The Gifted Equine: a horse rescue's story

Social Media is not my favorite, but from time to time, it allows me to meet wonderful people. Queue in The Gifted Equine: a horse rescue started by Haley, a horse lover based in Ohio, and now joined by Savanah based in Texas.

I saw one of their posts, asking for donations to help feed some rescues and I knew I wanted to find a way to help. So I reached out to offer a way to support them and met up with them in Fort Worth to photograph some rescues and learn more about their foundation.

I met Beau and Red on Savanah’s property, where they stay in quarantine for a minimum of 14 days, before hopefully being re-homed, and they were the sweetest despite still being in not so great shape. I also learned more about the heartbreak that these girls go thru during each auction, because they cannot save all the horses and how the stress of vet bills pilling up isn't always easy to deal with either. Feeding them is not cheap either, and most horses at the auctions are skin on bones and it takes weeks to get them back to a healthy weight.

So perhaps, it seems glamorous to have a non profit and yes it is rewarding, but it is also very hard and stressful. So if you have extra cash and love horses, please support this non profit and help them help horses and save them from slaughter. "Horses bound for slaughter may include pregnant mares, foals (baby horses) and horses who are injured or blind and the holding conditions in these environments are inhumane."

To learn more about the Gifted Equine's mission and how to help them save horses, follow this link: https://www.thegiftedequine.com and feel free to share this blog post with friends and family, the horses and foundation can use all the help they can get.

You can also follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegiftedequine/

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Jennifer and Chris and Munch in Seattle

Hiking shoes and/or barefoot are my favorite states of being, so when I met Munch, let's just say she is my dream client. Wearing a cute beach dress, climbing trees and twirling without me even asking her to, she was basically the perfect 6 year-old. And so sweet!!

This entire family session was really fun and relaxed. I always get extra excited when the parents are chill and let the kids be, because trying to pose kids for an hour is just not fun for anyone involved, especially not the kids. But lettings the kids be and doing very little posing leads to these cute photos, a lot of candids, a lot of smiles, a lot of cuteness overload.

It also allows me to have some fun with the parents on the sidelines while the kiddos are busy playing. Yes we are parents, but we are also still a couple and it's nice to have a few shots sans kids. Wether for a cute Valentine's Day photo collage or to print on a mug.

So next time you are thinking of booking family photos, always think of "what is a good spot where kids can have fun and where the whole family can relax and just be without it feeling like a stuffy photoshoot?" or ask me: I love location scouting and I have a long list of suggestions, not just for Texas, but also California, New York, South Dakota, Florida, Tunisia and the list goes on because I have the travel bug :)

I mean, how cute are they?

And then to top the cuteness, Seattle graced us all with a beautiful sunset at the end of the shoot, so of course as any other photographer who says "One Last One" ten times before it being true, I had to continue to shoot !!

Thank you Seattle, and thank you Jenn for trusting me with your family photos and your parent's 50th wedding anniversary celebration. I had a blast and cannot wait to meet at a national park next time :)

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HEATH & KALEE's SUNSET LAKE ENGAGEMENT

A lake, a cowboy hat, a beautiful sunset ... Does it get any more Texas than this? :)

Before any kind of shoot, I like to send off suggestions. Like what to wear, or what to bring to make the pictures feel more like a date, best time to shoot, depending on the photos we are trying to achieve etc ... It does not mean in any way shape or form that you have to follow my suggestions, nor will I be offended by you saying props isn't your thing, or neutral colors isn't your vibe.

I really do believe your photos should be a true reflection of who you are. So if vibrant colors is what you are all about, BRING IT ON!!! Sometimes though, clients, especially new clients, want advice and guidance and I always love to help out. Kalee & Heath did not really have ideas for their engagement photos. So I helped them out and this was the result. A cheese board and bubbles picnic lake for their first look.

Followed by some pictures including their dog, because that was really important to them.

And then we ended the shoot with a second more relaxed outfit for both of them and I did much less posing and really let them be playful and enjoy sunset without intruding too much, besides the photo were they are laying down on the deck :) Definitely made them pose for that one!

HOW CUTE ARE THEY?

We ended the day with a glorious sunset, and truly Texas sunsets have been pretty spectaculr.

Pro Tip: if your other half doesn't love photos and/or outfits changes, layering is always a good option to make the transition more seamless, wether changing hats, shirts, cardigans, shoes, layering a flannel or jacket, there are ways to get creative and having two looks without making it too cumbersome. Heath only changed his shirt and his hat for the second part of the shoot, so it was a pretty easy transition for him and kept him in a good mood, or maybe it was the bubbles.

Either way, it worked out!

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