A premium offering · Highland cow paddock
The Highland Cow Photography Experience.
A two-hour ceiling six session shapes can fill: family, couple, engagement, maternity, seniors, and individual — on the same pasture, with the same four Highlands (Gandolf, Sugar, Angus McPeppercorn, Dottie), under the same long light. Welfare comes first; touching or feeding cattle is never a promise.
Animal welfare comes first
The cattle share the property as a working herd — calm, well-handled, used to people, but never props. Touching or feeding is not guaranteed; on a quiet herd day we shoot into the pasture, the fences, the farmhouse, and the working dogs instead.
- Family$175
- Couple$250
- Engagement$250
- Maternity$250
- Seniors$250
- Individual$250
Packages start at $175. The $75reserve deposit credits whichever package you choose — see the full tier breakdown below.
The reserve deposit
$75 today
Credited to your final package total — family, couple, engagement, maternity, seniors, or individual. Settle the balance on session day or in advance by invoice.
Animal welfare
Animal welfare comes first — touching or feeding cattle is never guaranteed.
The Highland cows share the property with the studio as a working herd, not props. They are calm, well-handled, and used to people — but a cow with a new calf, a steer in heat, a thunder-clap on the far ridge, or simply a quiet herd day can change the frame without warning. We read the herd on arrival, move slowly, and never pressure any animal into a spot.
On days when the cattle would rather not be in frame, the surroundings still carry the day — the long-light pasture, the farmhouse, the fences, the foothills, and the working dogs standing in for the herd. We will not manufacture a moment with the cows. If a session lands on a quiet herd day, expect a beautiful gallery anyway, just without the central animal you came for.
What we will not do — restrain, separate from the herd, or feed for the camera. What we will do — read the herd on arrival, move slowly, and shoot the day as the cattle and the light give it to us.
Working farm, first · photograph, second
This is a working Highland-cattle farm, not a staged studio.
What you walk on, duck under, and step around belongs to a herd first. Same ground the cattle walk on, same weather we didn’t dress up, same drivers we didn’t rig. The pictures come out like this place does — honest pasture, honest light, honest cattle.
That’s the trade we ask you to make when you book a highland-cow session: you opt into the working farm, not in spite of it. The cattle are the picture when they choose to be, and the pasture, the fences, the farmhouse, and the working dogs carry the rest when they don’t.
Six session shapes
Six kinds of day. Same pasture, same herd.
The Highland cow paddock holds every session we offer. Pick the occasion that fits your group; the cattle are the backdrop, your group is the picture.
family
Family
Multi-generational groups — grandparents, parents, kids, dogs — slow-walk the pasture at the herd's pace.
- Length
- Ninety minutes
- Photos
- 40 edited photos
Reserve familyTotal
$175
couple
Couple
Anniversaries, just-engaged, just-because — a slow walk through the long grass in the long light.
- Length
- Ninety minutes
- Photos
- 35 edited photos
Reserve coupleTotal
$250
engagement
Engagement
Proposal-spot scout with a discrete second shooter for the YES moment, then the herd as the backdrop.
- Length
- Two hours
- Photos
- 45 edited photos
Reserve engagementTotal
$250
maternity
Maternity
Soft-light portraits in the long grass, the herd reading the moment behind you, the season spelled out in a frame.
- Length
- Ninety minutes
- Photos
- 40 edited photos
Reserve maternityTotal
$250
seniors
Seniors
High-school senior portraits in the long shadow of the foothills, the herd at the right distance.
- Length
- Ninety minutes
- Photos
- 35 edited photos
Reserve seniorsTotal
$250
individual
Individual
Solo portraits — brand work, personal commissions, a single person in the long light.
- Length
- Ninety minutes
- Photos
- 35 edited photos
Reserve individualTotal
$250
Maternity and Seniors route through the family and individual session types in the booking flow’s pre-select — pick either and tell us about the occasion in the notes. The deposit is the same $75; the package total credits as listed above.
Pricing tiers
Six packages. Same deposit.
All six tiers share the same $75reserve deposit and the same gallery delivery window (1–2 weeks). Pick the occasion; the pasture is the same.
family
Family
Multi-generational groups — grandparents, parents, kids, dogs — slow-walk the pasture at the herd's pace.
