Have you ever found yourself thinking that you’d love to get portraits of your horse only, but aren’t so certain about actually being in them yourself?

Maybe you’re thinking that you don’t usually like pictures of yourself.

Maybe you’re thinking it feels weird to have pictures of yourself on your wall. 

Or maybe you just don’t enjoy being in front of a camera.

I’m here to tell you why getting in those pictures might be the right move for you.

1. This isn’t just about capturing your horse. This is about capturing your relationship.
   The main aim of my work isn’t to capture a traditional portrait – you both looking at the camera. These have their place, and many clients love them! But during our session, I’ll spend the most time capturing you as you are. I want to capture the way that you look at them when your heart is just melting. I want to capture how they make you smile, laugh, and feel at home. 
   I take photographs which have the two of you interacting so you can be transported back in time whenever you look at those memories. 
   So when I say it’s not so strange to have those photographs on your wall… this is what I mean. You’re putting your relationship on your wall, not so much yourself.
   
   
   
   
2. Because it really won’t be awkward – I promise.
   Don’t let the idea of being awkward in front of the camera scare you off. In fact, it will be totally opposite – it will be FUN. 
   It will be me and my assistant doing crazy stuff to get your horse’s ears up. You groaning at me and my terrible jokes. It will be you laughing at the reactions you get from your horse. And it will honestly be you welling up with tears because your horse looks freakin’ gorgeous and your session makes you so, so proud of them.
   Your day will be all about you and how much you love your horse – and that will be all you can focus on. 
   
   
   
   
3. Because you really, truly, wholly, inexplicably love your horse. 
   The only way I can explain what I’m getting at is this: if you’d get wedding photos with the person you love the most, and you’d be in them, then being in the photos with your horse makes sense. Your love might be different, but it’s just as strong. And your love is worth capturing forever.
   
   
   
   
4. Because the results will make you smile. 
   When you see that picture of you looking adoringly at your horse, the feeling behind that look will come rushing back to you. And even better, when those photographs are on your wall, then every day you walk around your house and your eyes fall over your prints then you’ll allow unplanned joy to make your day come alive.
   
   
   
   
5. Because you’ll get to look like a million bucks for ONE TIME yourself in photographs with your horse!
   You know how your show photos, your horse looks AMAZING. And then you look at yourself and you just go :/
   Sure it’s a bit on the vain side but WHO CARES, I’m going to say it. Sometimes it would nice to have some memories with your horse where you aren’t totally covered in dirt, sweat, hay, slobber! Well, to start with anyway 😉
   There’s always mess with horses, but it’s nice to for once have pictures where it’s not just your horse looking phenomenal.
   
   
   
   
6. For the experience: an afternoon to celebrate the road that lead you to where you are now.
   On a similar note but still so different… this is a chance to spoil yourself. As an equestrian myself, I know how easy it is to invest in gorgeous quality gear for my horse, but spending money on me? Not so easy.
   I say it’s time to give back to yourself, and enjoy a day where you truly feel pampered. If you’re looking for a sign, or permission, this is it! Go on, make a thing of it. Get your hair done, update the wardrobe, hire the fancy dress, use the fanciest bridle you have. Make this a day to celebrate how far you’ve come, and give yourself permission to be proud of what you’ve achieved. Whether that’s your first canter or your big show win, you’ve earned the right to be celebrate, and to give back to yourself.
   
   
   
   
7. Because you deserve photos where your horse looks like they enjoy your company!
   Do you ever feel like you have all of these cute, sweet moments with your horse which you wish you had memories of? But every time you try, they look grumpy or like they don’t want a bar of it. 
   In a session we can make that happen. As a professional equine photographer, I know all of the tricks to get the best out of your horse. That means photos where they look happy, they’re interacting with you with ears up, we can even make sure they’re standing beautifully – all the things you can’t always manage on your own!
   
   
   
   
8. Because you’ll never love a photo of yourself as much as when it’s of you and your horse.
   I’m no stranger to taking issues with my own face and body. But these days I look back on my old photographs which I hated at the time and I love them. I love them because of the people in them, because of the nostalgia, and sometimes because I think I had it better at the time than I realised! I promise that you will look back on photographs of yourself and your horse with kinder eyes. I promise that because your horse is in it, it has this magic ability to make the way you look seem irrelevant in comparison. And finally, I promise you that a part of my service is listening to the things about yourself that you do and don’t like, and positioning you in a way that makes you look awesome.
   
   
   
   
9. Immortalise your horse. Invest in your future.
   Memories are truly an investment. They become more valuable as you get further from that moment, that feeling. When you book a photo session with your horse, you are immortalising them FOREVER.
   As much as we’d love them to be, our horses won’t be with us forever. I hate to be morbid, but I have a healthy distrust of my own horse’s ability to make good choices in the paddock. I’ve gone from a perfect ride one day to calling the vet and being forecasted months of rehab the next. I take every day as a gift. I hope that you have many, many more days to be blessed with having your horse in your life. But as a safety measure, I urge you not to wait. It breaks my heart when someone comes to me wanting photographs of their horses because they’ve lost a horse, and never had photographs with them.
   I urge you to give the future you a gift which you will be eternally grateful for. A gift which you will love as much now as in thirty years: memories of your beloved horse.