MOMENTS IN FOCUS
River & Pride
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River & Pride -
One type of session that I do not do nearly enough is equine.
Similar to all my sessions, I always look for opportunities for a variety of images with horses, typically some headshot type portraits as well as some natural light images.
The most common type of portrait requested is that black background image (i.e., low key)..
It allows you to truly focus on the elegance of the animal.
The dark background really highlights the details and coloring of the horse as well.
One of my main focuses during an equine session is the angles created by the horse. Horses are gorgeous, but large animals. It is easy to find an unflattering perspective. Patience is key here!
Photographing horses takes a lot of teamwork. Typically we have a few roles in the equine session. Besides me holding the camera, there obviously has to be someone holding the horse. This person has to be knowledgeable about the movement of the horse and preferably have a trusting relationship with the animal.
This a great setup, but at least one more person is typically needed and that is the “attention-getter” (that is an industry term of course). The attention-getter has a serious but challenging role. They work hard to get the horses attention and to help find the perfect look. Especially in horses, the alert ears are vital…which is easier said than done. It is quite a scene with the noises, hat/branch waving, and jumping up and down, but it definitely could not be done without this person!
Send me a message with any thoughts or comments you have. I would love to hear it!
Moments in Focus
Meet Hummus!
(Yes…best name ever!)
Hummus is a sweet black lab puppy. He is currently being trained for a very important job!
Hummus is a part of Canine Companions in Williamsburg, VA.
[Canine Companions] “provides service dogs to adults, children, and veterans with disabilities and facility dogs to professionals working in healthcare, criminal justice and educational settings.”
Hummus is being trained by the amazing @raising.puppies (IG). This is the third dog in training that I have photographed with @raising.puppies. Hummus will stay in his current home for about 18 months and then will move on to the next stage of training. I am lucky enough to be able to photograph Hummus again at 18 months and see how he has grown.
Fun Fact…Hummus is the son of the last dog I photographed for @raising.puppies…Gage. We also photographed Gage as a pup and at 18 months.
Check out Gage’s puppy images at the end of this post.
The type of job Hummus will hold will be determined when he is older. Now he is just focusing on learning great puppy manners!
Visit https://canine.org/about/who-we-are/ for more info on Canine Companions!
*Top Row: Gage
*Bottom Row: Hummus
Follow us on social media @sweetelliephotos or send me a note here
Follow Hummus @raising.puppies
Follow Canine Companions @canineorg