Shay’s Matric Dance Shoot

Shay was home schooled. Therefore there wasn’t much chance of her being able to attend a matric dance. Her parents had also just bought her a property. And built a stable yard for her. So, when Shay started talking about wanting a matric dance her parents decided to combine all the celebrations. Her 18th birthday, the stable yard opening and a matric dance all turned into one celebration. And a huge party was thrown for her. Shay had decided that now that she was out of school she was going to focus on her horses and her horse riding full time. Since this was also the stables opening party and, we decide it was vital that we include the horses in Shay’s Matric Dance Shoot.

Getting the Shoot Started

From the moment Shay got out the car I could tell she was a bundle of nerves. I had also taken a walk through the stables before they had arrived. I could tell the horses were uptight. The party was taking place on the property. And I presume all the activity of the tent being set up, the DJ testing the music, and all the people coming and going must have made the horses very uptight. I made sure I started the shoot with Shay on her own. Just until she relaxed enough. Then I took her to the already uptight horses. Not all the horses would be going out to have the photos taken in the field. So we started at the stables with the few that were staying in.

Photographing Shay’s Horses

We then decided to move out into the field. And include the horses. There was lots of activity going on. And they had been in the stables all day while the tent set up went on. And to add to it all, the weather was not great. This I have found makes horses go slightly more crazy than normal. These poor horses went nuts. They just didn’t know which direction to look in first. We somehow managed to get Shay into position. Then just waited for the horses to be in the right position and looking good before I took the photo.

The party on this night was just epic! Shays mom has been a dancer and so when that dance floor opened, it was incredible!

Ooh and the best part – they had a tower of macaroons!!! The very best macaroons I have ever tasted!