When I met Jessica several months ago she had one very important question for me, Can you shoot some of our engagement pictures with our horses? Of course I can, was my immediate response! Now admittedly, I’ve never shot engagement photos with horses before but I love a good challenge and incorporating meaningful things into engagement photos just makes them well…more meaningful.
I was sure I’d be up for the challenge but a couple weeks before the shoot I decided to try and research what other photographers had done with horses during an engagement shoot and quickly came to the realization that this is not something very many people tackle and for good reason, it’s TRICKY!!!
First you have to get the horse in a good position, then you have to get the couple in the right position, then you need to get the horse to react to something so it will prick their ears forward, the couple needs to ignore the distraction while keeping the horse under control and paying attention to one another and all of this needs to happen simultaneously!
As you can tell from the photo to the left, horses have about as much patience for pictures as a 3 year old and have pretty much the same reaction to seeing people kissing too! Ha Ha!
It’s hard to keep things very serious when the horse is sticking his tongue out at you but we did our best and luckily we had a great team of people helping us out so we managed to get the shots we wanted in the end!!
One of my favorite pictures of the day is this shot with all of the horses looking out of their stalls. I love the light coming in from the setting sun and how it reflects on the stall walls making silhouettes of all the horses heads!
If you’re considering doing engagement photos with your horses here’s what I learned from this shoot… It’s much easier to work with one horse than two, having extra help is a big help when you’re trying to get the horses to look a certain way, patience is key, and just have fun!! Many thanks go out to Jessica and Eric for making this engagement shoot so much fun, their patience and willingness to do anything was really what made the day such a huge success!
Be sure to check out the rest of Eric and Jessica’s Engagement photos (without horses) HERE!
UPDATE: They’re MARRIED!! Check out Eric & Jessicas amazing wedding photos at the Blue Dress Barn!
by Ben
Engagement Photos on a Farm in Michigan | benpancoast.com - […] Yesterday I shared some of the engagement photos I did of Eric and Jessica with their horses in the country side and today I’m sharing a few of my favorites of just the two of them on the farm. We had a beautiful afternoon to work with and the location was stunning with beautiful views of the country side, apple orchards, a pond and beautiful fields! I think the hardest part of the entire day was picking which locations to use but I’m not complaining! =) We started off in the apple orchards which had been in full bloom all week, it was a great place to shoot because the sun was still pretty high and the trees really helped to soften the light. I love the way the apple blossoms make for such a beautiful backdrop! From there we went to do some pictures by the pond under this amazing old tree. I forgot what kind of tree they said it was but it was really beautiful and I love the way the branches frame the couple in this shot! Once we were done shooting out in the field we headed back to the stables to wait for the sun to set, by this time it was getting pretty low in the sky and we had a few ideas for pictures we wanted to do with the horses once the sun was low enough. While we waited I took a few pictures behind the stables, I love the way the light looks and how peaceful the shot feels. We wrapped up the shoot with a few quick silhouette shots by the barn and called it a night. I can not wait for Jessica and Erics wedding day!! If it’s anything like this engagement shoot I’m sure we’ll capture some incredible pictures! Click here to view Eric and Jessica’s: Engagement photos with horses! […]
Lisa - I LOVE these pictures! I will be taking wedding photos at the end of July- the bride will be riding down the aisle on a horse! These are amazing pictures! BRAVO! Plus… not just anyone can get a pic of a couple kissing and the horse sticking its tongue out at them! :o)
Susan - Hello!
I also am embarking on some engagement photos, but its the people that I have trouble with. I am well versed in the equine world. I was wondering if you have any advice?