A Harewood Engagement Shoot: Winter Pines, Bare Branches and a Change of Plan
We arrived at Harewood one March day with a head full of new ideas, only to find the estate still closed for the winter. Luckily, Anne and Chris knew a lovely walk around the outskirts. Before long we were photographing them as tiny silhouettes, walking hand in hand along a ridge beneath huge, bare old trees.
Harewood: a stately home and parkland near Leeds
Harewood House was designed by John Carr for Edwin Lascelles in 1759, and Capability Brown laid out the parkland around it, with a lake created to his design from 1775. The registered park and garden covers about 350 hectares, and today the house and grounds are cared for by the Harewood House Trust, an independent educational charity. It sits about seven miles from both Leeds and Harrogate.
We’d last been there for Meg and Kev’s engagement session the year before. We’d both spent a lot of time thinking about what we could do differently this time: new areas to explore, new angles and new techniques. The last thing we expected was to find it still closed for the winter. Who knew? Aside from a whole lot of Yorkshire folk, we imagine.
A walk around the edge of the estate
One of the things we love most about engagement shoots is the chance to improvise, a skill every good photographer should work on. Anne and Chris’s walk took us around the outskirts of the estate, an area we’d never visited before and one we loved exploring.
In March the trees were still bare and the sky was a soft, even grey. We photographed the two of them wrapped up together among tall pines. Then we stepped right back to show them small on the skyline, walking hand in hand between great old trees with their branches spread against the clouds.
As we wandered along, we were both quite pleased the main estate had been closed. Instead of working around what we’d shot before, we were free to photograph anything that looked great through the viewfinder, and Anne and Chris were happy for us to work for our angles. Even if that did mean lying in the mud and scraping our shins on the brambles.
Getting to know a couple
It was the same freedom we love about weddings, made all the better by the chance to really get to know a fantastic couple. Their connection was obvious straight away. They were comfortable enough to get lost in conversation while we scrambled up trees and over hills in search of a better angle.
Their wedding followed that summer, with an early ceremony at the Saxon church in Bardsey and a reception at Wood Hall near Wetherby. What more could we ask for from an engagement shoot?
Why we love an engagement shoot at Harewood
If you’re planning a shoot around Harewood, here’s what we learned that day:
- Check opening times first. We turned up in March to find the estate closed for the winter. A quick look before you set a date saves a wasted trip.
- Winter has its own beauty. Bare branches, tall pines and grey skies make strong shapes, especially in black and white.
- Ask the locals. Anne and Chris knew a walk we’d never found, and it gave us something completely new.
- Wear boots you don’t mind getting muddy. Some of the best angles were found in the mud and the brambles.
Planning your own engagement shoot or wedding?
We’d love to hear your plans, whether you’re marrying in Leeds or anywhere else in the county. See more Leeds wedding photography and Yorkshire wedding photography, or get in touch to check your date.
See also: Wedding at Anne & Chris – Wood Hall Yorkshire.
You might also like: Engagement shoot at Meg & Kev –.
