The South Dakota Cowgirl

Life on the Ranch Through My Lens

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Photography Tutorials

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I have been encouraged, mainly by my new friend, Cathy (Prairie Wife in Heels), to share some of my knowledge about photography.  She calls it, Street Cred.  Maybe it is. 

My desire is to build a community, a community of folks, from hobbyists to the pro, who want to share ideas, learn, and have access to what I may or may not know. We can all learn together this way! I’ll do my best to keep it light and not get overly technical, as I know that can be scary to some folks. If you’re like me, you don’t really care to know exactly why or how the camera functions, just how to use it. Sort of like a computer, right? I don’t need know how it works, just how to use it well!

That said, I’ll be working on adding a community portion to this site. I’m not sure exactly what it will look like yet, but it will contain plenty of how-to videos. I’d like to keep the information in one place so that it’s easy for you to access. Photography is fun, and while not everyone wants to be a pro, there are plenty of bloggers that would like to learn a few tips and tricks to help them create better content. I’m hoping to help that content creator.

What you’ll get in the community portion of my site will be tutorial videos such as this:

I’d like to provide content based on what you want to know and learn.  If you’re on board with this idea, could you give me a shout in the comments below? I’d sure love to hear from you! What have you always wanted to ask me, or what have you always wanted to know about photography?

Happy Trails and Happy shooting!

About ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

Jenn Zeller is the creative mind and boss lady behind The South Dakota Cowgirl. She is an aspiring horsewoman, photographer, brilliant social media strategist and lover of all things western.

After a brief career in the investment world to support her horse habit (and satisfy her mother, who told her she had to have a “real” job after graduating college), she finally took the leap and stepped away from a regular income; trading the business suit once and for all for cowgirl boots, a hat, and jeans. She has not looked back.

When Jenn first moved to The DX Ranch on the South Dakota plains, she never imagined she’d find herself behind a camera lens capturing an authentic perspective of ranching, and sharing it with others. Jenn has always been called to artistry, and uses music, writing, images, home improvement, and her first true love of horses to express her ranching passion.

Horses are the constant thread and much of her work centers around using her unique style of writing to share her horsemanship journey with others in publications such as CavvySavvy, the AQHA Ranching Blog, the West River Eagle, the family ranch website, and her own website.

Using photography to illustrate her stories has created other opportunities -- Jenn’s brand “The South Dakota Cowgirl” has grown to the level of social media “Influencer”. This notoriety has led to work with Duluth Trading Company, Budweiser, Wyoming Tourism, Vice, Circle Z Ranch and Art of the Cowgirl, to name a few. She also serves as a brand ambassador for Woodchuck USA, Arenus Equine Health, Triple Crown Feed and Just Strong fitness apparel. Her photography has been featured by Instagram, Apple, TIME Magazine, The Huffington Post, and Oprah Magazine. Jenn’s work has been published internationally, has been seen in several books and has graced the covers of several magazines.

Jenn became a social media influencer by accident when she started to explore Instagram as a way to share her life on the ranch with folks that don’t get to experience it. It’s grown into an incredible platform that she uses to empower women, create an environment for self improvement and share life on the ranch.

When she’s not working, she loves to drink coffee, play with her naughty border collie named Copper, start ranch colts, and run about the country chasing cans. Her mother still thinks she doesn’t have a “real” job.

Give your horse or dog, or cat the gift of mobility.

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Comments

  1. Cindy Young Gulutzo says

    You hit the nail on the head.. I constantly get great feedback on my photography(And I hate bragging) but totally scared to make more of it..I started to but when my first canon aged out I have had a tough time adjusting to the new one my awesome guy bought me.. So I think I’m also using it as an excuse not to move forward ;( Plus the fact I cant really afford photoshop and get overwhelmed trying to navigate it.

    Reply

  2. Tammy Au-France says

    Love this idea! Really interested in the iPhone stuff as that camera is always with me, but have no editing program other than what is on the phone or my computer already.

    Reply

  4. Taylor Knoll says

    Would love editing tips. I struggle figuring out where to start and what everything does. Most presets don’t look accurate.

    Reply

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