These two shots are from a personally arranged photo-shoot with Chelsey Smith, the model/friend I worked with on the Parlour Shoot I did a couple years back. We've stayed in touch all this time, so when our schedules synced, I knew it was meant to be. I roped the amazing Nicola Gavins into make up and styling because I know how amazing she is at putting together a look, a concept, and a theme. And then I persuaded Jill Keech to come do pretty things to Chelsey's hair because I know what a rockstar Jill is as well. My best friend Karyn has the makings of an AMAZING stylist, so I raided her wardrobe for the clothes, as well as borrowed the cream dress from Bamboo Ballroom.
I was inspired by an image sent to me by Karyn over FB, so much so that we dragged all the clothes and make up and camera gear into my Honkey-mobile, piled the three of us in (Chelsey sat in the middle with her mile-long legs) and drove all the way out to Devon to shoot at Blarney Stone Farms.
I arranged to borrow a horse for one shot of her sitting on a horse with the flowing dress and bare feet, shot from an upward angle and kind of abstract. (This was the inspirational image and I wanted to see what I could do with the shot.) This would be the first time Chelsey got onto a horse for a shoot and I was excited because of the great shots we'd already achieved. We dressed her in the Bamboo Ballroom dress and she was a vision. It was perfect, I was so elated.
As we got her ready to get on, things went a bit awry. She slipped and took a tumble, scraping her elbow and making her nervous to get back on. We brought in a second horse who turned out to be a darling, and it was so magical watching the anxiety and fear on Chelsey's face melt into relief and joy when the horse sat still and she was able to interact with Sheepie (the horse) and to work.
I didn't get the shot I had in my head, but the evening was so different from many of the things I've shot that I go back to it in my mind and take pleasure in the moments.
As I'm mood, or emotionally driven when it comes to shooting, I usually gravitate to the images that have real emotion in them, or a mood that I like. I have 38 photos to edit from the shoot, but as I've only edited two of them, I wanted to share what I've been working on.
Compositionally, there's a few that are better. Both images have a central focus, which isn't really my style. If I could go back, I'd have a two more hands on set. A handler for the animals for the whole evening, and an assistant to help Nicola out. I spent a lot of time watching what the horses were doing for safety's sake, which is good of course, but next time I know, right?
We really are a culture that mass consumes images daily. We see thousands of different pictures and videos between blinks, and it's hard to let an image impact us unless we're emotionally involved. Sometimes by reading the history behind an image, we see it on a different level. There's nothing monumental about these images, but three talented women spent a beautiful evening in the warm September light traipsing around fields with ponies. I don't know anyone who can't appreciate that, even just a little bit.
Cheers.
