Julia Lawrence with Sander | Lifestyle Horse & Rider Session

Pickering, Ontario

I absolutely adore this session of Julia. I’ve known her for a couple years while I helped out on the OCEA circuit doing in-gate for west and central zone. Always the happiest and perkiest person in the morning and I knew it would be a great day in-gating if Julia was there helping me. So it was no surprise how happy I was when I found out she had won the free mini session I had donated to the University of Guelph Vet students to help fund their trip to Africa.

Unfortunately luck was not on our side for the first two dates we had picked. Both days had decided they wanted to rain on us which was disappointing but I guess there was a reasoning behind the madness. The third session date we had chosen turned out to be really something special so all the unfortunate rebooking definitely worked in our favour.

I had been to Pickering Horse Centre many times for OCEA shows and to just go to watch friends show there as well during the summer. So I knew the property pretty well when arriving. Julia’s biggest worry was finding spots to shoot in but I need not worry about that. You can make just about anywhere work with a little bit of angling and perfect lighting. We started by their outdoor arenas, which are lined by beautiful mature trees. It was such a perfect spot to start and Sander was such a cutie pie!

We ended off the night in the massive backfield on property. The sun was setting just behind the tree line, giving this beautiful glow to the images. It was also the perfect spot to capture the beautiful purple pastel skies we were graced with that night. Never would I have imaged such a gorgeous sunset to finish off the night!

My Favourite Winter Photos From 2021

Ontario, Canada

I feel like snowy winters in Ontario or at least Southern Ontario last about 2-3 weeks and then just disappear into the wet muddy mess that we all hate. This year was no different with a solid 2.5 weeks of beautiful snow before the rain came to wash it all away. Thankfully, I was able to jam a whole lot of sessions into that little bit of time before the snow left and I want to share a few of my favourites here with you!

First up is one of my longest returning clients having a birthday portrait session with her horse Tiny who was turning 29 the next day. It was probably one of the cutest things I have ever gotten to photograph and I would 100% recommend having birthday portrait sessions with your horse! Also can we all marvel at how good Tiny looks for 29!

One of my favourite images from this past winter is this STUNNING photo I got of Stonewood’s Rob Fjord. This photo right here made the 4am wake up call completely worth it. We had the most perfect sunrise happening and I asked Brandon to go one more time with Rob before we switched horses and I am so glad I did. Never did I think that I would perfectly frame the sun just above his head creating this beautiful shot.

Next up is this very beautiful and soft snowy image. What started out as a very dark and cloudy evening turned into a picture perfect sunset. I have to admit I honestly thought we’d only have overcast that day and that would be that. I’m so thankful myself and Mackenzie stuck with the date. Her beautiful Icelandic/Belgium cross Tir Na Nog looked picture perfect against this pastel sunset! Plus the snow was so fresh and fluffy that the snow trails look amazing!

What started as a plan to be a sunset session soon turned in to a sunrise session after the threat of rain. Boy was I happy we changed times! The drive up to the barn surprised me as we slowly had a thin fog roll in and trees beautifully covered in ice from the early morning moisture. It created the most beautiful creamy background for both Deidre and Nicole’s session!

Douglas over here had a mind of his own during his session and decided he only wanted to trot in a circle up and down the hill is the paddock. I took this as an opportunity to climb the fence to catch a higher, more creative angle. This made it super easy to create this all white background as he trotted up the hill.

For my last image I just adore how the snow trailing Wilbur looks to be on fire. This boy had some extreme zoomies that morning and need no encouragement to canter or trot around his paddock. The trees in the distance also make for a very cool and intricate backdrop for this image.

Katie Wilson with Aero | Lifestyle Horse & Rider Session

Whitchurch-Stouffville, ON

It was a perfect Monday evening for Katie and Aero’s Horse and Rider session at Pause Awhile Equestrian Centre. After a couple days of rain and having to reschedule because of it we finally had a beautiful sunny evening! We headed out to the front area of the property where beautiful ponds, a tree lined driveway and open field are. From there we just had a fun evening enjoying the cool weather after a week of blistering heat and just having a good time getting some beautiful portraits!

Julie Scrivo with Jerry, Allusion, Harvey, Tiny and Upie | Lifestyle Horse & Rider Session

Tottenham, ON

I headed down the driveway that I know all too well. Over the past 5 years I have been heading out to Julie’s private facility for horse and rider sessions multiple times a year. I can’t even count on my hands anymore how many we have done together! It’s been an amazing journey having the privilege of watching her horses grow and age with her.

This session was a special one. We were photographing her baby that is now 5 years old. I meet Jerry when he was just a wee baby back in 2015. I’ve gotten to see him grow and fill out over the years and finally become this stunning horse he is today, is just spectacular. To be able to photograph that growth is why I love my job so much!

We started the session just focusing on Jerry. Julie was dressed to the nine’s in her beautiful show clothes! I honestly have to hand it to western riders. They really put so much time and effort into looking perfect when show ready. It’s mind-blowing the amount of work that goes into it! We headed over to a quiet spot beside the barn and I got to work. Julie and all of her horses are pretty much pros at this point and little direction is needed for them to get into position, plus Jerry is just such a beef cake!!

We moved to her sand ring for some undersaddle shots. Like many, Julie’s show season came to a screeching halt due to Covid. Leaving all her new show clothes and tack unused until now! We used this opportunity to get a few shots that she would have gotten should her show season had not been cancelled.

I always love shooting new disciplines and what western riders look for in images varies in some areas compared to what my usual Hunter/Jumper riders look for. The smile on Julie’s face when I nailed the shot she was looking for was all the confirmation I needed that day! I also became completely obsessed with how gorgeous Jerry looked in his western tack that I couldn’t help but get a few detail shots of that too! I am not one to miss an opportunity to capture the finer details during a session.

I also had the absolute pleasure to recreate some images of Jerry to match the photos Julie had gotten many years ago with his mom. Honestly I love doing special moments like this, being able to bring old memories to life. I know how special his mom was to Julie and to do this for her was the smallest gift I could give.

To end off the session we got all 5 of her boys ready and headed out to her back hay field! The moment we had both been waiting for had arrived. She had asked me about getting this shot when she first booked and I was so happy to finally have all 5 boys in front of my camera. I have photographed each of them in their own session but never as an entire group before. This was going to prove challenging but then again I love a good challenge and coming up with a solution that works! Julie is also up for all of my crazy ideas so once we nailed the shot of all 5 horses I asked her to walk all 4 boys towards me in her beautiful long dress. To say we NAILED it is an understatement! Julie did fabulously handling them all while walking towards me and I also can’t thank all the helpers we had that night enough, as they made these next shots possible! Without them these last few photos would have been nearly impossible so I want to give them a huge shoutout for making the dream come alive!!

Thank you so much Julie for always trusting me with your photos. It is always such an amazing fun time heading out to your farm every year!