A few weeks ago I hooked up with Helen & Ian at Goldsborough Hall, near Knaresborough ahead of their wedding for their pre-wedding practice shoot!
Goldsborough is a pretty little town near Harrogate, and the beautiful St Mary’s church literally backs onto the Hall.
It just so happened that the day we visited Goldsborough was an open day for the general public to stroll the pretty grounds and admire the snowdrops.
It’s actually still lived in by Mark and Clare Oglesby & their family, and it was lovely to chat with Clare while I was there.
After a catch up in the lounge and a chat through the dayplans, we got involved on the practice portraits!
These are generally great fun, and quite a bit weird for the couple, but I think it’s great to have done a round of practice pics before the big day to know how it feels.
I could feel that Helen & Ian found it a bit weird, but are lovely together, so the more time we persevered at it, the easier it became for them!
It’s always the way!
It might be the kind of people that book me to shoot their weddings, or it may be an English thing, but generally my couples haven’t often been through a relaxed photoshoot the way I like to do it before.
It’s semi-contrived, in that we walk around, stop and cuddle, do a smooch etc, but really I’m looking for that little bit more than that.
I like to capture the detail and context around the shoot, to build a little background story
Such as in the snowdrops!
Then I like to try and let my couples relax into the shoot a bit, to start to forget my presence a bit
To capture some solid, new facebook profiles images!
😉
And to try and artfully capture the fact that in spite of it being a bit contrived, this is a documentation of two people who love one another, enjoying one another
And the bonus payoff is that on the big day, when we do this again, not only is it easier ’cause champers has been drunk and their super-togged up, but it’s an altogether easier experience, which ends up making my job quicker, so these kids can get back to the party and enjoy the company of their pals!
Win win!
Either way it was lovely to take a stroll around the Goldsborough grounds again. I didn’t even know this little pagoda was even here!
And we certainly chose a lovely day to do it!
Here’s looking forward to catching up with these guys at their wedding in a few weeks!