Planning a Successful Outdoor Photo Shoot
Outdoor photo shoots are very popular for editorial work, engagement shoots, portraiture, and more. Unless you are strictly a studio photographer, it’s a good idea to know how to successfully plan and execute an outdoor shoot. Chances are very good that you’ll have to photograph outdoors at some point in time.
Tip #1: Choose Your Location Wisely
An outdoor shoot is largely about location. Sure, evidently, you want natural lighting, but you also want atmosphere. Pick a location that embodies the spirit of the photographs you want to create. For example, if you’re shooting a couple for their engagement shoot and they want a rustic look, you may want to shoot in or near a forest. A flowery field at sunset might be more appropriate if they’d prefer an airy, romantic look.
Tip #2: Let Your Location Work for You
The location doesn’t just have to provide a background for your photos. Obviously, if you plan your short well, your subjects can also interact with the location, allowing it to become a living, breathing part of the composition of your photographs.
Tip #3: Play with Your Subjects
Above all, this goes for a studio shoot the same as it does a location shoot, but getting your subjects to a point where they are comfortable is key in getting good photographs. A location shoot often offers you the opportunity to let your subjects play, dawdle, or simply enjoy the location in such a way that they’ll start to forget that you’re holding a camera.
Tip #4: Get Plenty of Coverage
An outdoor shoot isn’t like a studio shoot. You can’t bring the subjects back in and expect to have the exact same conditions. Given that, seasons change, the length of days shortens and lengthens, and the overall mood of an outdoor location will be different from one shoot to the next. Don’t risk not getting enough coverage for your shoot — it may not be easy to bring everyone back to the location to get additional images that will match the originals.
Tip #5: Shoot Multiple Photos of Each Setup
In the same vein as tip #4, take multiple photos of each setup or position you do with your models. With digital photography, it doesn’t cost you any more or less to take the same photo a few different times. There could be a bug right in front of your lens. You could be slightly out of focus. Or one of your subjects might be blinking. Any number of things that could go wrong that could prevent you from getting the perfect shot. Obviously, taking multiples helps to ensure that you’ll get good results on at least most of the photos.
Tip #6: Let Yourself Be Inspired
The best part about a location shoot over a studio shoot is that unexpected elements might work their way into the photographs. Be open to inspiration that happens on-site. Let yourself be artistic and embrace what’s going on around you. Happenstance often creates beautiful memories.