We took our delegates to a shoot on location with Kate and Michael. And what a beautiful spring morning it was!
We went out onto the open forest to capture them, their two horses and their little dog! Kate and Michael were great fun and the delegates loved photographing them.
Some really special moments were captured between the pair and their horses- great practice for our delegates!
Lauren and her partner Phillip modelled for The Training Barn for this gorgeous shoot back in the spring. We photographed Lauren a few years ago, so it was lovely to see her again- with a new horsey addition!
Lauren rides on the GB endurance team, and has done for some years. She has such a wonderful bond with her horses and it comes across amazingly on camera.
This shoot allowed our delegates to get to grips with photographing a couple- always a different angle than photographing a mum and daughter combination, for example.
The two brought their adorable whippet to play too- how cute!
So we thought we would open up to you guys and let you in on a mistake that we made. Please learn from us and trust your gut!
It was a crisp summer evening, with the sun streaming through the studio window and a well earn’t peppermint tea in hand… only kidding we can’t set the scene as well as this, but basically we had just finished a 2 day training course and were reflecting on our brand and following.
We had made a decision that our brand (you remember the dark blue with gold?) was too corporate and we wanted something that reflected our personalities and the fact that we work in the New Forest with ponies – so we decided to use our collective skills as creatives and past graphic design talents and come up with a new colour scheme and logo.
Queue the cute pony and subtle tones of greens… once we had created this beauty we decided to whack it out there, to the world! Changing the website, social media, newsletters etc etc we were flying! Until 2 days later we looked at the branding, then to each other and back to the branding… whoops we moved way too quickly and are way to close to our own brand to come up with something spectacular and in line with out 5 year plan.
Here’s where you guys can take a lesson from this, instead of sticking with our (bad) decision we got pro active and contacted a designer Hannah has worked with for 12 years. She dissected our goals and values and discussed at length what our ideal look and feel would be, and would you believe it, employing a trusted designer to do the job they are good at has paid off!
We have a new, and perfect brand to show you. We have quietly updated our website, social media and newsletters, Im sure you have all noticed that we have changed, but we wanted to acknowledge the mistake, in being transparent you guys can benefit.
Go forth and put the best people in the best place for your business. Don’t try and do this all by yourself, we cannot be everything to everyone!
What a GORGEOUS time of year this is!! We recently took our awesome team of year-long mentorship delegates to photograph Fay and her majestic 18 hand dressage horse Bengal, on the Ornamental Drive in Rhinefield, the New Forest. This place is renowned for its stunningly tall redwood trees and evergreen forests- the perfect location for an autumnal shoot on location.
We were a little worried before this shoot, because the forecast was for rain- and lots of it. Once we arrived however, the sun decided to put his hat on, and we had the most amazing morning shooting.
Fay also brought her dog, Ben, along for the shoot. This got a little confusing when shouting “Ben!” at both the dog AND the horse!! But I think you’ll agree- a gorgeous set of images that really show the bond Fay has with her animals.
We were TOTALLY spoilt for choice for locations- the little stream with its rickety wooden bridge, the open spaces lined with incredible trees and the little winding paths through the undergrowth.
I’m sure our delegates would agree- an awesome morning! Where is the most beautiful place you’ve photographed on location?
Emily and her mum, Sue, modelled for us earlier this year with their horses Charlie and Otto. Their bouncy pooch Murphy joined in too! We spent the afternoon at Smugglers, on the New Forest.
The weather, although threatening serious rain with those black clouds, ended up staying sunny long enough for us to get some awesome shots.
Emily and her mum, Sue, have such a lovely relationship. It makes it so much easier to photograph a mother and daughter when they are close like this. It was a really great chance for our delegates to capture that special bond. Emily has grown up around horses, so the pair were so at ease with everything we thew at them!
Another glorious Autumn shoot under our belts. We took our 3 day course delegates to Laura’s yard to photograph her with her two homebred warmblood horses, Cecil and Daisy- and what beauties they are! It’s as if they’ve been modelling for years!
We were so lucky to have the use of Laura’s extensive home farm. The corrugated farm buildings made for the most beautiful textured backdrops- have you tried this before? It’s not always the obviously beautiful buildings that make the most striking photos!
Laura’s yard consists of beautiful old stables with big oak beams and doors. There’s nothing I love more than old farm buildings- they have such charm and character that you can never recreate with a brand new stable block. We also found a pretty little stream and a magnificent oak tree to use to our advantage.
All in all, a stunning shoot in a country location!
This was the MOST fun! Arranging to take 2 girls and their ponies down to the beach for a sunrise shoot with our delegates was the best idea for a shoot on location. What an awesome morning we had.
