Meet Helen and her gorgeous boy, Bailey! He's been part of Helen's life for the past 3 years and she wanted some pictures to treasure of their time together, so far. Of course she wanted some lovely pictures of them together, but also any of the silly moments they have together, as they like to have a lot of fun! I was also warned about his "pretty face" when their was a chance of a treat coming his way, so we definitely didn't have a problem getting his ears forward during the shoot!
It was a warm mid-May afternoon and Helen was just finishing getting Bailey ready on the yard. He looked very handsome in his headcollar, and Helen had gone out and bought him a lovely smart, black leadrope. I always ask clients to have a dark coloured leadrope for the shoot, or borrow a leather rein if they would like, it just looks so much smarter and doesn't cause unnecessary distraction in the photographs.
We began with some black background photos of Bailey in the barn - we had a laugh trying to get him facing the right way, as he was far too interested in what could be in the bin, or the tasty straw bales just by the edge of the door way!
After a quick change in to her first outfit, and Bailey in his bridle, we headed out down the lane. The sun was very bright, so we tried to stick to the shaded areas as much as possible. We found a lovely little spot under a canopy of trees on a quiet country lane. Helen had been keeping an eye out for pretty spots whilst out hacking Bailey. She also got some practise in, in-hand out on the roads, just to make the shoot run much smoother, as he can be prone to being a little strong when he wants to be!
There were some pretty little arched doorways along our route, vibrant brick walls and shade under the trees arching over the road. We spent the time chatting about many things, including Helen's upcoming holiday to a ranch! They'll enjoy two weeks of riding and gorgeous weather - I mean, what could be better?!
it was time to head back to the yard for an outfit change, and then we ventured up in to the woods, in search of bluebells! We were lucky to find a few patches of bluebells still in bloom. We made the most of the bluebells and then decided to call it a day as Bailey was getting a little bored. A jogger had spooked him in the woods and that unsettled him, but we had nearly finished the shoot up anyway.
On the walk back to the yard he'd calmed down and been allowed to munch a few handfuls of Cow Parsley along the way.
Thank you so much for having me, Helen! I loved spending the afternoon with you and Bailey - have an amazing holiday and I can't wait to share the images with you once you are back!