Before the start of our shoot I will do a location scout, taking a stroll around the yard and surrounding areas, looking for obvious locations and hidden treasures. I make notes of options in my trusty shoot book, noting which outfits and poses I want to pair with each location.
Many of my clients worry that they don’t have enough interesting locations for a shoot. Now granted, if you have access to stunning tree lined drives, stone archways and a country manor, I will probably start drooling with excitement.
But the shoot is about you and your horse, so whilst some wide landscape shots can be dramatic, I prefer to zoom right in on the special moments between you and your horse. Making the backdrop a mere accessory that completes the shot.
To show you what I mean, I have put together some before and after shots – shots I took on my phone while on location and the final edited shots.
It was a misty Autumn morning when I took this shot – we actually shot this walkway from both directions and at different angles as it offers so much as a location. Megan and Guinness look stunning framed by the overhanging branches with the bright red berries adding that special something.
This shot was taken on a very warm day during a late September heatwave. This location was somewhat of a challenge as we had very intense sunshine eliminating a lot of other locations available at the yard. Therefore, we utilised this gorgeous tree lined drive for the majority of the shots. I positioned Nina with her polo ponies down the middle of the main track, to the side, leaning against a tree, over a fence and crouching on the ground. The dappled light and the intense green of the leaves made the images look like they were taken in a foreign country not the English countryside.
I was commissioned by Glaze & Gordon to capture images of their new traditional training breeches created in collaboration with Mark Tomlinson of the Beaufort Polo Club for their website and advertising. I love the rustic, traditional stables of cotswold stone and by placing Mark and the polo pony at the entrance to the stable allows the light to drop off into the background, creating a studio effect black background.
Ladysmith Equestrian offers lots of interesting locations, for this shot I wanted to capture the leaves starting to turn orange and use the overhanging branches to frame Kirsty, her husband Dave and Alex. Here you can see the benefits of stepping back and getting a full frame shot, to coming in close and focusing just on Kirsty and Dave looking into each other’s eyes while Alex softy nuzzles her hand.
Here you can see me working behind the scenes to create this shot with Anne Marie and Frisky. Frisky was living up to her name so we kept her moving with some lovely, relaxed walking shots. The sound of the public enjoying Cirencester Park in the distance kept her ears pricked forward, and I moved my position to avoid the buildings but still see the curve of the road.
Sometimes you get lucky with a location, and Maddie’s family home was a photographer’s dream. Yellow fields of rapeseed in full bloom with a windmill in the background was just one of the stunning locations to choose from. Barney was a posing superstar in the fields, allowing us to get gorgeous shots as the sun set, turning the sky a glorious pink hue.
I hope these photos show you what can be created from locations at your home or yard and get you inspired for your equine photoshoot!
If you want to chat about booking your shoot for 2022 (and beyond), please get in touch today!
