Three Things to Look For When Choosing a Location for Pictures | Whitney Beth Photography
 

Awhile ago on my stories I had an "ask me anything" box and one of the questions I got was, "How to look for good locations." And while I feel like that is a loaded question - aka you can make any location work, there are a few things I look for when location scouting. 

The first thing I consider is;

1. When will I be shooting and where will the sun be? 

You can have a gorgeous location all picked out, but if you didn't take into consideration of when you'll be there and where the sun will be, you'll get different results than what you were hoping for. Take the picture below with the orange wall. I knew I wanted nice, even light so do get that I had to shoot when it was in the shade. The wall happened to be west facing, which meant that if I wanted shade, I needed to shoot in the morning. 

2. Are there any seasonal elements?

I'm not talking about Santa or pumpkin spice, I'm referring to the literal seasons and the treasures they bring. For example, one of my favorite places to shoot sunflowers at looks like a dead field for about half of the year. In the spring there are tons of lilac hedges full of purple flowers that look like any other green tree the rest of the year. Same thing with the poppy field. In the spring it's a colorful explosion, but the rest of the time looks like a standard meadow. Pretty, if that's what you're looking for, but it pales in comparison to when the poppies are in bloom. 

3. What does the background look like?

This may seem like a "duh" thing to list, but it's important if I want the desired outcome of my pictures to match my vision. I love shooting with the sun backlighting my subject behind a grove of trees. I just love the dappled light that you get through the leaves. Whereas if I have a "empty" backdrop like a field or something like the salt flats and Saltair, I'll get more of a bight, unfiltered light until the sun dips below the horizon more.