Location, location, location!  It is true, picking a location for your portrait session is an important decision to make, but not many people know how to go about doing it.  The location we shoot in can affect other factors, such as what outfits you may want to wear, suitable poses, and lighting, so it’s worth taking some time to think about this.  Too often people don’t quite know how to select a location, so they resort to the convenient spots that are nearby and beautiful…..but so many people use the same spot for a photo location because it is convenient, nearby, and beautiful.  Result:  you can probably find numerous families and couples with portraits similar to yours.  Your portraits should be YOURS and unique to YOU!  So here are my tips for helping you select a location:

 

1) Choose a meaningful place.

 

Think of a place that MEANS something special to you.  If you are going to be taking your engagement pictures, think of where your first date was, or where he proposed, or where you shared your first kiss.  Is there a place where you like to go and just hang out?  These are all landmarks in your relationship, so think of ways that you might be able to incorporate the little things that mean the most into your engagement session!

 

Brittany and Dave love going up to Lake Erie to swim or hang out at Geneva-on-the-Lake, so we headed up there for their beach session!

 

For Miriam and Nathanael’s engagement session, we went back to the tree where Nathanael proposed. 

 

2)  What are your interests?

 

What do you like to spend your time doing?  What makes you, you?  Think of your hobbies, interests, activities, sports, pastimes, and you might just get a really great idea for where to take your pictures!

 

Keith loves the outdoors and hunting, so he and Amanda wanted to include this in their engagement photos.  We went to a nature preserve and these cuties put on their hunting boots, and it turned out awesome!

Wilson and Jessica are competitive bodybuilders, and so we decided to have some fun with their weights :)

The Mosers love the downtown feel in Youngstown, so we found some great nooks and crannies to get some nice shots in!

Melissa loved the idea of wading in a creek for her maternity shoot and she really loves nature and the outdoors!  Her son Drew is a Boy Scout and so we went to the creek where his troop has gone, and explored all the surrounding trails and fields.

 Nathanael plays the banjo, so he brought it along for some pictures!  I don’t think Miriam minded :)

These lovely ladies had a fun bridesmaids shoot before Tristan’s wedding, and they really like the city feel in downtown YO.  All those one-way back streets were perfect to work with!

3) Look in your backyard!

 

Most people would never even think of using their own backyard as the location for their photoshoot.  For obvious reason – you live there and look at the same yard every single day!  But take a step back and try to look at it in a different light.  I bet your backyard has more potential than you realize!  Shooting at clients’ homes is one of my favorite things to do, because they tend to feel more relaxed and comfortable in a familiar environment.  Also, this can guarantee that your location is unique!

 

This beautiful field was right across the street from Jess’s parents house!  Perfect!  And this cool barn in their backyard made for an amazing backdrop.  (I’d also just like to mention that when we were discussing location options, Jess was fairly sure that her parent’s house had zero potential as a location for their shoot, but I drove out to take a look and fell in love.  The field, the barn, what else do we need!)

 

That pile of firewood in your backyard?  Perfect for a family session!  The Buttermore family used their yard for their fall pictures, and I absolutely love these!  The kids wanted to play on the swingset, so we just moved the whole family over there.  And had a blast.

Nancy and Kory just bought a new house and are fixing it up before their wedding in November.  I’m so glad Nancy suggested starting their engagement session there, because I was in heaven.  Beautiful trees and fields in the backyard, and we even used this old pavilion!  Even something crazy and crumbling like this old structure still has the potential for a great picture!

 

Did this help you out?  I hope so!  And I’d also like to mention that you really shouldn’t stress out about your location.  If you can’t think of a good place that you’d like to take pictures, just ask me!  I always have a hundred locations stored away in the back of my mind, so we can talk it out, figure out what you like and don’t like, and come up with something together.