The Relationship Between Horse & Rider: A Cinematic Western Photoshoot in Alberta

Some photoshoots begin long before the shutter clicks.

This one began as a feeling I carried deep in my bones, one I’d known since girlhood.

Trauma is weaved into the early chapters of my story, but horses always offered me a different kind of language. A kind where I didn’t have to explain anything. Just being beside them felt like exhaling for the first time in a long time. It was healing. Liberating. Like riding out of something heavy and into something mine.

This session was personal. I wanted to translate that feeling into images, freedom, softness, strength, and the bond between woman and horse. Not just for me, but for anyone who has ever needed something steady to hold onto while they found their footing again.

We shot on a warm summer evening, golden light weaving through the dust as it settled. The horse was a bit antsy, and we both held nervous excitement, two reserved souls trying something new. But there was beauty in the unscripted rhythm of it all. There’s a kind of wild honesty in being around horses. They never ask you to be more than who you are, but somehow, they invite you to grow.

My favorite frame? Any of the ones where her hair is flying, the horse mid-gallop, and the sunset stretched behind them. It holds exactly what I hoped to create: motion, emotion, and a sense that maybe the wind could carry some of the weight away.

These kinds of sessions are possible.

They don’t need to be polished or perfect.

They can be expressive, raw, cinematic, about reclaiming something for yourself.

If you’ve ever imagined seeing yourself through that lens, I hope this reminds you that photos can be more than pretty.

They can be power.

All my best,

Kendra

KW Visual Stories