Gaining Trust for a Lifetime of Memories Returning Clients... There is such a special bond between our return clients and ourselves. We cherish being able to create artwork for them again and again. At this point the trust factor has been well established and we realize it is one of the biggest reasons that they have returned.

The Scene...
In the case of Mandy who is featured in these images, she returned to be photographed again with a different scene. We captured her senior portraits seven years ago, with another horse. This time Mandy called us right after the holidays because a weather phenomenon known as pogonip in our area was happening. Pogonip is the result of frozen fog and frost on vegetation and all things. The Native Americans gave the name pogonip meaning white-death, because of the white crystals in the air that caused so many respiratory problems. It's a beautiful sight and only lasts a short time. The frost covers everything and is so rare as it combines with the fog and freezes. We've only seen it in our valley twice in the last ten years! Mandy's dream was to have her portraits created, with her treasured horse in a winter scene with the elusive pogonip. After a week of frozen scenery our timing was great! We scheduled the session on the very last day of the beautiful white landscape, before it melted away.

The Clothing...
Mandy had a couple black dresses that she had envisioned in her portraits. During our talk, I asked her to include a red dress and a white gown too. We used four different locations and we charge an extra fee for different set-ups. This was a marathon session! While we created these beautiful images, we knew they would be included in a story-telling album. Albums and wall portraits were something we discussed before the session, in a design consult.

Session Details...
During the session my focus is on the lighting, the angles and the posing. It's so important to place the horses at a diagonal to the camera, just like you do with people. It's best to get a 2/3 view and flatter the horse. Horse lovers are particular about the horse's ears pointing upward and forward. They also care about the expressions on the horses. It's important to keep the horse interested in the session. Use reflectors, mirrors and gentle movements and noises to keep the horse engaged.

Posing...
Posing for young women is important. Direct your subject to put her weight on her back leg. Even when your subject is a tiny size 2, her body should be positioned and guided into an elegant angle. The front knee should be slightly bent in front of the back knee, to create an hourglass figure.

 Presenting...

We present all of our sessions with a slideshow and then we use ProSelect to show our clients their portraits in roomviews. This projects the images right onto the walls that the clients photograph and email to us. It's like virtually being in our client's home. Projecting the images onto our screen in our studio with their roomviews, helps our clients see the images on their "walls" and purchase the "right" size. Mandy purchased two 40 inch wall portraits, a 36 inch collage, and a large album. We believe in creating wall portrait artwork to design and decorate our clients' homes, just like pieces of furniture. With returning clients, we have succeeded in keeping great relationships and providing masterpieces for our amazing clients to treasure.

Testimonial from Mandy...(Ask all of your clients for a testimonial quote. Provide them with a special sheet to write on.) "I chose Peg Buckner to take my pictures with my horse because I knew that she would be able to capture exactly what I wanted in our portraits. She was able to get the perfect expressions and angle in all of my pictures. She captured the bond between my horse and me, in a way I always dreamed of. The pogonip stayed on the trees just long enough to finish all of the pictures. Peg and Michael were so patient waiting for me to change outfits and they had so many great ideas! The overall experience was everything I dreamed of and everything I wanted photographed between my horse and me."