When Stillness Wasn’t the Answer
There are some horses you notice the moment they step into view. Sophie was one of them.
Savannah arrived at Emerald Isle Eventing Center with her friend Leah after nearly two hours on the road with Sophie, her beautiful black Friesian. I was incredibly appreciative that she was willing to load up her horse and make that long trip to be part of this project. It was a generous commitment of her time, and I was so glad to have the opportunity to photograph them together.
And Sophie really was something to see. Striking from every angle, with the longest tail I think I have ever seen on a horse. It swept all the way to the ground behind her.
Savannah had come prepared, too, bringing a change of clothes that gave us a little variety to work with throughout the session. She looked beautiful beside Sophie, and from the beginning it was easy to see how lovely the two of them were together.
It was also one of those hot, sticky June days when the humidity seems to hang in the air. The flies were relentless, and after nearly two hours of traveling, Sophie was understandably a little restless. Some of what we had planned worked beautifully. Some of it didn't.
So we worked with the horse in front of us.
With horses, I've learned that sometimes the best thing you can do is change the plan. If Sophie wasn't comfortable with a particular pose or location, we didn't force it. We gave things a try, watched what she was telling us, and moved on when something wasn't working.
Savannah knew Sophie better than any of us, so I looked to her, too. I always want the person who knows the horse best to make the call about what they're comfortable asking of them. If a horse needs a break, needs to move, or has simply had enough of something, we listen.
There is no photograph worth making a horse miserable for. And often, letting go of what we had planned gives us something better.
There were quieter moments between Savannah and Sophie that I loved, little glimpses of their relationship when everything came together. Despite the heat, the flies, and Sophie's understandable restlessness, we were still able to capture those sweet moments between them that had brought us together in the first place.
Those photographs made the long journey worthwhile.
But some of my other favorites from the session came when we stopped asking Sophie for stillness altogether.
We let her move.
Savannah lunged her, and suddenly all of that restless energy had somewhere to go. Sophie came alive in front of the camera. Her mane and impossibly long tail moved with her, and I had the rare opportunity to photograph the power and movement of a horse in a way I don't often get to during portrait sessions.
It became one of my favorite parts of the evening.
We ended the session in a beautiful open field at Emerald Isle Eventing Center, where a high hill gave us a clean horizon and Sophie could stand against an enormous stretch of sky. After spending much of the evening working around flies, movement, and a horse who wasn't particularly interested in our plans, it felt like the perfect place to finish.
Sessions with animals rarely unfold exactly as we imagine they will. I think that's part of what keeps me interested in photographing them.
You can plan the location. You can watch the weather and choose the clothes and study the light.
And then the horse gets a vote.
Sometimes the photograph you're hoping for comes in a quiet moment between a horse and the person she trusts.
And sometimes you have to let her run.