Equine Portrait Photography, it’s a funny old thing. I’m super happy doing action shots and following people around at shows ‘reportage’ style but when it comes to a portrait session I get a bit nervous. Now those that know me will laugh when I say I’m not good at giving direction. They’ll say I am the bossiest person they know!

I also felt anxious about writing this post, imposter syndrome is a thing and I do sometimes feel like a fraud. I’m confident in my vet nursing role, I’ve done it for years and I am well qualified. However, when it come to the photography I am still finding my feet and building up my confidence. It takes a lot to be honest with you all and I hope you can see I just want to be able to deliver you the best I can.

Step in the lovely Rose from Daydream Equine Art. When I was deciding who was going to do Bailey’s pictures Daydream and Sophie Callahan were the only two I’d consider. Sophie was running a Facebook offer and I snapped that up. Since then though I’ve followed the both of them intently. Eventually we all met up and visited the Kings Troop. I chatted to the both of them and instantly felt like I could ask either of them for help. Both were super supportive and really made me feel like this was something I could do.

Equine Portrait session with Daydream Equine

Equine Portrait Photography Workshop: The Plan

I had mentioned to Rose that I still found myself floundering a bit when doing a purely non-ridden shoot and whilst I could see in my head what I wanted to create it wasn’t that easy to make it happen. She asked if I’d like to be a guinea pig for an idea she had been plotting for a while. I snapped up the chance and we got a date in the diary.

Rose sorted everything out, did a model call and planned a venue. I simply had to turn up. Rose explained this was a purely ‘posing’ workshop and being confident with my camera was a must. Well as least I could say I was totally happy with setting and so on. This summer has been hectic but so eye opening and educational.

Rose started by taking the lead and letting me figure out some poses. Then she suggested where may work best to stand and why. Simple things like filling white space with a tree branch and also considering what would add depth. We discussed using hedges and fences to add depth to images and I started to see exactly what she meant.

Becka James an Equine Portrait session

Becka James an Equine Portrait session

Equine Portrait Photography Workshop: Watch and Learn

Watching her direct Becka was also eye opening. Very clear instructions, such as when you walk away you will turn and then stop here. Then look at me or your horse. You have to remember that once they start walking away they won’t hear you. Also walking away relaxes the client as they feel less exposed. We also has some hilarious moments and some bloopers. Once when Wanda decided to turn into a cross country machine and also when she tried to snog Becka with a mouth full of grass!

I have to say when I got home and went through the pictures I could see a clear improvement from the beginning of the session, and also it was nice to knowing a lot of what I was doing was right! Just spending a little more time checking out the location is needed. This is something I’m confident in asking the client to do with me now. I can understand the value of it, which means it is easier to stick to.

 

Rose is planning on running more workshops and I can’t recommend her enough- thank you to both her and Becka for the patience and help.