Monday, February 8, 2010


How To Find A Portrait Location Anywhere

November 20, 2009 by Virtual Photography  
Filed under Blog, Taking Better Photographs

One of the most difficult things for some photographers is finding great locations to shoot a portrait. When you are photographing one person, or even a couple, the world is your backdrop – you just have to look a little.

On a recent outing, I was looking for a new business portrait to use for a few new things we’ve been working on. So we thought it would be fun to show you how any location can become an amazing backdrop for you.

We started just a couple of miles from our home in a strip center mall on a Sunday so the walking traffic was at a minimum. Here’s the location we settled on:

choosing a portrait location - mall area

Choose a location for the lines, columns, stairs, color and decorations. Because its winter, there are no flowers in the pots, and snow was lying around in different areas.

By concentrating on just a few of the areas, and watching the angles, we came up with dozens of different images I’ll be able to use.

business portrait Lori

Any location makes for a good backdrop – you just have to see beyond what most people see. The easiest way to “see” differently is to head out and practice.

Make sure you’re in a location where security won’t stop you – public places are your best choice. And have fun with it.

Related posts:

  1. 10 Tips For Taking Portraits In The Cold and Snow 1. Choose your location before the clients arrive. In the...
  2. 8 Keys To A Great Engagement Portrait The holidays are upon us. The time for celebrating, spending...
  3. Planning Out A Portrait As a professional photographer, it’s your job to tell your...
  4. Bizzard hits Colorado during the holidays. Snow, snow everywhere! We reside in Denver and this holiday...
  5. Sell To Clients On Location? New Tool To Help Sell Your Photographs I’ve long been a fan of using projection to motivate...

Bookmark and Share

Speak Your Mind

Tell us what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!