- Animal
- Beach
- Blue Hour
- Bright
- calm
- Center Framed
- Directional Light
- Horse
- Model
- Natural Light
- Posed
- simple
- Soft Colors
- Soft Light
- Styled Shoot
- Wide
The story behind the image
This shot was the result of acting on pure excitement to create something.
Directing this shoot was actually a little nerve-racking because Cieires had never controlled a horse before, and I didn’t want her getting hurt. It was a balance between going ham with my creativity, and slowing down and reigning it in (see what I did there?) for safety.
Taking some steps back to see what the horse naturally did was key to getting relaxed images of both of them.
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
I simply asked the model to stand holding the horse and to look out towards the ocean. While doing so, I asked her to gently pull the horse so it would look towards her. I wanted to create this connection between the two.
What did you say?
Stare directly into the ocean and look regal. Pull Mouse (the horse) in to face you.
Tone of Directions
Calm
Composition
I loved the calmness of the location and wanted much of that to be in the frame, so I stepped way back with my 85mm and took a wide photo that included quite a lot of the sky. One of the benefits of shooting a wide image with a longer lens is the compression it creates. It makes things feels a lot more “present”.
framing
Lower Thirds
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
I definitely had to shoot on manual focus since Mouse (the horse) was super wiggly and moved around a lot. I just kept my focus point dead center to compose a cleaner photo.
Focus Mode
Single Shot Autofocus
Focus POints
Single Point
Focused on
The Horses face
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/250 @ f/2.5 ISO200 WB-7,700K
The way the EXIF is written out follows the common photographic method (with the inclusion of White Balance at the end). Here it is broken down:
Shutter Speed @ Aperture ISO White Balance.
Light & Weather
We technically started shooting in the warm, bright, and backlit sunshine just before it set. This photo, however, was shot after the sun had dipped beneath the horizon. We still had just enough light to shoot in and it was just such an incredible blue hour. This soft lighting is my favorite to shoot in! I made sure to have them face the direction where the sun had just disappeared in order for their faces to catch as much light as possible.
Light Type
Natural Light
Time of day
Blue Hour
Editing Workflow
How did you edit this image?
After bringing the photo into Lightroom, I found it very easy to edit since we shot in very soft lighting. I didn’t want anything too vibrant, but to keep things subtle, ethereal, and gentle. I applied my own preset to the photo, and I didn’t have to clone/heal anything. I also didn’t use any brushes or local adjustment. I think simple is an understatement for this edit.
Editing Software
Preset Used
own custom preset
Challenges
The biggest challenge of this shoot was working with a large animal. He looks quite docile in the photos, and he definitely was amazing to work with, but nonetheless it was difficult to shoot with something that is more unpredictable to me than a human, and way larger than a dog . Cieries also didn’t have experience with horses so it was a slow process of getting shots in between Mouse being a bit mischievous. I was always having to watch Cieries toes as well since I was super worried she’d get stepped on!
Solutions
Taking our time and keeping a relaxed environment was key. Also having my friend who was Mouse’s owner step in to take him over whenever was necessary was very helpful. Being patient and balancing that with taking the shots quick was what ended up creating that photo. Also having Cieries be so calm and natural with Mouse definitely made this possible.
Location
Location Name
Florence, Oregon
Location aDDRESS
Florence, Oregon
Loation Type
Beach / Coastal
Country
United States
This shot definitely brings me pride, and I often look back at that entire evening as a bullet point in defining my personal style.
A week after I photographed this, I actually upgraded my camera to an R6. I remember thinking that evening that I wished I had my new camera. But looking back even after loving my R6, I am so glad I photographed with feeling and didn’t let the gear determine the outcome of a photo. I really do believe that cameras don’t make or break a good photo.
I would recommend to every photographer to latch onto every last idea that brings them inspiration, and act on it! When you can feel excitement or drive behind creating specific images, they will most likely be your most cherished work.
