A Day in the Life of an Arabian Horse Breeder Photo Shoot - Part 3

Part 1

Well, as you can tell the photo shoot with the Arabian horses was really a challenge. By the time we got to the loose shots of Storm, I could already tell it was going to be interesting.

Whether or not great loose shots can be taken depends pretty much on what kind of help you have behind the scenes controlling the movement of the horses. If you have people who understand what the photographer needs to get good shots as well as what it takes to move the horse around so he provides the show, then you have a chance.

You really have to understand what it takes to cause a horse to do an inside or an outside turn. How much pressure the horse will take before it breaks into a canter or changes direction....... Pretty much the finesse things about controlling the movement of a horse are what it takes to create the right kind of movement from the horse for good loose shots. Many horse owners don't have the slightest idea about those things.



So it didn't surprise me when Johnny Johnston decided to line up all the help and give them instructions on what he wanted them to do. What did surprise me was how long it took for his little training session. I'm pretty sure they spent close to half an hour talking before we got started. I'm not sure if Johnny was telling stories or really giving them in depth instruction but either way, it was too much time for me.

I had been walking the fence line with Storm per Johnny's instructions so the stallion would "know the fence line was the safe place to be." I'm not sure that Storm was getting the picture. He had had enough of this whole in-hand session and he was egging to get loose.



The horse was pretty frustrated with me hanging onto him and he voiced his displeasure by taking a pretty good nip at me for which I promptly set him straight only to have Johnny Johnston yell at me. I let Johnny know the horse had bit me and the next thing you know he was telling me about keeping the horse out of my space and all kinds of training issues. I was doing my best to bite my tongue and just ignore his lack of understanding about what was going on between me and my horse.

Because Storm had been so "flat" for his close-ups, I think that Johnny Johnston decided it was going to take something dramatic to get the horse's attention. He asked me if I could handle the horse if he was really frightened, to which I replied in the affirmative. Then he had me turn the horse and walk him toward the camera while everyone on the sidelines let loose with shakers and plastic bags, tarps, all forms of commotion to startle the horse...........and startle him it did.




Poor Storm tried to run off and when he couldn't get loose he began rearing. I flipped the end of the lead up towards his head trying to bring him down only to have Johnny Johnston yell at me to stop. He claimed I was making the horse rear. I couldn't resist responding "NO, I'm making him stop!" as I flipped the lead at Storm again.

This time I got the end right over the horse's ears and Storm promptly dropped to the ground and looked at me. I doubted that Johnny Johnston had learned anything but I was pretty sure that Storm had. At this point I turned the horse loose as instructed and then headed for the opposite rail.

The horse was heading straight for the corner that Johnny had made it clear he did not want the horse in so I moved up to block him. Since I could see that none of the people who were supposed to be turning him were making a move, I did it myself. Only to have Johnny Johnston yell at me again. He told me to get out of there because I didn't know what I was doing. I think that meant because "HE" hadn't trained me! At this point I was about ready to choke Johnny Johnston. I was probably the only person there who did understand what it takes to get good pictures and he told me to butt out.




So I backed off and watched as his "trained helpers" pushed too hard or not enough and everything in between. My horse raced around at top notch speed when what the photographer wanted was a nice trot. I might have laughed if it hadn't been my horse and my pictures. I figured because Storm is very photogenic we would get pictures we could use but this photo shoot sure wasn't turning out the way I had hoped.

By the time I caught up Storm he was a sweaty mess. It wasn't that he had really been running that long. Mostly, it was the stress. Being in a strange place and getting chased around with people yelling probably wasn't how Storm had planned on spending his day.

Because I needed to deal with my hot horse, I let my friend, Lilli, get started with the pictures of her black horse, Quincy (father of the twins). Photographing black horses is a tricky thing and as you can guess with Johnny Johnston it because a chore. Not only that but Quincy turned out to be the last horse that was photographed that day. Johnny decided the light was no good and we were done for the day. Of course, that final decision didn't get made until there was a break for lunch and then a break for the sun to move. It was finally 4 or 5 by the time the official decision was made. So to get to the point............we have to go back on Saturday to shot more pictures.

Needless to say, I'm having trouble getting myself into gear to do this all over again. Not only do I have to re-bathe horses and touch up their clip jobs, I have to work up the "nerve" to deal with Johnny again. I really need these pictures or I'd probably pass. However, I don't have the funds for a private shoot with another photographer, so I'll just have to "buck up" and go with it.

If you're wondering if it's worth it...............here are some of the proofs. What do you think?

Part 4


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