During my time as a Rhode Island children's photographer, I've shot at a variety of different locations. Sometimes clients pick locations, but other times they leave the choice up to me. I've got some great locations on my short list, and I'm always on the lookout for more places that would make great backdrops for the photos that are going to hang on your wall. I do it when I'm walking, driving (yes, I have stopped and turned around to look at potential spots), biking, running...you name it.

So what's my location scouting process? What do I look for in order to make sure you come away with beautiful and memorable photos? Read below to get a peek into what I look for in a shooting location.

South County Rhode Island child photographer

Last weekend I was able to take a few photos of my nephew, who is my favorite little person in the world. We had a very short shoot at my parents' home in the rural woods of Richmond, RI. I could only take a few photos, and I wanted to make the most of them. I knew the light would be gorgeous, but fading fast, when we took our photos. So I looked for a location that fit my guidelines:

LIGHT. Does the location have pleasing light? The light in any location will change with the time of day, and also the time of year, so a location might not always have pleasing light, but if it has great light during the time of day I'll be shooting, awesome! Sometimes I go back to locations several times to see how they look on both clear and cloudy days.
COLOR and BACKGROUND. Does the location have colors that work with the vision I have for the shoot? Colors generally change with the seasons, and some locations may work year round while some are only used in summer or winter. Does the background, color and otherwise, complement the subjects or are there too many distractions?
A CLEAR LINE OF SIGHT. Does the location allow me a clear shot to my subjects? Some locations have gorgeous groves or clearings but those spots are impossible to shoot in because the line of sight to the camera is blocked by trees/rocks/bushes/attack ninjas.
ACCESSIBILITY. Is this location easy for clients and me to access? Many clients are up for a little adventure trekking to cool locations, but that's not always possible. Having a number of easy to reach locations is important!

The four above things came into play when looking for a location to take my nephew's photos. I also took into account the most important things I know about locations: with a little bit of vision, even a small space or seemingly undesirable or boring location can be beautiful.

Above are iPhone photos of the location we shot in. (Yes, I'm sort of iPhone photo impaired!) Our shoot was in a slightly marshy wooded area right next to a field and practically on top of brush piles. This location might look really mundane (ok, that might be an understatement), but I knew the light would look gorgeous filtering through the beech trees. A little traipsing through the woods found us a rock perfect for sitting and posing, with a straight shot right to the rock. The light was magical and made for some great photos.

I can't wait to find a wonderful location for your child's next shoot! Contact me for more information and to book your shoot.

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