Relationships- Freja and Bella visit Kennall Vale

Kennall Vale nature reserve , Cornwall, UK,, 26/02/17

This weekend i decided to crack on and shoot my relationships assignment and so i contacted my model and we met in the beautiful setting of Kennall vale nature reserve. The setting was perfect, the winding river and the abandoned old mills created a real sense of adventure which was great for capturing emotive images that portrayed the relationship between my model and her pet spaniel Bella.
Despite the weather being a little overcast i found that there was a good opportunity for portraits as the trees weren't casting shadows all over the model or causing her and the dog to squint.

The biggest challenge that i encountered while doing this shoot was keeping up with Bella, being an excited puppy she was running all over the place which took me a few moments to get used to, however once i did i think i really started to capture some interesting images that depict a connection between the two subjects.
I also stepped away from the relationship photos and practiced panning techniques which i also feel turned out quite well

Overall i captured a lot of  images for the relationship and so its quite a challenge for me to edit it down to 5 however i will show a few of them below.

This is one of my favourite images from the shoot because it really has everything i was trying to capture. Firstly and most obviously is the connection between the two subjects, due to the facial expression and the body language i have captured a really telling moment about the relationship that Freja has with Bella. I also really enjoy the lighting within the images as it is very flattering on the subjects and has produced a beautiful background when combined with depth of field. Composition is another good quality of this image as i really draws your eye around the frame while capturing the relationship and bringing in some context using background .

While this image isn't a candid moment of the relationship between the two subjects i do feel that it is successful as an image for this brief as it kind of acts as your formal portrait within the set however it has a bit of flavour to help project the narrative more effectively. I found as the shoot went on i started to enjoy more an more shots like this where i was finding interesting ways to place my subjects within the environment adding further context to the narrative im trying to create.

For this image i wanted to step back from my subject a little therefore i had the ability to capture a main theme that can be found within the relationship which is adventure. Being a conservation student Freja often enjoys taking her dog all over to explore new places. Kennall vale is one of her favourite places to go with Bella and so i decided this would be a fitting location for the shoot if i am to capture the relationship most effectively.

This image was captured towards the end of the shoot when Bella was all muddy from running around the woods and the old buildings for a few hours and so Freja was trying to get Bella to clean off in the river and so i decided to take some photos as she promised her treats if she went in the water to wash the mud out of her fur.