Biltmore Estate Proposal
I really like surprises and Dave wanted to make sure I was hidden until he popped the question. He knew that he wanted to propose at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville and would like to have the house in the background. Dave choose Diane which is the high hill with amazing views of the front of the Biltmore. While the Biltmore house can be very busy in fall on a weekend, Diane is often a world away. See our Top Spots for a Romantic Biltmore Proposal
This is the view from Diane the day of the shoot. We lucked out as the smoke from the wildfires seemed to blow away and only to be slightly visible in the distant mountains. We choose to shoot near the very top of the hill near the statue. This provided a good hiding spot for me and my cameras. I also suggested we shoot near sunset to get the best possible light. Shooting at Diane is very appealing about 2 hours before or after sunrise or 2 hours before sunset.
While staying hidden I managed to pick them out right as they made there way to Diane from the main house lawn. Being that I was going to be shooting from a distance while hidden I decided to use two long lens instead of portrait lens. This allowed me to capture the moment anywhere on the hill from my normal hiding spot near the statue.
As we discussed before the shoot we had a couple of options that Dave could choose if there were guest on the lawn. One of those chooses if someone walked into his planned space was to move to the side of the lawn. Right as they started to walk up the lawn a family setup a picnic in the center of the lawn. No where near them but still in the center. Dave was all over it and moved perfectly into position.
Being that I was to remain unseen while shooting documentary style we have no control of the background. As you can see from the shot above and below it is just a matter of positioning very quickly to get rid of some of the folks in the background. This is only a concern during peaks season on the weekend.
These photos are shot in the photo documentary style. Meaning we only try to capture the best image possible without influencing the what is happening. So we are a fly on the wall at this point. We give tips how to best set the scene before hand but these are shots in public and we are hidden.
The above shot is split tone. With all our packages we include a set of split tone images.
In addition to color and split tone photos you can change any photo in your gallery to black and white.
Always included in our proposal sessions is an engagement shoot!
Want to get the entire house in the portrait without seeing people. We just walk down the hill towards to house and use the wall to our advantage!
Diana is perfectly located to access other areas for an engagement session. From Diana I like to take a short stroll to the Biltmore Italian Garden. These are the formal water gardens on the grounds.
After the water gardens we head to the covered walkway in Biltmore’s Library Terrace. This is one of my favorite locations on the estate. Depending on the time and day it can be very busy as it is centrally located between the house and the gardens. It is well worth the wait to get a photo here in my opinion.
From here we head through the Biltmore Shrub Garden and to the Biltmore Walled Garden! The walled garden can be stunning depending on the time of the year. In spring expect tulips and in fall expect mums. This was a fall shoot so we had mums! Being that we shot around sunset we were fortunate to have back lighting which creates a glow.
Next up is the Biltmore Rose Garden. The walled garden and rose garden are largely the same general area. It is very easy to move between the two areas and there are many different shooting opportunities.
From here we are normally running out of light for sunset shots and I like to head to the lagoon. However we had on special shot as Dave is an engineer who specialty is bridges.
Last stop for sunset sessions is the lagoon. It offers stunning views of the back of the house. For sunrise shoots this is the first stop. Often in the morning the water is like glass and you can get amazing reflections of the house and couples in the water. While the lagoon is home to all sorts of waterfowl, fish, and other birds it is not often geese come in these number to this location. It just happened someone was feeding them in this location.
Want to plan your proposal and engagement session? We can help. Lets talk!