Location, location, location...

Beautiful beaches, cornfields, meadows and forests. Rather than having a portrait photograph taken in a studio, a growing trend is for people to consider their surroundings and to incorporate this into their portraits. I'm lucky to live in a beautiful area of the country (East Anglia) so most of the time this is what I aim to do.

When you book a remote portrait photographer you need to think a little about what type of photograph you would like to achieve and where might be a suitable location for this. Your photograher will know a few favourite locations in the area, but the odds are that you know your immediate area better than them. You need to consider where your families wil be at ease and well as the look and feel of the location and the photographs you want to achieve.

So, what are your choices? The possibilities are endless really, but here are a few ideas:

Home

The most straight forward location is a home shoot. This way it doesn't matter what the weather is like. Ideal if you like a studio look to your photographs or would like to build some element of your home into the photograph. You need to make sure there's an area that's not cluttered and gives the models & photographer room to move.

Garden

Sometimes the best locations are right on your doorstep. This photograph was taken right outside the front door. A reasonable sized area for children to run around in is ideal. Also, where there are bushes or fences to act as a backdrop, rather than a building or garden toys.

Forest

I LOVE photographing in forests. The children have so much fun, running around, climbing trees, playing in the leaves etc.

The perfect location for any season. Bluebells & daffodills in the spring, autumn colours in the Autumn and shade in the summer.

Seaside

A great location for the spring/summer and I'm lucky enough to have a number of lovely beaches close by. Building sandcastles, paddling in the sea, fishing in rock pools, running along the sand dunes... This is one of those locations where the family have a brilliant day out as well as getting some lovely photographs. Watch out for bright, mid-day sunshine in the summer, though.

Meadows

At this time of year you get some lovely wildflower meadows appearing. What a lovely backdrop. One word of caution - if you do want your photoshoot in a wildflower meadow, make it quick as they have a habit of being mown down




Urban locations

You can get some great photographs with the family on old steps or infront of garages, playing in fountains or in the doorway of a historic building... With a little imagination any urban area can provide a great backdrop.

Other ideas

Zoos and other places of interest can sometimes work too. You do need to be careful if it's publically owned or National Trust, though, as you may need permission to be photographed there.

Where are your favourite places to take photographs of your family? Let us know...



I have some exciting news coming up in my next blog entry, so stay tuned!


Who am I? I am http://www.sarahleighphotography.co.uk/ - creative photographer specialising in natural portraits of children and families in East Anglia. Feel free to post comments or questions about this article.