If you’re looking for a place to take your engagement photos in Franklin, Tennessee, Harlinsdale Farm is a pretty hard one to beat.
I document couples throughout Nashville and Middle Tennessee, and Harlinsdale Farm is one of the places I recommend when a couple wants their engagement photos to feel easy, natural, and distinctly Tennessee.
The property has a little bit of everything: open fields, old trees, historic farm buildings, fences, walking paths, and plenty of space to wander. You can get a lot of variety without spending your whole session getting in and out of the car.
More importantly, it doesn’t feel like you’re standing in front of a backdrop. You can actually spend time together.
What is Harlinsdale Farm like for an engagement session?
Harlinsdale Farm is a historic farm in Franklin, just south of Nashville. Today, the property is a public park with walking trails, open pasture, historic buildings, and plenty of green space.
For engagement photos, that variety is a huge advantage. We’ll usually start by walking through one area of the property before making our way toward the fields. Along the way, we’ll stop whenever I see good light or a spot that feels right. There’s no need to spend an hour standing in one place taking the same photo from twelve different angles.
The farm gives us so much room to move. Some of my favorite photographs from a Harlinsdale Farm engagement session happen while we’re walking from one spot to another.
The best time for Harlinsdale Farm engagement photos
If you have some flexibility with your schedule, I recommend an evening session.
The last hour or two before sunset is especially beautiful at Harlinsdale. The light comes through the trees, the fields start to take on that warm evening color, and the shadows get longer as the sun drops.
It’s also one of the easiest times of day for couples to relax. You’re not standing in the middle of a field in the harsh afternoon sun trying to smile through the heat.
We’ll start earlier while we still have plenty of light, wander around the property, and let the session naturally wind down as the sun sets.
That said, Harlinsdale photographs beautifully throughout the year. Spring is green and fresh, summer is full and lush, fall brings warmer tones, and winter has a much quieter feel.
What should you wear for a Harlinsdale Farm engagement session?
I don’t think you need to dress a certain way just because you’re taking photos at a farm. Wear something that feels like you.
If getting dressed up feels like you, lean into it. If you’d rather wear jeans and a great sweater, that’s just as good.
For couples who want a little guidance, I tend to love natural fabrics and pieces with some movement: linen, cotton, denim, wool, and dresses / shawls that move when you walk. Neutral and earthy colors tend to work beautifully with the greens and warm tones around the farm, but you don’t need to stick to a particular color palette.
And please wear shoes you can actually walk in…..we’ll be walking. 🙂‍↕️
Do I have to know how to pose?
No. This is probably the question I get asked most often before engagement sessions.
You don’t have to know what to do with your hands. You don’t need to practice poses beforehand. And if the thought of spending two hours staring at a camera makes you want to cancel the whole thing, you’re in good company.
I don’t want you to spend your engagement session performing for me. I’ll give you direction when you need it, but most of the time we’re moving, talking, walking, and letting things happen naturally.
Sometimes I’ll have you slow down because the light is beautiful. Sometimes I’ll ask you to sit together for a few minutes. Sometimes I’ll have you walk ahead of me and forget I’m there.
The goal isn’t to make you look like someone else’s engagement photos. It’s to make photographs that actually look like the two of you.
Can you bring your dog to Harlinsdale Farm?
Yes! Harlinsdale can be a great place to include your dog in your engagement photos.
If your dog is coming along, I’d recommend bringing a friend or family member who can take them for a little walk once we’re finished with the photos that include them. That way, we can get the whole family together for part of the session and still have plenty of time for photographs of just the two of you.
How long should an engagement session at Harlinsdale Farm be?
I recommend giving ourselves around two hours.
That might sound like a long time when you’re imagining standing in front of a camera, but it goes by quickly once we’re actually moving around.
Two hours means we don’t have to rush from one spot to another. We can stop to talk, change outfits if you’d like, let your dog take a break, or wait for the light to shift.
It also means we can make a full gallery rather than spending the whole session trying to get one perfect portrait.
Is Harlinsdale Farm a good location for couples who don’t like having their picture taken?
Honestly, yes. That’s one of the reasons I like it so much. There’s enough to look at and enough room to walk that you don’t feel like you’re standing on a stage.
If you’re nervous at the beginning, that’s completely normal. We’ll start with something easy. You’ll walk together, talk, and get used to having me around. Usually, somewhere along the way, you stop thinking about the camera. That’s when the photos really begin getting good.
Harlinsdale Farm vs. other Nashville engagement photo locations
There are plenty of beautiful places around Nashville for engagement photos, and the right location really depends on what you want your photographs to feel like.
Harlinsdale Farm is a good fit if you want:
- Open fields and natural scenery
- An easy, outdoor setting
- Historic farm architecture without feeling overly rustic
- Lots of variety in one location
- Beautiful evening light
- A location that’s close to Nashville but feels removed from the city
If you want something more manicured and formal, Cheekwood may be a better fit. If you want something more urban, downtown Nashville offers an entirely different feel.
But if you want to spend an evening walking around Franklin together and let the photographs happen along the way, Harlinsdale is one of my favorites.
Planning your Harlinsdale Farm engagement session?
The best engagement sessions aren’t the ones with the most complicated plans. They’re the ones where you have enough time to settle in. So we’ll leave room for that.
We’ll figure out where the light is best when we get there. We’ll walk instead of rushing. We’ll make a few portraits that your parents will love, and then we’ll spend the rest of the evening making photographs that feel a little more like you.
If you’re getting married in Nashville, Franklin, or somewhere else in Middle Tennessee, your engagement session is also a nice chance for us to get comfortable working together before your wedding day. By the time your wedding arrives, you won’t be meeting your photographer for the first time.
You’ll already know what it feels like to have a camera around. And I’ll already know the two of you.
Ready to plan your engagement session at Harlinsdale Farm?
If Harlinsdale Farm feels like the right place for you, I’d love to document it with you.
You don’t need to know how to pose or have your whole session planned before reaching out. Tell me a little about the two of you, what you’re envisioning, and when you’re hoping to take your photos, and we’ll figure out the rest.
Hi, I'm jaimee
I photograph weddings across Tennessee and beyond, using a mix of digital, film, and super 8 video.
My approach is simple. I create space for you to be fully present, and I document what actually happens. You won’t receive photos that feel copy and paste, but something that reflects your day as it was. If there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I care about your actual wedding, not a version of it made for the camera.
If you’re planning something that matters to you, I’d love to connect.
