Kate: Steely Gazes & Stunning Equines

 

Kate got in touch with me, initially looking to develop her modelling portfolio and to incorporate her horses. This appealed on several levels but required careful planning to get everything properly coordinated. We agreed a three-hour shoot, since this would allow for preparing the horses, along with changing outfits and comfort breaks.

As the shoot loomed closer, a heatwave, with temperatures 34 degrees plus created another layer of complexity. We initially thought leaving the shoot until the early evening (1730 onwards) would bring cooler temperatures and potentially kinder natural lighting. However, Kate called me early on the morning of our shoot, explaining her concerns, especially for the horses.

Mercifully, I hadn’t any other plans, so we agreed to shoot between 1030 and 1330. At that point, the heat was fairly intense, but we’d found some suitably shaded areas to shoot in. This would hopefully achieve a more even spread of light, while keeping the horses cooler. We ultimately elected to take one of the horses and shorten the riding sequences, focusing on fashion, portraiture and headshots for the remaining two hours.  I alternated between 85mm 1.8 Viltrox lens and 60mm Sigma 2.8 lens bolted to my trusty A6000 and 6300 bodies. I also employed a small hand- held reflector for some additional light. 

Sunglasses: Shoot 3 with Silvai

Silvai approached me with two fashion concepts, which we decided to roll into one session. She wanted to do a summer dress shoot with beach and rural backdrops and a slightly racier red swimsuit and sunglasses theme. This concept would also work on the beach but a lack of changing facilities and families with small children meant this was inappropriate.      

Despite suffering a small but painful injury a couple of days previously, she was impeccably prepared, coordinated, and ready to shoot. As before, she had lots of ideas and knew precisely how she would execute them.  

She poses intuitively and works tirelessly to achieve the desired results. Not that I needed to give any input really, which is very unusual unless I’m working with very experienced models. I also shoot more efficiently, with fewer frames but solid results every time. 

 

I usually show models a series at various intervals so we can evaluate progress. However, she politely declined, saying she had complete faith in my abilities, which was very flattering. I also get the impression she also enjoys the element of surprise/excitement like film processing, when images appear in the darkroom.