I first photographed Jen & Callie in early 2019 when I first started my equine portrait photography journey – check out their blog post here. It was so lovely to revisit their special partnership 3 years on.
I am also very lucky to call Jen my very dear friend. We both went to the Royal Agricultural University together and have stayed in touch ever since. Jen is a very talented eco-artist and she continues to inspire me as I grow my business – do check out her amazing work: https://www.jenwinnettart.co.uk
Jen keeps Callie on a lovely yard in Malmesbury, which offered me a plethora of unique textures and interesting backdrops.
A great example of this is the side of this barn – the beautiful blue of the corrugated iron really made me stop and was the perfect backdrop for this close, cuddly shot at the beginning of the shoot.
After a quick outfit change, we moved to the gate at the entrance to the yard. Callie was slightly more interested in sampling the hedge so we had to move quickly to get the shot!
Next, we moved out on to the lane just outside of the yard. I like to use a walking shot to settle a horse and client on a shoot. Walking together is something they will do everyday, so I ask my clients to keep nice, relaxed hands, walk slow with one foot in front of the other and keep at their horse’s head/shoulder.
Jen had recently purchased this beautiful, dusky pink Ralph Lauren dress which we just HAD to include in the shoot. I noticed the soft light coming through to the stables and decided to try some unique shots with the different brickwork and directional light to create something a bit different.
When I saw this barn I was immediately in love – the mixture of textures from the bushes and the wooden doors made for stunning wide and close up shots.
For the final shots, we moved out to the fields out the back of the yard. A series of cross country jumps, including a log made for great addition to the shoot.
“I can’t thank Joss enough for the photos she produced of my mare Cali and I. She has managed to capture 12yrs of friendship in the most beautiful shots that I will treasure forever. Her communication and professionalism is second to none and on the day she made us feel completely at ease. It was so hard to choose which photos to pick so I ended up picking them all! Could not recommend Joss highly enough to capture you and your equine. Thank you again” – Jen Winnett
