Preparation for Location Photography shoots

On location photography is where you take your camera/equipment to a subject rather than bringing your subject to you in a studio. In a studio you have full control over the lighting, background etc, whereas on location you have to manipulate and take control of the lighting and backgrounds etc. In this post I will explain this in more detail, using my own experiences and research of other photographers experiences.

Location photography could be ANYWHERE at ANYTIME at ANY given location. There are a lot of things you need to consider before shooting on location, some of these are:

• Location-Is it a public place? If so, will it be busy? Do you need permission to photograph? Is the location accessable for you and your clients? Is it easy to find? Google maps or visit your location prior to your shoot.
• Light- What time of day you shoot is very important. The golden hours are known as the best time to shoot. Usually an hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset. You can find out when the sunrises and sets with this link. The golden hours give a soft, warm three dimensional light, this is because the light is closer to the ground thus diffusing through grass, buildings etc. If you do not have the option to shoot during these hours it is important to remember that back lighting is another excellent way of manipulating natural light. Direct light can be harsh. Midday sun creates squinty eyes and harsh shadows under the eye areas when shooting portraits. Remember to shoot facing the sun, the sun to the back of your subjects, you must remember to use spot metering or partial, this will ensure that the subject is correctly exposed. Shade is another photographers best friend when shooting outside, you can use light bouncing from another surface to light up your subject, whether it be another building or a 5in1 reflector. I have attached a great video here and here with a great tutorial on shooting portraits in natural light.
• Weather-UK weather is very unpredictable, which means we ALWAYS need a backup plan. Questions to ask yourself are: Where is there shelter if is rains or if its windy? Can we use props to still shoot in the rain? Is the equipment you will be using water proof and if not, how will you prevent equipment from getting wet? The snow can be a great reflector but you will need to understand how to meter and compensate your exposure as your camera will meter for the bright white snow and not your subject. Rain can make a beautiful image, especially if you experiment with your shutter speeds, slow it down to create a blurred affect or speed it up to catch each droplet landing on your subject.A cloudy day is perfect, clouds are massive diffusers, softening the sunlight, reducing shadows and squinted eyes. ( its sometimes a good idea to use a reflector to create some sort of catch light in your subjects eyes though as these conditions can sometimes cause the subjects eyes to appear flat and dull)

5 in 1 reflector:

A 5 in 1 reflector can be a photographers best friend. It is so versatile and can be used in many different ways.

The white side is used to reflect a very clean and soft light on to the subject. It is the alternative to the silver side when light on location is too harsh to bounce. In bright conditions I would always use the white side as it creates a soft reflection. Almost useless in low light situations as it doesn't reflect enough to bounce back the light over distance.

The gold side is used to help create warmth on the subject. I use this side when I want to create a warm evening glow on the subject or if the subject is slightly washed out from the key light, whether it be studio or location.

The silver side tends to be the most popular side of a reflector. I don't favour it to be honest. I find it gives off too harsh a light and reflects too strongly for location shoots where the key light is already strong. This is why the white side is my favourite as its much softer.
However, the silver side is great to use in low light situations because of its strength of reflection, it can grab the majority of the available light and bounce it back over great distance without losing much of the light.

The black side isn't actually a reflector its an anti-reflector or mostly referred to as a flag by most photographers. I use this side of the image to cast a shadow on particular areas of the subject. Eg. If the available light creates too much even light on the portraits subjects face you can position this side of the reflector to create shadows on one side of the face, or underneath their chin etc..this can create some nice artistic shadow.

The diffuser/translucent center is found when you zip off the reflector sleeves. It is used to help diffuse light that is shining directly onto your subjects. For example on a clear skied day when the sun is at its highest your portrait subject wold struggle to avoid the squinty eye look. By positioning the diffused in-between the sun and the subject you can avoid this. I do find it useful though to use some other surface to create a smaller reflector to create some kind of catchlight as this technique can sometimes cause the subjects eyes to look dull.
Diffusers can be useful when using portable strobe lights on location and the wind is too strong to have a soft-box attached.


So, as you can see by my brief descriptions and example images, 5 in 1 reflectors really are a photographers best friend, especially when shooting portraits.