Assignment

Dan Sewell with his horse Butch

This is a 2-Speedlite setup.Kudos to Grant, Dan Sewell's son for getting Butch's attention when I was shooting to keep his ears up. High Shutter Speed sync mode 1/500sec @f2.8 ISO 100
This is a 2-Speedlite setup.Kudos to Grant, Dan Sewell’s son for getting Butch’s attention when I was shooting to keep his ears up. High Shutter Speed sync mode 1/500sec @f2.8 ISO 100

When I got a call from a client who bought a 11-year-old Standard bred Amish trained carriage driving horse and he wanted some images to promote for his horse carriage business, I was excited.

Even though I don’t photograph horses as a niche or specialty, I’ve looked at enough drawings of horses to know which poses are flattering.

Grant, Dan's son holds a carrot in his hand to get Butch's attention and to get his ears to perk up.
Grant, Dan’s son holds a carrot in his hand to get Butch’s attention and to get his ears to perk up. The  2nd Speedlite at about 2 o’clock was essential to prevent Dan from disappearing into the dark background and to give that much needed separation.

Dan Sewell met with me at the stable where his horse Butch was boarded around 4:30pm.

It’s a good to have form a mental picture of the setting where a photo shoot will take place.

That helps me decide what I want to pack and bring to the job.

I knew I had to keep the equipment to a minimum without losing the ability to control the lighting.

As expected the stables were in heavy shadow but here and there were pockets of spotty light.

The sun was just beginning to set so I had at least 2 ½ hrs of usable daylight.

I brought 2 600-EX-RT Speedlites on 2 light stands and also my trusty Photoflex Octodome soft box.

I was extremely fortunate that Dan’s son, Grant was available to help out.

He brought along several carrots. When he was done feeding Butch those carrots, my time was up too.

Horses are tougher than kids.

Kids can be bribed more easily.