Trusting Your Photographer ~ Location

Many times our customers will ask us for suggestions on locations for their photo shoot.  Before I can give the best suggestions, I need to find out about the portrait session.  There are several things to consider when selecting the location for your portrait session.   Some are obvious, others are easily overlooked.  

First we want to know what the customer preferences are, meaning do they prefer a park, waterfront, urban, edgy, romantic, colorful, etc.   Are they looking for something like a friend had or are they looking for something a bit different?  Most customers don’t have a preference and want us to select the location.  This is less stress for the family and allows us to select places that we know will help us produce beautiful family memories to last a lifetime.

When we start the process, we need to know some basic information;  How many people are involved?  What are the ages?  Is there anyone with limitations (wheelchair, strollers, etc.)  Any pets?  This information is important to know, the more people involved we want to stay in a more ‘confined’ area.  Meaning we want to select an area of the park and stay there vs. roaming to many parts of the park or around town.  If there are limitations we want to know that so we make sure we select a place that has easy access for all involved.

Another factor that we as the photographers want to take into careful consideration is lighting and the time of day.  There are several locations that we love for earlier photo sessions and absolutely want to avoid during the bright glaring afternoon sun.  It also works in reverse, some are great in the afternoon and to be avoided in the morning.  The time of day and the lighting can be a HUGE factor in making your session a success.

Things we have to consider when selecting a location:

• Which way will the sun be for that time of the day?
• Paying attention to the season, fall light is different than spring light.
• Where are my spots of shade?
• How many people will fit in the spot of shade?
• Where can I place a person for natural lighting or with lighting assistance?
• Are there natural reflectors and shading, could be buildings, walls, trees, etc..
• What will the weather be like? (do we have a place to get out of the rain?)

Checking the community calendar is another key factor into deciding location.  We have made the mistake this summer of choosing a park, only to arrive and find they are having a huge community event that has taken over the park.  In our case it was involving bikes and they had dust flying up everywhere we tried to go.  It’s always good to have a back up plan and even better to know what’s happening at the local parks, centers, and so on.  We do our best to be informed before we go!

Finally, we take into account what works for us AND for your family.  Example, if we are photographing a family with little children, especially in the two – three age range, it’s common knowledge that they are at the age of exploration!  They don’t last long sitting for a ‘formal’ portrait session.  They are pretty awesome if they last the 45 – 1 hour session.  With little ones you want to pick a location that allows you to get as much variety in a small space.  The more walking and moving around we do the more likely we are going to ‘lose’ their attention.

If we have a senior or an engagement session, we know we can cover some ground and achieve some variety in their portraits.  So, it’s important we know as much about you and what you want from your session to make it the most successful and to produce the best images.