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Hey photographer friends! Welcome back to our Photography Blog, Mastering the Wedding Photography Biz with Hunter and Sarah! And in today’s blog post, we’re going to talk about how photographers can build out a list of the best photoshoot locations in their local area that are going to allow them to get great images, while also making their clients feel like they’re getting a great service! So if you feel like you never know what to do when your clients ask for photoshoot location suggestions, let’s jump in!

 

 

Step 1. Start with Researching the Best Locations

So the first step in building a list of the very best photoshoot locations in your area is research. Start by making a list of maybe 20 or 30 (or even 40) local spots that could potentially be good photoshoot locations. Look up public parks, local university campuses, cute downtown areas, local wineries farms, or other agro-tourism locations, local wedding venues, and even just google “engagement photoshoot” and the name of your city/county to get LOTS of ideas!

 

The goal here is to cast a net as widely as possible, knowing that you’re going to narrow the list down from there. But to start, keep this list big, and don’t let any idea seem too crazy or too out-there, because you never know what your clients are going to end up loving. Then, once you’ve got your list, start by doing a little research and making sure that the locations are at least somewhat feasible. If they have a website, go to it and see if you can find anything about photoshoot rules. If you can’t find anything on the site about photoshoots, maybe try calling them on the phone, and asking about photoshoots.

 

 

What Makes a Location Logistically Good

Logistically speaking, there are a few things that make a spot great for photoshoots other than the location and the light itself. The first is ease of scheduling. It’ll be best if you can just show up unannounced at any time and just shoot whenever you want, but somewhere that requires advanced planning isn’t disqualified, as long as the scheduling isn’t a huge headache.

 

The second thing is availability. As natural light photographers, we’re going to do 99% of our engagement sessions or other portrait work during golden hour (we have a whole blog post/video on WHY we only shoot during golden hour, if you’re interested). So obviously, if a location is only available for photoshoots until 5:00 PM, then it’s basically useless to us from early-March through mid-November when daylight savings time is in effect, and sunsets are anywhere from 7:00 PM to almost 9:00 PM.

 

Right off the bat, this should help you start narrowing down your list. You’ll cross a handful off right away because of their hours. Then, as you contact each place about their photography rules, probably 50% will say “No problem, just tag us and be respectful of other guests”, another 30% might say, “here’s our photography session fee and rules…”, and the last 20% will say, “sorry, no photography allowed.” But either way, make sure you do your research in advance! The last thing you want is to assume it’s okay, then get kicked out of a venue in the middle of a session in front of your clients!! 😖

 

 

Step 2. Shoot at Each Location

Once you’ve done your research, you should have narrowed down your locations to a much smaller list than you started with. Now it’s time to try them out in person! Of course, if you feel confident that the spot is going to rock, and you can get a paying couple to shoot with you at a new location, that’s great! But if not, head to that location around the time of day that you’d shoot with clients, and snap some images of friends or family to see if it’s a good spot. You could even do some full sessions there for free, if you’re still building your portfolio, or just want to keep practicing at new locations.

 

Either way, you’ll want to keep an eye out for all of the things that make a spot good for shooting: good light, variety, plenty of space, and good backgrounds! Once you’re done with the sessions, edit them just like you would for paying clients, so you can get a sense of what final imagery there would look like. You could even take notes on the experience at the location!

 

Before you know it, you’ll have 5-10 awesome locations that you can recommend! Just make sure that, if any of you locations require fees for access, or are far enough away that you’d ask for a travel fee, you ALSO have at least one or two locations that are free as well. Speaking of travel fees and venue fees for portrait photographers, we actually have a video about each of those subjects, and you can click the links above if you’re interested in hearing about our philosophy when it comes to shooting portraits at locations that have associated fees, or require us to drive more than 45 minutes each way.

 

 

Step 3. Build Your “Top-10 Best Photoshoot Locations in _(Your town)__” List!

Now, once you’ve checked out all — or at least most — of the locations that survived to Step 2, it’s time to put together your final list! Keep in mind, not only is creating this list going to make your life easier when clients are asking you about potential photoshoot locations… but having a list like this at your disposal will also make you seem like a local expert and a super-experienced photographer, elevating your clients’ experience and therefore the value you provide them in their eyes.

 

Plus, it means that if they suggest one of the locations that you tried but ruled out because it wasn’t a great spot photographically, you can explain to them the pros and cons of that, and politely steer them back toward your list. Now, as you’re making your final decision as to what locations to add to the list, keep this one really important thing in mind: if you add it to your list, you WILL inevitably shoot there. That may sound obvious, but basically, we’re giving you permission to leave off any locations that — although they may be great photographically — you don’t enjoy shooting at for whatever reason.

 

Maybe there’s a spot that’s just been over-done and is super popular and crowded, and you just don’t like shooting there anymore or fighting the crowds. Or maybe there’s a spot that’s really great to shoot at, but is so inconvenient to schedule and get to, that it’s just ruined the location for you. If charging an additional fee — like we talked about in those two videos we referenced a few minutes ago — isn’t worth it for you, then this is your list. Do whatever you want!

 

 

Assembling Your List

But, there you have it! Just like that, you have a curated list of all your favorite and best photoshoot locations in your local area. The final step is just to put it together — either as a blog on your website that’s public and easily Googleable, or as a private document that you reserve for your clients only. The public blog will be better for your SEO, but it’ll probably be mostly other photographers who are finding it, meaning you may be doing their research for them. On the other hand, a private link would feel very cool and exclusive to your clients, but won’t help your websites SEO at all.

 

We went through this process for the first time more than 5 years ago, and still update our Best Engagement Session Locations in Charlottesville, VA blog every year or so, as some of our past favorites change their hours or fall out of our favor, and as new locations become available around town. Every time we explore a new place and love it, we add it to the blog, and remove the one that we feel like our clients have been using the least, or serves them less well. And now, you can do the same!

 

Want More?

 

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