If you’ve ever had your portrait taken by a photographer, chances are they’ve scheduled the shoot for right around sunset. That’s because the hour or so before the sun sets is called the “golden hour”. The light is amazing, and if you’re lucky enough to have some trees on the west side of whatever property you’re working on, you can get some amazing shots where the sun sets behind the trees and creates a beautiful backdrop for your photos. With equestrian photo sessions, however, I schedule the shoot about 2 hours before the sun sets – there are so many cool places on a farm to take photos and create silhouettes and black background portraits, and then by the time you’ve had your fill of those photos, the sun is about to set behind the trees and you’re all set!
Everything was going swimmingly with Dawn and Blue’s photo shoot, and then right as the sun started to sink below the trees, a storm came through. We literally had a minute or two of sun before the sky went totally dark! We made the most of it though, and got some really fun shots. Blue is an off the track thoroughbred and Dawn shows him mainly in jumpers, but they also compete at hunter derbies and do fun stuff like trails and paces. Blue is Dawn’s baby through and through – the two of them have such an amazing bond and so much trust in each other. They’re a dynamic team – Blue is incredibly powerful – but he’s also really good at relaxing and taking cues from Dawn, which was great for our shoot. Thank you Dawn and Blue for a lovely evening and for being such fantastic models!