Only a couple of years ago all the attention in wedding photography was on the bride. The big reveal from the stairs had to be one of the shots in the wedding album. This trend in bridal photography has changed dramatically as now the whole preparation is a big part of wedding photography and the wedding album. It is the beginning of the story and I think should be captured whether the photographer is there for a couple of hours or for the whole day.

Usually the groom would literally be in the picture when he would come to get his bride to take her to the courthouse or church. Now again a shift is visible, as the preparation of the groom is becoming more important. What to photograph? The shoes, the suit, adjusting the tye, tying a shoe lace or adjusting the cufflinks. As a fan of details I like this shift in wedding photography because it brings more balance in an album but it also gives the bride insight in how he her husband to be, is preparing for this big day. A moment they experience separate from one another but now can actually share.

She just turned 1 year and can almost walk this little girl is simply adorable and yesterday I had the privilege to do a family shoot with little Lisa and her mom Dewi and pap Denny. We went to the Amsterdamse Bos which is not far from their house and had a walk around. We even saw Scottish Oxen that walk about freely in the forrest. As Dewi and Denny hardly have photographs of them together we took some time to shoot a mini engagement session.

I love how they turned out. Here the first preview.

When I was shooting Sandra this weekend I was asked to photograph Jacqueline (the farmers wive) with her horse. I was very willing to oblige because she had been so very hospitable to us all day. So we got the big guy out and persuaded him with a juicy apple to look nice in the shots. At first he did not want to stay within the frame of my camera but when Jacqueline looked at him nicely he became the perfect horse and I could capture them together. And they look pretty perfect!

So after I was done Jacqueline asked me if I could shoot one more image but this time of her and her son. Off course! So we went back to the hay stack and well one shot turned into a mini sessie.

A very big thanks to Jacqueline, her husband Jan and their son Niels for having us on Saturday and allowing us to shoot around the farm and enabling me to get all those great shots.

I shot 375 photographs, I checked Lightroom twice to see if I saw it correctly but yes I shot 375 photographs and from all of these images I had to make a selection for todays blog post. Not an easy task as the portrait session can be split in two halfs the first half with Joris the stallion and the second half Sandra only. But even more because there were so many great shots. But I made and here is my selection.

While going through the photographs I realised how special this Saturday has been. To see Sandra and Helga work with the horse. To see management training from a whole new perspective. The interaction between (wo)man and horse. There were so many analogies with the "real" world and so special to watch. And when we started the portrait shoot is was so great to see how much fun Sandra was having with it. Becoming a real model along the way. So it is with great pleasure I show you the results of this portrait session.

I want to thank Sandra for the invitation and say: Sandra you are one special lady!

Leading with a rope

Helga showed that it is almost like a dance between woman and horse

Sandra 'dancing' with Joris

Leading without a rope!

After all his hard work Joris deserved a nice cold shower

The first shots of the portrait session. Straight out the camera. I love these and I love the hay stack!

 

Loved the light in the stables

The white Priessnitz Chapel

Definitly one of my favorite shots of the day

Last week while the sun was going down yently we went location scouting. It is always nice to have a number of option to shoot and when I came across this location on the Internet I wanted to check it out. The evening was still quite warm and the orchard was like a picture in a frame. My sister came along and was the perfect model. De Olmenhorst has a lot of different fruit trees, party and training locations. It is open to the public from dusk till dawn and near the town of Lisse.

It was such a peaceful environment and I would be thrilled to do an actual shoot here. So what are you waiting for? Sign up!

This weekend I was invited by Sandra to photograph a very special lesson she takes with horses in the eastern part of the Netherlands. While driving there I realised again how beautiful this small country is. The diversity of the landscape is really breathtaking and I understand why Sandra likes being here. Sandra is taking, what I call, horse whispering lessons. Helga her trainer is also providing these lessons as management training and show managers about management styles. I witnessed something magical. Joris the stallion, a race horse when he was young, has to be led by Sandra and she has to guide him and make him listen without words but with movement and the connection she makes with the horse. She could make he follow her, make him stop and make him galloping. To see this happening was really something special and I consider myself privileged to have received this invitation and being able to document this special portrait.

Afterwards we had some time to shoot on the farm. A truly authentic place with lots of options for great shots. As a preview two shots and I will post a larger selection this week (Off course I hoped  to start this week with a post about the Netherlands becoming World Champion but it was not mend to be).

The difficulty with photography is always which photograph to choose. The more you capture the more choices arise. Well I had that difficulty again after the shoot with Corrina, Cor & Melvin. To many great shots and which to choose and which to eliminate. Well it took me a while but here is the selection of my favorite photographs.