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Portfolio Shoot #1

Bridget Ford
Aug 24, 2017
2 min read

First Horse & Rider Shoot since 2014

The last Photo Shoot that I did of a horse and rider combination was for a friend of mine and her special pony in 2014. Since then my focus has been predominantly on competition and event photography. I've obviously gained some more experience as well as upgraded some of my equipment since 2014 and so it was great for me to be able to compare the two shoots. The main differences for me were; working with someone you're familiar and comfortable with is very different to someone you have only met once or twice. I was incredibly lucky that my two gorgeous models for this shoot were easy and fun to work with.

Sophie was happy to do as I asked or suggested, did things like jump in bushes, ride on bridges and often had to deal with Visa being a little unsure of the fact that he was in the forest alone with none of his horsey pals. She also was happy to give me some of her ideas and thoughts which helped make this a fun and very easy shoot to do. The setting was a beautiful horse and dog friendly forest area in Constantia, just across from where Sophie's pony Visa lives. I unfortunately got delayed getting there due to traffic on the road so lighting started to get darker quicker than I wanted, however I got so many shots that I'm ecstatic about and these two made it easy to capture some beautiful moments.

The idea throughout my photography career is to try capture the partnership between horse and rider as best and as honest, or candid, as possible. During a shoot there is undoubtedly more posing in comparison to competition where riders and horses are focused on their jobs and make capturing candid shots easy. In my shoots I always want to use as natural posing as possible in order to create photographs that are raw and honest. Keeping my Camera arm ready to capture everything and anything, especially when people least expect it is one way to ensure you can capture the smallest of beautiful moments. I truly loved this setting, dusk/late pm lighting, these two beautiful models and the experience as a whole to learn and take away from.