Emily, her pony Smudge and her Golden Retriever Murphy, were joined by good friend Steph and her two ponies Isshe and Mole. We got down to Avon Beach in Dorset at 7am. It was the most beautiful morning- clear and fresh, with the low sun casting the most stunning light on the quiet beach.
The girls were up for having some fun- including wading out into the sea on horseback. Smudge found it all rather exciting- making quite a splash to show what a good time we was having! Emily did well to stay on and not get too soaked!!
My absolute favourite part of photographing on the beach was the beach huts- there’s nothing more beautiful to me than peeling paint and interesting colours to use as a backdrop. Our delegates had the opportunity to split into small groups and photograph the pair individually, before bringing them back together to capture their friendship.
Our delegates were thoroughly spoilt for choice with locations- it’s not every day you get to spend sunrise on the beach in the UK!
This was a real family affair- two sisters, two daughters, a grandchild, 4 horses and numerous dogs, to be precise!
The delegates were lucky enough to get down to business and practice photographing multiple owners and horses together at once. This is a real skill, and a scenario that scares the life out of most equine photographers! The beauty of this situation is that Hannah and I are present to guide our delegates through the processes of shooting this many horses, enabling them to go on and replicate this in future commissions.
Sarah has the most beautiful property, backing straight onto the open New Forest via a stunning woodland and stream.
We managed to photograph the family together both at home, and out on the open forest. The trick is to keep everything moving- changing up locations quickly will ensure horses don’t get bored- some horses have a shorter attention spans than others!
I think you can agree…a beautiful set of images of a family and their horses on location!
Theses two sisters modelled for us back in March earlier this year. These lovely girls brought their two ponies- Frosty and Ben, to allow our delegates time to practice photographing two people and their ponies together, but also individually.
We were able to use the Woodland just outside the front door of The Training Barn, here in Burley, The New Forest. This wood is so beautiful- the ancient old beech trees make such an interesting, textured backdrop for capturing gorgeous images. 
The girls did a fab job- and the delegates captured some lovely moments between the girls and their ponies- both who have been in their lives since they were little girls. There were plenty of opportunities to experiment with posing- a key feature that equine photographers often struggle with when shooting on location.
We were so lucky with the weather this Autumn- September still felt like Summer! We spent a lovely warm morning with Maria and her stunning dressage horse, Corle, at her yard at home in Sway, The New Forest.
Maria often models for us- and has done since she was young! She is always up for helping us out, and the delegates are always spoilt for choice when it comes to selecting their final images.
We found the most amazing blue storage container to use as a backdrop- to most, a bit of an eyesore. But The Training Barn teaches delegates to think outside the box- and what an awesome result!
We enlisted the help of Helena, our awesome friend who has worked for Emily since she was 16! She is now off training to be an equine physiotherapist- but she can’t get away from us that easily! She regularly rides this cute New Forest pony, Frosty, in her spare time.
Our delegates had a really great shoot- let’s just say Frosty wasn’t feeling it, and was rather tricky! He didn’t want to stand still for more than 2 seconds, which made it great practice for our delegates when presented with fidgety horses that refuse to stand still- it happens often on shoots, so you have to be prepared!
We kept the shoot moving- using the woodland, the open forest and the grounds of the Training Barn to capture some gorgeous shots of the pair.
It just goes to show that with a little practice- you can create images that look as though the horse was standing there for hours- magic!!
Phew- hot doesn’t even quite cover it! This shoot was arranged on one of the hottest days of our Indian Summer we experienced this year- but hey, no pain no gain! As a photographer, you have to be ready for the job, come rain or shine, sweltering sun or snow!
We arranged this shoot for our delegate who was on a one-to-one shoot with Emily, who had also been on our recent three-day course, to Sarah Kate’s gorgeous property in the Hampshire countryside.
We were spoilt for choice for dreamy locations- including stunning textured old barns, winding tracks and old brick walls. Our delegate really got to grips with experimenting with posing a client in these different locations, with a little bit of expert guidance from Emily.
Perhaps this could be something you could benefit from? Check out our 1-2-1 courses here.
Fay and Maria are always keen to model for us here at The Training Barn. They are fab subjects to photograph as they have a great relationship which comes across really well. Having 2 models at one shoot allows our delegates to practice posing the pair together, and individually also.
Fay had some new additions to her horsey gang- a new Irish pony that loved jumping, and an enormous dressage horse- some new projects to keep her hands full!
They were both a dream to photograph- and how gorgeous?!
Fay’s yard is a great place for delegates to start getting creative with locations and posing- they are always spoilt for choice!
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