Many times the necessary importance is not given to location in a session. You may have your favorite places, where you feel comfortable, you like the backgrounds and are neutral, you have many elements that inspire you, and so on. But stop for a moment to think, is it really the ideal place for what you want to convey? Choosing locations in your photo shoots well is part of the success. Therefore, in this article I intend to give you some ideas and advice to find the right location at all times, you have just pulled the beach or the park in front of your house for everything .
SESSION THEME
Obviously, the first thing is to determine the theme of the session. What are you going to do? It is not the same that you go out with the intention of doing macro photography, that night or that you are going to portray a relative. The spontaneously taking pictures is fine, sometimes. But you have to be clear at least what you want to photograph. If you are going to do urban photography or nature. Because going to total adventure is not usually a good idea. You will not even know what to pay attention to and it is likely that you will become empty. Or with your camera full but empty of interesting photos, which is the same. If you want to practice but do not know where to start, or what kind of photos to take, you can take a look at this article to review the different disciplines. Surely you get ideas and motivation.MESSAGE
Once you decide the subject, you have to determine what you want to convey. For example, you are thinking of taking night photography, as in the example image above. Now, do you want to convey the hustle and bustle of the city at night or the loneliness of its alleys? Or the calm of a starry forest? At the time of a portrait session, what is the right place to convey your personality? What do you want to reflect on this person? The place where you do the session should be in line with the message to enhance it, nothing will be a wonderful place if it has nothing to do with the subject or the message. For example, can you imagine photographing a rock group on a beach at sunset? Unless the idea is to confuse the public does not make much sense. The same thing that you are not going to photograph a child in an abandoned factory that you find fascinating, unless you want to do a technical or mystery session. And speaking of mystery, if you want to make mysterious, scary or similar photographs , I don't see you on a beach at sunset either;). All this seems obvious, it turns out that it is not always, there is nothing more to see photos out there;). Sometimes we forget the essentials. What is invisible to the eyes ... Look at these two photographs, look at the background, the model, the costumes, do you notice the difference? Would they have worked the same way if they were the other way around? Aesthetically very likely, but ... would the message have been the same?LIGHT
The following aspect is fundamental. Once you leave the control of the studio you are at the mercy of what the exterior light, whether natural or ambient, offers you. With the only help of your own resources and a few reflectors, diffusers or the flash, if you use it or want to use it. Therefore, when choosing the location it is important that you consider this topic. If you are going to make a portrait and you cannot choose the time, you cannot go to a place without shadows if you want to convey softer or calmer sensations, because the light will be too aggressive for it. Find places that offer shade. Or vice versa, if you want to convey aggressiveness, strength, power or drama, then open spaces with a hard light will be ideal. It is also important, not only for portraiture, but to highlight any reason. Architecture, street photography, landscape, etc. Knowing how to master and optimize the light is essential to achieve a great photograph. If you are clear about the place and you can choose the moment, study how the light behaves in that particular place at that time. Planning is a great help.STUDY THE PLACE IN ADVANCE
I have been forwarding it to you, but at certain times this becomes especially relevant. For example, in night photography. It is important to know the place of day. For safety and to be able to make a more suitable composition or to your liking. Recognizing the terrain is always an advantage. But beyond this, studying every corner of the location is the key to changing the background, the stage within the same place, to optimize the light, and so on. In fact, I insist, if it is a day session, in which you go a few days earlier at the same time, to see how the light behaves in that place. Also note that the light changes according to the seasons, you may want to repeat location and do not think about taking a look before because you already know it, however, the light can change a lot from winter to summer. And if it is a natural environment ... imagine how everything changes! ;).MONEY
I just mentioned the funds, I have to recommend you to read more in depth on this subject. In his day I wrote an article about how and where to look for funds for your outdoor sessions. You also have this one from my partner Iaio where he offers you general tips to optimize them. I leave you with two other funds so you can compare, it is the same theme, mother / father, son / daughter, but I think that in one fund the background is more successful and in the other, at least for the attitude of its protagonists and what They transmit me, it doesn't add up to me too much. Could you tell me what I am talking about? What do you watch? (I encourage you to comment below )LOGISTICS
It is not the same to have to load with a lighting equipment and a lot of props, in addition to camera, lenses and others, to carry only the latter. Even if it's a drawer, we don't always fall for these things. Good because we have another thousand in the head, because we have focused so much on the creative part that has happened to us, because we have decided to increase the weight at the last minute or for any other reason. The fact is that when looking for the location you must take into account what things you have to take with you. If there are many, you may want to find a closer location. Do you have a vehicle where to move everything? These are details that must be taken into account. Let's give an exaggerated but easily understandable example. Imagine, you have in mind a fashion session with a sofa on the beach. It can be a great idea if everything is expensive, but if you have to transport the sofa to the beach and have a tiny car, it is no longer such a good idea. You can also pull other resources, find someone to take you, someone to lend you a cool sofa near the beach or any other resource. That or find another location or idea. The important thing is that you have all this in mind, that you anticipate so that these inconveniences do not arise just before the session. And who says a sofa says a very heavy equipment that you want to take to a place of difficult access. Think before if it is better to reduce the equipment, find something more accessible or get help (if you have one).WHERE TO LOOK
Patte your city and surroundings, go on excursions, investigate history and discover public buildings with something of interest. Sometimes we think we know the place where we live and it is not true. Also, even if we go through the same place often, if you have not observed it carefully, with renewed eyes, you probably have not noticed its potential. Start by exploring your closest environment. If you follow photographers who are near your location, especially on social networks, you can look at the places where they take their photos. Many times people label locations. You can also choose a place and review all the photos that have been tagged from that site and see if any background or scenario catches your attention. There is not much filter here, if you have plenty of time and you want to see photos it is a good option, but you will have to go to something more direct. In photography forums you can also share opinions and locations, as well as in photography associations. If you lack time, use Google Maps and its Street view option to visit places near you. You can do it comfortably from your sofa at night, in gaps, waiting and so on. The important thing, many times, is to know how to look, find the beauty and charm of each place, look at its light and all the possibilities it offers.NOTEPAD
Mobile applications and all new technologies are very good and are an excellent resource. But there is another infallible. A notebook where you can point by hand and pen, where nothing is deleted. A little girl to always carry on and when you go through a place you like, write it down. It can be a facade, an abandoned place, a place where interesting people travel, one of contrasts, a strange landscape or any place that catches your eye; but that seems more photogenic or interesting than beautiful. Write down the place, where it is and what sensations it has transmitted to you at first. You can take pictures with your phone and put them in a folder with the name of the place and stored in another one that you have called locations. So, when you search and nothing comes to mind, you can take a look there, that memory is sometimes treacherous. In short, it is about learning to give importance to the place, to the message, to help you with the location to enhance it. That you plan in time for nothing to fail, to keep your eyes wide open because any place can be a future location, depending on what. If you found it useful, do not forget to share these tips with your contacts from your favorite social networks. Thanks and see you soon.