Location Portraits

I am not a big fan of location portraits. By “location” I am referring to photography shoots that happen outside of a studio. This could be outside in a public space like a beach, park, inside in a public space like a coffee shop, or inside in a private space like your home or office. Many photographers choose outdoors because of the opportunities it offers. The overall effect that the outdoors gives is an important factor. There’s something about working with and around nature that makes some photographers excited. The most exciting thing about shooting outdoors, however, is the fact that you have an unlimited source of light.

Shooting on location opens a world of options. When you have an existing background, a beach or woods for example, you can use these existing elements, to create an extra layer of authenticity and because you’re using a natural background you can create a very unique look.

But this also leads to certain challenges which is why I am not that big a fan. In most instances when I look at a portrait taken on location my eyes tend to drift to the background to see if I can identify the location where the portrait was taken. Then there are the background lines that are drawn, usually the horizon in beach photos, behind the head or upper body which I find most distracting. In other instances you can get tree branches or leaves that can easily become distracting elements on the photo. As a result I have always found location shooting more challenging. Positioning the model and shooting from the correct angles to avoid these distracting elements becomes more important. The benefits though is that you can use the ambient light around you, without using a flash, to take a really good photos. In saying that I still find that having a flash, and using it with the ambient light, gives that little extra ‘kick’ to the image.

With this blog I have attached two images. one taken with ambient light only, and the other with a flash enhancing the ambient light. Of the two I prefer the the image with the addition of the ambient light - it makes the model stand out more ensuring that you are drawn to the face of the model.

In order to get rid of distracting elements a portrait told me to shoot the image at the lowest possible depth of field - basically ‘blur’ the background or to use the photographers terminology ‘bokeh’. It does help but my eyes still tends to wander - maybe though, not as far.