Equine Graduation Photo Session

with Mikayla and Cookie

This Equine Graduation Photo Session with Mikayla and Cookie was so fun! As it turns out, Mikayla is one of the sweetest people and Cookie is her pride and joy. All in all, the makings of a great session right from the start. However, the wind really picked up as soon as we started. Not to be deterred, Mikayla is quite the cowgirl. Since her a Cookie have such a long standing relationship, the wind was not a problem for either of them. While the pair used to barrel race at Cal Poly together, Cookie is currently enjoying her well-earned retirement. Which is why it was such a treat to have a fun Equine Graduation Photo session together!

Since the wind was fierce, we used it to our advantage and let it play with Mikayla’s hair. While I prefer to shoot backlit, the wind influenced me to shoot front lit. As a result, we ended up with a totally unique session for Mikayla and Cookie. I loved the look of how the front lit images turned out. Naturally, Mikayla’s perfect bone structure and gold sequin dress were really highlighted as a result. While I still love back lit images, it was fun to step outside my comfort zone. Since front lit seems to look more high fashion in my opinion, I asked Mikayla to try out some more high fashion inspired poses. Obviously I was obsessed with the results.

On a personal note, I was having a very difficult day the morning of this shoot. However, clients like Mikayla can really turn your day around. I knew I was going to be working with someone awesome at sunset, and luckily I did get that opportunity! Sometimes we never know what is going on behind someone’s “scenes”. However, kindness goes a long way. Ultimately, I’m so thankful that Mikayla was my client that day. Moreover, she’s one of those people that brings their own light with them.

Check out some of our Equine Graduation Photo Session images below. Book your own Grad Session here.