Nate Turns 4 | Equestrian and Child Photography, Southern New Jersey

I can’t believe little Nate is turning 4 years old soon! It seems like just yesterday I was photographing him as just a bump in his momma’s belly! I don’t know why, but I love when I can say to someone “I’ve been photographing you for your entire life!” That’s the beauty of Newborn and Child Photography 🙂 Nowadays, Nate’s got such a distinct personality with his own interests, proclivities and talents! It’s such a cool thing to watch all this emerge as he grows up!

His momma (who *fun fact* also happens to be my 3rd cousin and shares my maiden name!) has not been able to help but notice Nathaniel’s intense interest in animals (particularly horses) and his seemingly effortless ability to connect with them — some things are just inNate!

Why fight Nate-ture? Might as well nurture! So, mom decided to do a equestrian-themed photo session in preparation for little man’s upcoming party! I reached out to my friend Ashley, owner of Posie’s Pastures and Posie’s Equestrian Academy to see if we could book a time to get some pictures of our little cowboy Nathaniel with her mini-horse, Puddin! Ashley has such a passion for animals as well, especially horses, so naturally she connected with Nate immediately and was so excited to give him his first riding experience!
Puddin took to Nate immediately as well and Nate was such a natural! Nate totally surprised us with his posture as he rode Puddin and his ability to anticipate and counter-balance all of Puddin’s movements; he really looked like he had been riding for years within the first minute of his first riding experience! It really was a pretty special thing to capture!I really love this next shot! Such a handsome boy! He must be related to my kids
*wink wink, nudge nudge* Evie (little sis) needed to get in on the fun too!!!
Nate also got to get some awesome experience caring for Puddin too! He LOVED brushing her and bonding with her and she wasn’t complaining either!
This next shot is one of my favorites too! Disclaimer: I had very little sleep the night before this early morning session and wasn’t fully with it yet, but I just HAD to snag a shot with Puddin while I was there! It was really amazing to feel how powerful her little body was even for such a small horse! Absolutely fascinating and beautiful animals!On our way out, we stopped by the super cool tractor for Future Farmer Nate to snag some more pics on the farm!
And of course little miss Evie had to even up the score and get some of her own #boss poses on this tractor! Seriously, look at how gorgeous this girl is!!!
This kid was so coordiNated, pushing pedals, pulling levers, and turning the wheel like he’s been doing it his whole life. Absolutely amazing.I’ll leave you with this one last photo and a little background history for reference. Typically my little dude here hardly cracks a smile for me during our sessions….. just look at this face!
The coolest thing for me to see throughout this entire session was the overwhelming excitement this little boy just couldn’t hold inside! I have never seen pure and continual joy emaNate from his face like this throughout an entire session the way it did that morning! What a fulfilling experience for everyone involved!