Kadence and Jaime under tree
What Does the Photographer Do When She Needs Pictures?
Weeks ago I'd asked Jodie if she could help me with some pictures. Kadence needed a photo that represented her 4 year old year in her baby book. Plus I admit it, I just plain wanted some new pictures. Jodie and I live 200 miles apart and our schedules don't always mesh, not to mention the fact that her dog, Bumble Bee, picked this time to need some special attention. We finally picked a day and met at my mom's house. I was very ecstatic! I had no idea until I read her blog post that she was nervous! In contrast, I was about as excited as I could be.
Even the Best Laid Plans...
The night before the shoot, I got Kadence all cleaned up, clipped, and banded. That's when I discovered the first problem. I had left the sleezy at home. I was destined to help create pictures of my horse for all posterity without the assistance of a sleezy. The obvious problem with this absence is the potential for a filthy mane and neck in the morning as well as bands doing who-knows-what. The second problem had to do with the forecast. This was the first night of the year that the temperature was expected to drop into the forties.
The morning of the shoot, still excited, I got up early and headed outside. BURR! I immediately realized I had underdressed. The wind was whipping and it was COLD! Had it really been 87 degrees yesterday? I headed out to the barn and found Kadence's mane reasonably clean but the bands were marginal. The real kicker was her fuzzy neck! Could we really do close up candids with her looking like that?
I headed back inside to fix my hair and makeup. In the end, that was a total waste of time. I didn't even get off the front porch before my hair was blowing in every direction. As my photographer pulled into the driveway, I changed the plan. I hate changing the plan.
I led my filly (who seemed to be growing neck hair by the second) out to my trailer to put a saddle on her. Maybe riding her would warm her (and me!) up and slick down her hair some. I ran inside to put on show clothes and stuff my now-ruined hair under my hat. Candids-shmandids. Under saddle rail shots, here we come. Thank you Mama for the white rail fence!
So here's a little recap: the previous day Kadence did not get worked nor turned out as we drove the four hours to my mother's house. The previous night, the temperature plummeted some forty degrees. Kadence is a good girl but were we really going to try to take pictures right NOW? See what you think. (Picture above)
Mama hauling photography equipment
In fact, none of the rest of the day went exactly to plan. But Jodie, my mom, and I worked well together and ended up with over 500 pictures of Kadence and me. As we went to lunch and reviewed the proofs, I was like a kid at Christmas. I have zero recollection of eating my chicken wrap. I am quite sure our server thought we were all nuts, but I almost clapped my hands with glee! I had no remorse or disappointment over my hair or hat or the wind or the bands. We made it work. Jodie saw the shots, I helped with the camera settings as needed, and my mother assisted with getting ears up and running around fetching things and the other overlooked but all important aspects of picture making. Our similar backgrounds, education, and tastes were going to give me some pictures I would treasure forever. How could this get better?!
Enter Kasino
Jodie asked if we could take pictures of Kasino after lunch. Of course I didn't have to think about it! YES! Since he hadn't been outside either, we put he and Kadence in the round pen for a little while first. Thank goodness by this time, the temperature had increased to a reasonable number (although the wind never let up). I pulled back the mess on top of my head into a hair barrette. Jodie delighted me with another hundred or so proofs of Kasino! Although I can't say that he was perfect, I was so pleased that he was broke enough to get this done at all. After all, he was miles from home, over 200 feet from Kadence or any other horse at all, the dogs were cavorting around in the yard causing a distraction to us all, the wind was howling and it was fairly cool. Oh and of course, don't forget he IS a weanling.
Is This How MY Clients Usually Feel?
Remember that blog post I mentioned? Jodie titled it I got the shot. Silly woman. With over great 700 proofs, successful improvisation of poses and shots due to weather, and dozens of pictures already shared across four Facebook accounts, she should have called it How I Made the Day. I. Can't. Wait. To. Do. It. Again.
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