{What I Learned…} How to Maximize A Location

After our “just for fun” styled shoot, I wanted to take some portrait photos of my lovely models. But we had to do it quickly since the girls had other commitments to get to that day.  I wanted to make each girl look her absolute best, but with no time to search for different settings, I had to maximize one location to accomodate all three looks. I decided on the abandoned house that sat right on the lake property for our portraits. The house was in a nice shaded area making it ideal for portraits. I’ve learned that as long as there’s beautiful natural light – with a little creativity – any location can make the perfect backdrop.  Here’s how I made it work: 

• Look for color: Since Selvete has long, gorgeous brown hair, I wanted to set her against a light background so she would stand out.  However, she was also wearing a white polka dot sundress, so a plain white background would not work either. The green of the leaves in this part of the house provided a nice dash of color to the photo and made her dress pop against an otherwise muted background. 

•If it’s not working, just move:  I originally started taking pictures of Ashley where I took Selvete’s photos, but I found the background to be too busy against her printed top and I thought the white walls completely washed out her fair skin and golden locks.  So I brought her around to the front of the house to take pictures on the porch. Now she’s slightly set a part for the white walls and the dark contrast of the leaves in the background brings the focus back to my subject. But you don’t always need to completely change locations in order to make it work, often a step to the left/right/front/back can make all the difference in the world.

•Remove distractions (or remove youself from them): Charlotte’s outfit was the boldest of the three, so I wanted to make sure that her red top and printed skirt did not clash with the rest of the background. I looked for the spot with the least amount of distractions – the tool shed right next to the house.  This backdrop had very little green and the mostly white background helped her bold and colorful outfit shine without having to compete for attention.  

•Location isn’t everything:  Sometime the perfect backdrop is not nearly as important as the people you share it with. If you focus on capturing genuine smiles, emotions and connections, you’re bound to get a picture perfect moment each and every time!

*The online community has been a wonderful resource in my photography education, so in the spirit of sharing, I started the  {What I Learned…} series as a way of paying it forward to others that are looking to learn too . This does not make me an expert on the subject, just another person looking to push my knowledge and skills to the next level. I hope that my “non-photography” friends will find the content just as helpful for improving their picture-taking skills too.