Some of the sessions I look back on most fondly are the ones that helped shape the photographer I am today.
Jeannine and her horse, Lux, were one of the first horse-and-rider portrait sessions I ever photographed. At the time, Jeannine and I both boarded our horses at The Summit Ranch Equestrian Park in Dawsonville, Georgia, which gave us the perfect North Georgia setting to capture the relationship between her and Lux.
Years later, these photographs are still incredibly special to me.
A HORSE-AND-RIDER SESSION AT THE SUMMIT RANCH
One of my favorite things about equine photography is that there doesn't need to be a special occasion to have professional photographs taken with your horse.
Jeannine and Lux didn't need ribbons, a competition or a milestone to make their relationship worth documenting.
The relationship itself was enough.
For their session, we were able to use the beautiful surroundings of The Summit Ranch Equestrian Park while keeping the focus exactly where it belonged — on Jeannine and Lux.
The North Georgia landscape made an incredible backdrop, with the mountains in the distance and the farm setting surrounding them. It created portraits that felt polished while still looking completely natural to their life together.
CAPTURING THE QUIET MOMENTS
Some of my favorite photographs from horse-and-rider sessions aren't necessarily the most perfectly posed ones.
They're the moments in between.
A horse resting its head near its person's shoulder. A hand reaching instinctively toward their face. A quiet look between the two of them. Those little interactions are often the things that say the most about their relationship.
That's exactly what I love about this photograph of Jeannine and Lux.
It isn't about asking Lux to perform or creating an elaborate pose. It's simply a beautiful portrait of a horse and the person who loves him.
WHERE MY EQUINE PHOTOGRAPHY BEGAN
Photographing Jeannine and Lux also represents an important part of my own photography journey.
I had already spent years around horses, but I was beginning to bring two huge parts of my life together: horses and photography.
Having that equestrian background completely changed the way I approached photographing them.
Horses don't always understand our photography plans. They move their feet. Their ears disappear the second everything else looks perfect. They notice something happening three pastures away. And sometimes the best thing you can do is stop trying to force the photograph and give them a minute.
Understanding those behaviors allows an equine portrait session to move at the horse's pace.
Jeannine and Lux were one of the first opportunities I had to turn that understanding into the kind of equine portrait experience I wanted to create.
YOUR HORSE DOESN'T NEED A TITLE TO DESERVE PORTRAITS
I photograph some incredibly talented competition horses and riders, but equine photography isn't only for people who compete.
Your horse doesn't need to barrel race, jump, show or have an impressive registered name to deserve beautiful photographs.
Maybe your horse is your trail partner.
Maybe they're the horse who rebuilt your confidence.
Maybe you've had them since you were a kid.
Or maybe they're simply the face you look forward to seeing every time you pull into the barn.
That's enough of a reason to document them.
Because our lives with horses are made up of thousands of ordinary moments — and someday, those ordinary moments become the ones we would give anything to experience one more time.
NORTH GEORGIA EQUINE PHOTOGRAPHER
Getting to photograph Jeannine and Lux at The Summit Ranch Equestrian Park in Dawsonville was one of the sessions that helped begin my journey into equine portrait photography.
Today, I photograph horses and their people throughout Dawsonville and North Georgia, creating everything from horse-and-rider portraits and black-background equine portraits to western lifestyle and competition photography.
No matter what you and your horse do together, your relationship deserves to be remembered.
