Early Spring Shenanigans 2023 - Rachael Watts Photography
Spring is finally here, the horses are shedding, time changes, foals are hitting the ground, trees are blooming. This is literally the best time of year.
My first session to start the year was pretty neat. You know how people (ok, mostly young women) want to do an awesome photoshoot to celebrate turning 30? It's kind of a big deal. When you're in your twenties, you are an adult, but you don't really feel like an adult until to hit your 30's. In my opinion, that's when life really hits you; where you're going, what you wanted to do versus what you are currently doing, families and plans for the future. So when I got the email from Kendrea wanting to document this special occasion in a unique way, I was all for it! She doesn't personally own horses, but really wanted pictures with one. I was more than happy to let her model with my grey mare, Princess. Kendrea had plans to wear a black dress (symbolizing the death of our twenties) and I knew Princess would be the perfect addition to the set, despite her lingering winter fuzz.
I wanted to try something a little bit different for this session. We just happened to have a couple of smoke bombs laying around, and I knew the sun coming through the trees would make for some cool pictures. I don't think Princess was a huge fan of the smoke though!
I've had the song Long Cool Woman by The Hollies stuck in my head for weeks because of this amazing session.
Horse show season has started as well! The first show on the calendar this year was the East Texas Stock Horse Show at Longhorn Arena in Greenville, Texas on February 17th-19th.
The VIP's of East Texas Stock Horse Association (from left to right): Willie, Leslie, Stacy, Nathan, Ray, Martha, Josh, Mack & Curt.
I felt a little rusty with my camera in the show pen last month. I have set a personal goal for myself this year to only shoot shows with strobes. The difference between pictures with flash and without is incredible. Not only do they look more professional, in my opinion, but I don't have to do as much editing when the lighting is better! I was concerned about utilizing my big strobes because they have to plug in to a power source and I didn't want cords laying all over the place for people and horses to trip over. So, I attempted to use my cordless flashes. They worked ok for some of the shots, but not like I needed them to. These are some of my favorites that have been ordered.
I had a portrait session for barrel racer, Oceane. Her sponsor needed some updated pictures of her and horse to use for their marketing materials. Oceane is currently a student at Texas A&M University-Commerce.
That's it for now! I've got a ton of fun and exciting stuff planned so check back soon for more updates and be sure to follow me on Facebook & Instagram!
Y'all don't forget to check out Portfolio Pet for custom artwork of your pets! *affiliate link*