Sunday, June 1, 2014

Location! Location! Location! | Hampton Roads Portrait Photographer

Hi!

Whenever you book your session... well wait.. even BEFORE you book your session you're probably planning it all around a location. Am I right? You may be envisioning a theme (romantic, casual, woodsy, industrial, etc.) or even specifically know where you want to have your session (beach, wooded area, old college stomping grounds, etc.); but one of the very first things you think of and one of the very first things we discuss when planning your session is: LOCATION.
 
Location is important. But it's also NOT important.
 
I know, I know, here I go with my crazy talking out of both sides of my mouth again. But hear me out!
 
Location is important in order to set the mood or tone of your session. It's also important to help guide what kind of wardrobe you're going to wear. You're not going to wear leather riding pants with steel toed boots to a session in a meadow are you? Unless of course you're going for a juxtaposition kind of thing... but for the sake of time I'm not going to head down that rabbit hole ;)

But location is also not important AT ALL.
 
Take a look at this photo. Where does it look like it was taken?
 
 
Romantic field with beautiful golden light.
 
 
And what about this one? Any ideas?
 
Cute, old, brick bike path.
 
 
And this one?

 
Old, vintage brick location with awesome light.
 
But believe it or not they are ALL from the same location! Yep! That's right! Different angles, different sections of the location, different times of the year, etc.
 
 
And what about these two photos? Same location or different location?
 

 
Same location! But you can't really tell can you?
 
The focus of the session is on you- location is really only PART of the story. The rest is on your personality, your smile, the way you touch your hair when you're thinking. It's about your style of clothing and what you feel THE BEST wearing.
 
Let the location of your session set the mood for your shoot; but don't let it dictate absolutely everything you do with your session. So the next time I ask you "any ideas for location?" and you just are not sure yet which spot is perfect for you: don't fret! It's not as big of a deal as you might think ;)

What type of locations do you envision yourself at for YOUR session? Tell me in the comments below!
 
Best,
Sarah

5 comments:

  1. Such a great post and so true! That is why you have that photographer eye to capture an everyday spot in beautiful ways.

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  2. Great post!! Such a good reminder of what a session is really about!! :)

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  3. You talked out of both sides of your mouth before? I would love to know in which blog that was! ;)

    I totally agree with the location! Each photographer makes the session theirs, and each client makes that location special. <3

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  4. Great point. If you have any, you might want to provide a pull-back shot of one of these locations so that prospective clients can see how a talented photographer can create beautiful results in areas that may not be obvious.

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  5. Great post, Sarah! and beautiful images!

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