have stayed with me; quality work from an outstanding work ethic and for a fair price. I still feel his arms around me with every trip to the barn and I am so grateful for the horse, life and business lessons.

Website: https://cusinatoequinephotos.wixsite.com/ce-photos

Instagram: https://instagram.com/photos_byce/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100071770963579

Image Credits
@photos_byce