HANNAH & SHOLA
Sometimes you have a plan for a photoshoot. Sometimes the plan lasts about ten minutes.
Hannah and Shola wanted some lovely engagement photographs ahead of their wedding the following month,
so we decided on Hoghton Tower, the historic Lancashire estate sitting between Preston and Blackburn.
It seemed like a pretty good choice.
Historic building. Beautiful grounds. Lancashire countryside.
What could possibly go wrong?
Hoghton Tower
We started off around the grounds of Hoghton Tower and managed to get a few photographs before heading towards the entrance.
At this point, things were going pretty well.
We'd been pointed towards a few spots where we could take some photographs, so we wandered over to have a look. We even had outfit changes!
Then came the slightly awkward bit.
We were told that we'd need to pay a £600-a-day photography fee to actually shoot there.
Which is, admittedly, quite a lot of money for a few engagement photographs.
Especially when nobody had mentioned it beforehand.
So, rather than spending £600 on a couple of hours wandering around with a camera, we decided to do what any sensible people would do.
Leave.
A change of scenery
Thankfully, Lancashire isn't exactly short of nice countryside.
We had a quick look for somewhere nearby that might work and found a little viewing point on a nearby hill, with a cracking view across the surrounding farms and fields.
It wasn't Hoghton Tower.
But it was actually bloody lovely.
And, more importantly, it gave Hannah and Shola somewhere relaxed to wander around without worrying about whether we'd accidentally stepped into a £600 photography zone.
So we headed up the hill, found a few good spots and got on with the photographs.
Into the fields
The views were great, the light was lovely and the whole thing felt much more relaxed than wandering around trying to avoid getting shouted at by members of staff.
The only real problem was the grass.
I should probably have remembered that standing around in a field in the middle of summer isn't necessarily a brilliant idea when you've got hay fever.
But apparently I like to live dangerously.So I took my tablets, channelled my inner Theresa May and went running through the fields of wheat.
Which is a sentence I never expected to write about an engagement shoot.
T
hankfully, the photographs were worth it.
And that's probably the main thing I took away from the shoot.
The location isn't always the important bit.
Hannah and Shola didn't need a grand historic building behind them to make the photographs work. Once we'd found somewhere with a good view, some beautiful light and enough space to forget about everything else for a while, the photographs came together naturally.
That's generally how I like to work anyway.
Give me two people who are comfortable together, somewhere that looks nice and a bit of time to wander around, and we'll usually end up with something good.
Even if the original plan involves a £600 photography fee and a hasty escape.
