What to expect on an off-location shoot - Alex,Connie and AJ

This blog is all about sharing what happens on my side of the camera, and how we structure a shoot that is away from home. We dive into a woodland shoot from last week with Alex Fox Mackinnon, and break down our structure throughout the shoot. Of course, not all horses will come off the lorry, and be relaxed and happy enough to stand still for a photo in the middle of the forest. Therefore, let’s get into what we did below to ensure the shoot ran smoothly and was enjoyed by everyone involved.

A Fun drone video showing our location, and who we had come along to help with the shoot.

getting Started

On arrival, we try to hang around as little as possible. As soon as the horses and yourself are ready, we head off to prevent any impatience building up. On this occasion, we had roughly a 10 minute walk through the forest to reach where we wanted to start shooting. This was perfect to allow to horses to get used to their surroundings, and since they were kept moving, they started to relax into the swing of things. Our first shots were what I call, the walking shots. Pretty self explanatory, we also add some stops and pauses here, which meant we got some lovely images, while the horses only had to stop for a second or two at a time. 

Walking Shots

We then moved onto some log shots. These are very much, position yourself, bring the horses in, treat shake, take the shot, and then relax. The horses can have a have a munch if they like while we change position, and then we do the same again. This stops the horses from getting bored, and we get their attention using treats or dancing around, only when we need it!

Log prop

Outfit Change

After the stationary log shots, we move back to some moving and larger frame ones, before having an outfit change, We then head on to another part of the forest, letting everyone have a break while we move. The horses have settled down now, so we get in a bit closer and get some cuddly shots

cuddly shots

Repeat

We do this structure again, using different natural frames, backdrops and props found within the forest, as well as adding in one final outfit change. This gives us a large variety of images at the end, and ensures we capture many sides of the relationship between horse and owner throughout the shoot. 

who's involved

I’d like to touch on who comes along to the shoots with us. Here, as you can see, we had quite a few extra hands. This was mainly to capture all this BTS content for me to share. However, usually just one extra person is all we need. This can be a friend or family member of yours, or I will try and have somebody come if you are by yourself. Their main responsibility is outfit carrying and treaty shaking ( essential jobs of course!)

Sounds like it may suit you?

Although off location shoots can often require a little bit more prep due to the travelling involved, if you have a special place in mind you’d like to go instead of having the shoot at home, or on the yard, please get in touch, and we can dive into the possibilities of this.