Due to many requests, I am proud to announce that I now offer two types of Equine Portraiture:
Equine Portraiture: With People
&
Equine Portraiture: Just Horses
Not everyone wants to be in the photos, some people are wanting photos of just their horse(s), whether it's portrait, them running, playing, in the herd, or just being a horse. Photos for them to either share with friends and family or print and frame them to be hung in their homes, barns, etc.
Prices for the two remain the exact same. Please visit www.stevenquon.com for a full breakdown including pricing.
As the weather becomes warmer and Spring comes closer, expect to see me a lot more out in the fields just shooting horses.
EQUINE PORTRAITURE PHOTO SHOOT: DAVE RED DZIEDZIC
Yesterday wasn't a pure CANDID theme Portraiture shoot as I felt it wasn't the right scenario so I had to change things up a bit - so we blended in having the two horses running as well. I was crossing my fingers hoping that they wanted to dance so I could finally get some photos of horses bucking and kicking but they just wanted to run in a straight line haha.
Thank you Dave Red Dziedzic and your two lovely Clydesdale mares Queen and Penny for an amazing experience under that incredible sunrise. The #1 barrier when shooting during sunrises and sunsets is timing because it's amazing just how fast that sun moves, 20-30 seconds later and your ambient lighting completely changes. As you already know Dave, I fully support Equine Rescue's and I truly admire what you do. WOW what a stunner that sunrise was.
I have shot landscapes before (though I don't have near as much interest in it as Equine photography) and this is where perhaps some of my skills in shooting landscapes carried over to my Environmental portraiture shots in this session.
Click HERE to view all the photos.
EQUINE PORTRAITURE PHOTO SHOOT: KIRSTY BRACKEN
Thank you to Kirsty Bracken and her Thoroughbred Clydesdale gelding Sirus for being such great sports on a chilli -15C winter day, even though we shot indoor.
I wanted to take this shoot indoors, not just because it was cold but because I will eventually have to tackle equine portraiture indoors in extremely tough environments. It was definitely a great start! There are many more types of indoor shots that I have planned and will be getting down the road.
I wanted this shoot to be primarily off-camera flash photography, but because the sun kept coming into the building quite early, I was able to shoot with natural light for a good portion of my shots. Photographing an 18hh horse in a stall was a good challenge for me especially when he is taller than the top bars of the stall. Factor in that he's a grey and the upper portion of the barn walls is the same colour as he is and it adds another challenge on top of that.
As suggested by a good friend to use cellophane wrap in getting a horse's attention, I've found that it works really well. But like we all already know, no two horse's are the same, what may work on one horse, won't necessarily work on the next one you work with. Every horse is different and every horse teaches me something extremely valuable at each shoot that I do.
Thank you to Kirsty's mother Kim for being such a helpful assistant, you were awesome! Like already mentioned, until I find an assistant, I will find ways to fill the void.
Click HERE to view all the photos.
EQUINE PORTRAITURE PHOTO SHOOT: RACHAEL SIDNEY
Thank you to Rachael Sidney and her boy Logan for some fun out in the snow during the latter parts of a beautiful sunrise this past weekend. Like I mentioned, we unfortunately had to cut the session short but it was still a wonderful time and a very beneficial experience for the both of us.
In this shoot, because the property was so nice and I specifically wanted to have this session at a specific time of the day, I wanted to use the environment to my advantage so believe it or not, I actually shot all of this with a 35mm lens, which is not your ideal portrait lens but if you use the environment than it shines. You most definitely cannot shoot horses close up with a 35mm.
It was Christmas themed and I wanted to tell a story between these two so I just let them do their thing. My main workhorse lens was never used in this shoot. A dark horse during the morning sun with soft white snow everywhere was a perfect combination. Snow works as a great tool for reflecting light but the light has to be soft. I tried some ultra wide but it just wasn't working for this setting.
Now just imagine this exact same setting in the summer for a seasonal comparison.
Click HERE to view all the photos.
EQUINE PORTRAITURE PHOTO SHOOT: SANDY GERENCER
Thank you to Sandy Gerencer and her very cute Palomino mare for letting me capture the special bond between the two of you. You were both full of energy and excitement, it was great seeing the both of you having such a great time in each other's company.
Because of some limitations in the setting, I felt it was a great opportunity to work on a lot of close up work, as I truly believe that it is essential in every Equestrian Photographer's portfolio.
Click HERE to view all the photos.
EQUINE PORTRAITURE PHOTO SHOOT: KAYLA DUHEME
I faced some new minor challenges on my shoot this past Sunday, but it was a great learning experience in overcoming them. Shooting a 17hh grey horse in tight spaces brings unique challenges. The initial thought that came to my mind when I first saw him was to showcase just how tall this boy is and to use the environment to emphasize that.
Then we introduced little Charlie into the picture and had some fun in the field just letting the three of them live in the moment.
Thank you to Kayla Duheme and her boys Lou and Charlie for being such great models. It was a lot of fun!
Moving forward, one adjustment that I've decided to make is that I will be shooting off-camera flash for now on (at least majority of the time). This will allow me to shoot more dramatic portraits.
I quickly learned that when taking portraits of a person AND a horse, because horses are so large, that it's best to shoot wide on my flash. Time is critically important during my portrait sessions and the sooner I can get my bread and butter down, the quicker I will be in setting up.
My next photo shoot is this Saturday and it will be Christmas themed. :) It will be a little different, not in the way that I shoot the subjects but I will be looking for and scripting unique moments.
One very important note that I would like to mention is that I do still plan on incorporating more environmental photos and I guess it's a bit tough with Canadian winters where we don't have the sunsets or luscious green pastures with lots of green grass and dandelions to capture. Afterall, you look at some of the best photos out there that really bring in the setting and 99 out of 100 times they're shot in gorgeous green fields with flowers everywhere and the sun is setting.
Unfortunately, we are still a few months away from Spring, so I will make the most of it until Spring arrives. Then that's when my ideas and vision will really start to open up as I will be taking full advantage of green pastures, flowers and sunsets.
Click HERE to view all the photos.
EQUINE PORTRAITURE PHOTO SHOOT: EVELYN & MARC SABROW
Here are the photos from Evelyn & Marc Sabrow's Equine Portraiture session yesterday morning out in Acme, AB.
It was a great first experience for me, I definitely know what adjustments I need to make for today's appointment and moving forward.
We did some experimenting, unfortunately a couple did not work. I couldn't capture Evelyn leading 4 horses in an open field due to the field being in harsh sunlight and I needed a 5 stop ND filter to limit the light coming in and allow me to shoot wide open. Now those 5 stop ND filters are on order to be added to me camera bag.
Now off to Dewinton, AB today! :)
Click HERE to view all the photos.