Meet Leah and her horse, Freddie! Lisa had organised the shoot for her daughter's birthday - they were both really excited and I couldn't wait to meet them! We met at the beautiful Burghley Lodge and Lisa showed me around the various places we could go. The yard owner had kindly offered for us to use her garden, under a big willow tree, so that's where we headed first.
Freddie is a very handsome boy, very laid back and willing to please! He's currently on working livery which is great for Leah and Freddie, as he's kept fit and well schooled and Leah is able to have lessons on him several times a week.
Leah had a range of different outfits to wear - first of all she chose to wear a denim shirt and leggings. We headed to the garden - I was also pleased to see a wooden bench that we could pull out for Leah to sit on. Freddie took everything in his stride and we all had a great time chatting away.
Before Leah changed in to her next outfit, of dungarees and a stripey top, I asked if they wanted me to take some black background images. Lisa was so excited when I mentioned this as she'd admired them on my website. She wasn't sure whether during the 2 hour shoot it was included, or if the black background shoots were separate - her and her husband debated for ages over which one Leah would like more for her birthday.
Freddie looked so striking against the dark background. Leah even hopped on him bareback for some of the shots. Lisa told me that they were hoping to have one of the images printed quite big to go in the center of Leah's bedroom.
We headed to the fields around the back of the yard where there were some lovely flowers amongst the grass. One of my favourite shots is to get the owner sat in the grass and then to see how the horse reacts, most of them look down, a little confused as to why they're sat on the floor - but it always makes for a sweet shot! We played around with a variety of different poses before we were ready to head back for the final outfit change.
Leah took out her lovely plaits to add some variety to the images, as well as putting on some jeans and a grey jumper. I love how casual the outfits were, it really suited the whole feel to the shoot. It was a real compliment when Lisa said how much she enjoyed chatting with me throughout, and that she felt like she had known me for years - it really helped put everyone at ease.
Leah's Dad brought along their family dog, Ruby for the last set of photographs. We headed back to the garden and pulled the bench back out. Ruby sat very patiently alongside Leah whilst Freddie stood behind them both. It made for such a nice image and is one of my favourites from the shoot! We even managed a few black background shots of Ruby that were put alongside Freddie in the final edit.
Thank you all so much for having me, it was lovely to meet you! Thank you for being so supportive of my business and recommending me to so many people. I hope I get to see you guys again, you were fantastic!
