Courtney’s mum, Sarah, got in contact with me after seeing some of the equine images I’d produced for someone else. Her daughter, Courtney, had sadly missed out on her prom, and she really wanted to arrange a prom dress equine photo shoot for Courtney and Wilf, her gorgeous palomino.

Equine Prom Dress Photo Shoot – Planning Phase

We had a bit of a chat on the phone about where they were based, what they were looking for, and I went away and worked out possible locations for their shoot. Based on what we’d discussed, my main focus was on where (IF – they’re sadly not possible at every location) we could make sunset shots work on site.

Light breaking through -Northants Palomino horse and rider prom dress sunset photo shoot

Allocating two hours to each equine photo shoot means there’s plenty of time to fit in a range of locations, outfits and scenarios. I left it to them to come up with a list of things they’d like to do.

We came up with two consecutive dates where we hoped the equine photography session would take place. The first date was our primary, with the second being the back-up.

As the primary date drew closer, the forecast shifted quite markedly and became a very dynamic, constantly changing picture. We agreed we would make a final decision at lunchtime on the day itself.

Kisses for me, save all your kisses for me! – Northants Palomino horse and rider photo shoot

Equine Prom Dress Photo Shoot – The Day of the Shoot

When I woke up that morning, the app was saying 70% cloud cover, which wouldn’t have been something I’d aim for, but equally, it wouldn’t have been a disaster. I’d have been confident we would have got some nice stuff in the gaps. In fact, sometimes, because the way the light becomes more focussed through those gaps, it can create a much more dramatic scene.

By the lunchtime, we were down to 30% cloud cover in the forecast. We couldn’t not go for it.

On the drive there, however, a big bank of cloud lay before me. It looked pretty solid, too. I was concerned….!

I had my step-daughter, Sammy Grace, with me. We’d started playing around with super-slo-mo video earlier in the week, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to try some more ideas and get a feel for what works and what doesn’t work.

Equine Prom Dress Photo Shoot – Arrival

We got to the yard and met Courtney and Sarah, who were just finishing off making Wilf look perfect. Friend and horsey mentor Kayleigh was there, too, just to offer some words of encouragement and assistance.

In-Hand Equine Photo Shoot

Courtney had decided she wanted to start off with some in-hand pictures in a recently cut corn field. There was a really cool looking leafless tree in the middle. We started off making use of that, and then I started moving around and changing the angle.

In-hand – Northants Palomino horse and rider photo shoot

In-hand – Northants Palomino horse and rider photo shoot

In-hand – Northants Palomino horse and rider photo shoot

Kisses – Northants Palomino horse and rider photo shoot

In-hand Northants Palomino horse and rider portraits

Location Ridden Equine Photo Shoot

Once we were happy with that, I suggested throwing a saddle on and going for a little wander. I know the area around the yard reasonably well, and I had a particular shot in mind. It was on a single-track road, however, so I sent Sarah on in front to warn any on-coming traffic of our presence. We grabbed a few quick shots there, and while the sun didn’t shine, I didn’t feel it was worth the additional risk created by the road to hang around too long waiting for it. And I still quite like what we did get.

Walking Northants Palomino horse and rider photo shoot

Jumping

After that, Courtney wanted to do a little bit of jumping – not too much as Wilf had competed earlier in the week. The light was pretty ropey for this bit, and we didn’t stay at it for too long.

Warming up – Northants Palomino horse and rider photo shoot

Jumping – Northants Palomino horse and rider photo shoot

Equine Prom Dress Photo Shoot

And then it was finally time for Courtney to get into her gorgeous pink prom dress, which matched Wilf’s colouring perfectly.

We knew we were going to need a bit of help from Mother Nature, and sure enough, as we got to the field where we’d planned to be for sunset, a little bit of colour started to appear beneath the bank of cloud. It wasn’t a lot, but it gave some hope.

Watery sunset – Northants Palomino horse and rider photo shoot

Gorgeous pinks – Northants Palomino horse and rider prom dress photo shoot

Courtney walked around at first in her dress and as her confidence grew that Wilf wasn’t going to freak out about it flapping around, she increased the pace a little.

Pretty in pink – Northants Palomino horse and rider prom dress photo shoot

A break in the clouds – Northants Palomino horse and rider prom dress photo shoot

Equine Prom Dress Photo Shoot – Sunset

Out of nowhere, a crack started to appear in the cloud precisely where the sun was sat. It worked a treat, and we got some lovely stuff in that period.

The addition of studio lights changes the whole feel of the image – Northants Palomino horse and rider prom dress photo shoot

The crack did close up again, and the sky was looking pretty uninteresting, even I would have to admit.

Equine Prom Dress Photo Shoot – Studio Lights

We probably waited around for another 15 minutes or so before taking any more pictures. We needed it to get darker, so that the lights could start to take effect. And when they did, WOW!

Even with the flattest of sunsets, my studio lights can still pull out the drama – Northants Palomino horse and rider photo shoot

It just goes to show that you don’t need a full-blown sunset to get stunning images!

We took some ridden and finished with in-hand shots, and that was just about enough for all parties. Wilf had done incredibly well to stay interested for just over two hours.

In-hand shots after sunset – Northants Palomino horse and rider prom dress photo shoot

After dark Northants Palomino horse and rider prom dress photo shoot

The End of the Day Delivers Once Again

I love these shoots. You never quite know what you’re going to get, but it always delivers something, and this shoot ended up delivering a lot, even when it hadn’t looked like doing so.

Ultra-Slo-Mo Equine Video

As for the ultra-slo-mo video, we’re still getting to grips with what we can offer and what it will need to cost, but I am extremely confident that it’ll become a package add-on option before too long. It looks amazing! Check out the sunset part below.