Blog: sessions, travel, education and more
A Cloudy Morning with a Rose Grey Beauty: Equine Session Spotlight
There’s something undeniably captivating about a rose grey horse—especially when that horse is a graceful Quarter Horse mare with a calm demeanor and the elegance of a true athlete. Recently, I had the privilege of photographing one such mare during a stunning morning equine session. I never mind clouds when it comes to grey horses—there's something about the soft light that suits them perfectly. So when the skies turned overcast, I welcomed it.
Sale Horse and Conformation Photos in North Texas
Horse Sale photos are not the main thing I do, but I do plenty of them. When I do conformation shots, 2 edit images come with my sales package. I do require at least 3 horses. The images you can choose from are profile, headshot, opposite side profile, 3/4 quarters from front or back. The most popular combination being a profile and headshot. I will also include an unedited direct front and back, but you must ask for these. Knowing a horse conformation, breed and disciplines is important in getting the shot right, but there are other factors that g into a go quality conformation photos. Leg placement and expression are extremely important. Other important factors are neck and head placement. If your discipline has a low head carriage, but your horse looks better with a higher carriage, which should you go with?
Somethings I look for before we even start; 1) light, I like to have the sun behind me and really pay attention to the direction of shadows. 2) for the background, I like a clean background preferably no fence, which is hard to do. Either lot of sky or trees. A pretty barn can make a good backdrop as well. 3) I always pay attention to the ground as some breeds and disciplines want to see the feet. I look for low spot and slopes in the ground. Placed incorrectly on unlevel ground or a effect the topline and legs.
Having a good team is important. I try to bring and assistant, but do not always have one available, so it is good to have one on hand just in case. I like 3 people; me, the handler and a person to set legs and get ears up. More than that confuses everyone and makes the horse nervous. Occasionally some horses need a barn buddy so we will need someone to be holding the buddy horse nearby.
Horse should be clean, well groomed, clipped and depending on your discipline a braided or banded mane. A plain leather halter is my 1st choice and keep a few with me. If you have someone getting horses ready in-between horses is great, if not all horses should be read, other than last minute touchups, before for the shoot starts so we don’t run out of good light.
Editing includes simple lead rope removal and background cleanup. Also included in person removal as long as person doesn’t overlap behind or in front of horse.
If you wan more than the 2 images, we can shoot for more angles, but we may go over time and will cause extra fees for time and image.
I will capture some fun BTS images if I can. Those are always fun to look back on!
If you are needing sale or conformation photos please contact me.
If you want to learn more about sale horse and conformation photography, check out my on-line courses.
2020 Christmas Wreath Sessions | North Texas Equine Photographer
I look forward to doing these every year. Owners love having their equine friends dressed up for Christmas and having professional photos so they can share with their friends on-line and personalized Christmas cards.
What I also love is sharing these photos on my social media pages by doing my annual 25 day Christmas Countdown starting Dec 1. It is very popular, especially on Facebook with almost 2 million views and 24,000 shares and so many people messaging me, thanking for posting these festive photos.
I appreciate everyone who had me out to photograph their horse and all the support from everyone following me.
Many of these I have posted this month, but some can be seen for the first time.
APHA Youth World Show Photos | Pilot Point Texas
I have been photographing Christensen Show Horse’s Youth Kids for several years now. I enjoy seeing these kids grow and how they improve each year. I always look forward to seeing each of them do at the Show . These are hard working kids and their accomplishments reflect that.
Cara!
Izzy
Emily
Streakin Lil Wayne | Wildflower Photoshoot
AQHA Stallion Streakin Lil Wayne taking the Barrel Racing world by storm. Being out of Barrel Racing royalty Lil Wayne has it all, color, confirmation, and personality. Being able to shoot him for the last couple of years he always leaves a lasting impression.
Caitlyn | Allen Senior Portraits | Horse and Rider Photography
Caitlyn provided me with plenty of laughs during her session, her fun personality gave me plenty of "bloopers" for the day as well as the laughs. Her mom would say, that is so her! Don;t get me wrong, the girl also knows how to work the camera! We started her senior portrait session where she keeps her horse, Winston. A tall chestnut Off the Track Thoroughbred (OTTB) who also has a personality to match his owner. Together they compete in local Hunter-Jumper shows. We gave Winston a break from "modeling" and headed to historic downtown McKinney for a second location. We then later returned tothe stables Princetonwhere we did some dramaticdusk images with Winston & Caitlyn.
Hannah | Senior 2017 | Weatherford Texas | Equine Photographer
I photographed Hannah and her horse Inviting Rumors "Shea" at Dry River Ranch in Weatherford Texas and rides under the guidance of Stephen Stevens and Terry Cross . Like many spring days in Texas, it was windy and humid. Hannah & Shea where great and handled it will. Hannah will be attending University of Georgia in the fall where she will be part of their Equestrian Team. Hannah asked the photos to show how much she loves Shea. She made it easy, as they obviously have a great horse-human bond with each other.
