Advice for Photographing Celebration of Life Sessions

Celebration of Life Sessions are hard.

I hope my experience can help you make the experience just a bit easier.

While this topic is not the most lighthearted subject, it is an important occasion to photograph nonetheless and I plan to share some of my thoughts on the subject as it is quite personal to me. I would argue it may be the most important photos of many horses’ lives. In my experience, about half of the horses I have photographed Celebration of Life images of had not had professional images taken of them before that occasion. While it is always ideal to photograph horses are at their “best,” but the truth is that there is never a perfect time to photograph your horse.

We can make endless excuses for wanting to reach a specific training milestone or for some superficial aspect of them to improve to deserve photography. However, these barriers we create can prevent us from photographing our horses at any stage or their journey or before it is too late. I do not aim to be pessimistic, but rather grateful for the time we have with our amazing horses. Unfortunately our time with them is more limited than we wish, so I try to highlight horses’ beauty at all points of their life but especially for specific Celebration of Life sessions.

After losing my heart horse Wasabi this past October, I gained more perspective on capturing horses’ final images when I had the time to choose what I wanted and was able to photograph of Wasabi before I had to say goodbye. While not all owners have the privilege of knowing when their horse’s final time will be, I did have this privilege and will share how I approached it and what I might have done differently if I could go back. I will also share some approaches I find helpful when photographing Celebration of Life sessions and that I take with me to every session regardless.

In the case of my horse Wasabi, I knew a couple months before his passing that I would have limited time with my horse and he might not be sound enough to capture him to his truest potential unfortunately. This is often the case with Celebration of Life sessions because oftentimes it is older horses or horses with physical issues that are the reason for their early departure from us. When physical ability or bodily condition are not ideal, there are ways photographers can pose or edit to restore some of that previous condition if the client desires it. 

Here’s a few of the types of sessions I knew I wanted to do with Wasabi before he passed. I wrote a brief Blog post describing some of these images, but my main three types of images I wanted to capture were a final Black Background, a Horse & Rider portrait session, and Painted Background images. For a more cohesive list, see HERE.

With Wasabi, I knew for starters that I wanted to do another Black Background session. Since as he was a photographer’s horse, I generally would take only more artistic photos of him and not generally comprehensive full sessions of him. I knew I wanted to have a fellow equine photographer out to take Horse & Rider images of me and Wasabi since an experienced equine photographer is better than any average photographer or family member with a camera when you are photographing your final memories with your horse. Lastly, I knew I wanted to take some painted background images at liberty which is one of the fine art mediums that I specialize in. I believe painted background images make the best commemorative art pieces and look amazing as art pieces on your walls. 

While I feel I was able to capture Wasabi the best that I could have given the circumstances, there were a few regrets I had. Wasabi was fifteen when he was humanely euthanized and I thought I had many years left with him to photograph him and our partnership. Because I never showed, I never had an easy opportunity to get professional images of us riding, and I never had any friends or family photograph us at our best because I always thought we were on our way to better accomplishments that would’ve been more worthy to photograph. (So my other advice is to buy the show images even if not where you have not progressed to where you had hoped to be because it is all part of the journey and you never know when that journey may end up).

How I Approach Celebration of Life Session

Aside from my own horse, I had the opportunity to photograph two Celebration of Life sessions and had two clients who had ended up having to be euthanized shortly after their sessions that we didn’t know about when photographing them for regular sessions. Here are a few things I took away from losing my own horse that I bring to Celebration of Life sessions and every session in the back of my head.

1. Capture the big picture and their personality. I try to approach each horse with a clear mind so I can take in how I perceive each horse. I gather basic identifying information about the horse prior to the session, but upon meeting the horse, I try to capture the horse’s personality in fine art and portrait photography. I have specific poses that I try to tick off my mental checklist of client favorites that represent horses objectively. But I also allow the horse to guide the session if there’s any poses they want to do or any quirky behaviors they want to present. My job is to capture horses to their greatest potential while preserving their personalities as they do preserve them in time through photography even when they are no longer with us.
2. Capture the details. When you are facing losing your beloved horse, you will not know what you will miss exactly, so I recommend capturing as many details as you can. No matter how small or insignificant it may seem at first, you will want to remember it all. Details can be close-ups of eyes, noses, a tail, or hooves. Or it could be their go-to tack set, their halter, or sentimental objects. 
3. Capture it through the client’s eyes as well. I always try to ask my clients about their favorite features of their horses, their favorite memories, and other important aspects about their partnership that I aim to bring into their final images. I let their favorite aspects of their horses inspire and guide the session as much as possible.

a glimpse into my celebration of life sessions

Final Advice

I try to offer a gift or something extra when photographing Celebration of Life images or if I hear of clients who have passed. This may be additional complementary images or waiving fees for additional outfits or additional images. I offer discounts for Celebration of Life sessions for both previous and new clients as well because I don’t want price to be as much of a barrier to create these timeless memories and physical art. In recent years, I have often gifted a complementary fine art painted background edit for past horses when I have an image that is ideal for it. I also encourage my clients to consider a Fine Art session as I believe they make wonderful commemorative pieces and can really highlight your horse specifically. People often do not think about Fine Art when their horse is sick or not at their peak physical condition, but I use my abilities with posing and editing to bring back some of that refinement they may have lost (and larger edits with client permission or if requested).

I have heard from clients writing to me saying they cried the first time they saw their images afterward or upon receiving their print products. It is difficult work mentally (especially for me after losing my horse and quickly photographing 3-4 others in similar situations within a few months). While it is challenging, it is also highly rewarding. Even when it is hard on me, I remind myself of how lucky I have been to provide my services to myself as a photographer and what I can offer clients for comfort while they are grieving while celebrating the life and legacy of beloved pets, companions, and partners.

As you can see, I have lots to discuss about this topic as I feel it has been a common theme of my last few months. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or if you have a senior horse or whose time you know is unfortunately limited and I can often come at a moment’s notice to capture them. I also travel out of state (travel fees apply) to capture horses of all types–even discounted Celebration of Life images in 2025 if you or a loved one has a sick or aging pet that could use my services.