Meet Abi and her 14.1hh skewbald pony - Billy! Abi was lucky enough to recieve a gift voucher from Em for her 18th birthday. After a busy summer revising for her A-Levels, a shoot with Billy came at an ideal time, especially as she is heading off to travel for 6 months to Australia and New Zealand.
The shoot was to take place at the picturesque private yard where she is lucky enough to keep Billy, who she has owned for 6 years. Abi's Mum, Caroline showed me around the beautiful gardens and paddocks whilst Abi got changed in to her first outfit. Billy stood dozing in the sunshine after a good brush. I just love his colour, his brown patches more lemon!
Billy and Abi enjoy going cross-country together and after loosing her confidence on another pony, he's restored her confidence and is an absolute star. Caroline said that Billy just adapts so well to everyone who rides him. He'll look after a nervous rider but his confidence and ability grows if he knows you want to do more!
We headed up the grassy track alongside the paddocks to begin. Billy was a little monkey to get his ears forward at the start, but as the morning progressed, he gave in and "smiled" for us!
The gardens provided the perfect backdrop for us - with benches, wooden logs and shaded areas under the trees. Despite saying she hated having her photograph taken, Abi was so natural and relaxed in front of the camera and I had to give her very few directions. Her relationship with Billy came across so well on camera.
After an outfit change in to a pretty summer dress, we headed back down to the gardens. I loved the simplicity of the white metal bench, especially how they looked in black and white. The pair were very photogenic - the whole morning was a total pleasure!
Caroline worked hard behind the scenes nipping back and forth, waving the purple octopus, shaking bags of nuts and grabbing branches behind me to get Billy looking. Billy showed off his cheeky side on a few ocassions, just nudging Abi off the bench or grabbing a mouthful of grass when he thought we were all unaware!
The driveway provided us with a beautiful background. After some more inhand shots, Abi hopped on board bareback. Abi didn't want any shots that were too posed, that's what she loved so much about Em and Drifter's shoot - at how natural and relaxed everything looked. That's my favourite way of working and I'm sure that's how I manage to capture so much of the character and relationship between owner and horse - the whole experience is so laid back allowing for those moments to develop.
There was one final outfit change for Abi in to her cream johdpurs and polo top for one last kiss and hug on the gravel just outside the yard. Thank you so much to Abi and Caroline for a wonderful morning! Abi was also lucky enough to recieve a voucher towards a canvas from her shoot. Whilst she's away travelling, her parents will be moving house so she'd love to have a big photo of her and Billy above her bed in her new room. Abi said it'll be strange coming back home from New Zealand having not spent Christmas at home, but also coming home to a new house!
Thank you again for having me, and to Em for putting us in touch! Have an amazing time travelling and I hope you love the photographs!