- Length
- Ninety minutes
- Photos
- 40 edited photos
Reserve familyTotal
$175
couple
Couple
Anniversaries, just-engaged, just-because — a slow walk through the long grass in the long light.
- Length
- Ninety minutes
- Photos
- 35 edited photos
Reserve coupleTotal
$250
engagement
Engagement
Proposal-spot scout with a discrete second shooter for the YES moment, then the herd as the backdrop.
- Length
- Two hours
- Photos
- 45 edited photos
Reserve engagementTotal
$250
maternity
Maternity
Soft-light portraits in the long grass, the herd reading the moment behind you, the season spelled out in a frame.
- Length
- Ninety minutes
- Photos
- 40 edited photos
Reserve maternityTotal
$250
seniors
Seniors
High-school senior portraits in the long shadow of the foothills, the herd at the right distance.
- Length
- Ninety minutes
- Photos
- 35 edited photos
Reserve seniorsTotal
$250
individual
Individual
Solo portraits — brand work, personal commissions, a single person in the long light.
- Length
- Ninety minutes
- Photos
- 35 edited photos
Reserve individualTotal
$250
How payment works
Reserve today. Settle what’s left, later.
Your $75 reserve deposit is credited to whichever highland-cow package you pick — family, couple, engagement, maternity, seniors, or individual. There’s no second bill until we’re done on the pasture, and we’ll send a clean invoice before the balance is due.
The deposit
Your $75 reserve deposit is credited to your final package total — Family $175; Couple / Engagement / Maternity / Seniors / Individual $250. Non-refundable on cancellation, transferable across up to 3 reschedules within the same season at no charge.
Reschedule policy
Foothill storms or blowing snow can move a date. Your $75 deposit transfers across up to 3 reschedules; if a reschedule is impossible on your end, we carry the deposit forward to the next season or refund it in full.
No Montana sales tax
Montana does not have a general sales tax, so the prices you read on this page are the prices you pay.
Dogs on the pasture
Service animals are welcome on every highland-cow session. Personal pets and dogs of any other kind are not allowed — the cattle are a working herd and a stranger dog changes the day for every animal on the property.
What to wear
Plain clothes, sturdy boots, soft palette.
You’re on uneven pasture under open sky, not a sidewalk. The packing list is about what the herd and the foothills will ask of you, not a styled shoot.
- Layers you don’t mind getting dusty — the foothills cool fast at sundown.
- Closed-toe boots or shoes with tread; the paddock is uneven grass, not a sidewalk.
- Long pants help with thistles in the long grass and fences you’ll duck under.
- A muted palette reads best with the herd — creams, soft rusts, deep greens, denim.
- Skip the bright logos and the shiny accessories. The cattle and the long light prefer soft, calm shapes.
- A pocket of treats for the working dogs, a hair tie, a second pair of socks.
Skip the bright logos and the shiny accessories. The cattle and the long light prefer calm shapes — creams, soft rusts, denim, deep greens. We’ll talk through any specific palette question in the inquiry reply.
What to expect
Five plain-spoken panels from the studio.
The five beats of a highland-cow session day: before you arrive, on arrival, with the herd, the light window, and the gallery on your phone a week or two later.
You arrive ten minutes before the slot. We send a lane note the afternoon before with the route from Missoula and where to park; the gate is uneven pasture, not a sidewalk. If weather has been wet, the ground will be soft — that’s part of the day, not a problem to dress around.
Frequently asked
What visitors to the highland-cow session ask.
Welfare, deposits, dogs, weather, and what the cattle will actually do on the day.
Have a question that’s not here? Reach the studio directly — mooladyphotography@polsia.app.
Reserve
Reserve with deposit· settle what’s left, later.
A $75deposit locks your date. It credits whichever package you pick — family, couple, engagement, maternity, seniors, or individual. We’ll reply within two business days with a couple of dates and a session slot that fit the season.
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Edited gallery delivered within 1–2 weeksof session · high-resolution downloads unlocked once your print order ships · personal-use print release included with every set.
Questions about the highland-cow offering? Email hello@mooladyphotography.com or mooladyphotography@polsia.app — same studio, same two-business-day reply window.