My on location shoot

I was assigned to take a series of photographs of a family on location this week. Unfortuantely I could not meet the deadline as there was only a few days to find subject and no one was available.

I have arranged for the family shoot to take place on 5th May which is a Sunday. The family I am photographing consist of Mum, Dad and their two daughters aged 5 and 2.

I have been researching a number of locations which would be suitable for my clients, taking into consideration

• Weather (open spaces/shading, shelter etc)
• Public places ( busy on particular days, people invading the scene)
• Distance (can your client travel to location)

I will go into more detail later when I draft up a smart plan for my shoot.

Location photography is very similar to studio photography. Think of the location as your studio, the sun as your KEY LIGHT and additional surfaces ie, reflections from buildings, 5 in 1 reflectors used as ur fill lights etc. We just have to learn how to use them to our advantage.

A perfect example would be CLOUDS. A great diffusers and reflectors for portrait photography. The light from the sun reflects and bounces from the clouds and surrounds your subject evenly. Like a humongous soft box.

5 IN 1 Reflector is a photographers best friend when shooting on location too. They can help fill in shadows or help to highlight particular surfaces without the need for portable lights.

Click this link to watch a great tutorial on using available light on location.

I have also added a few examples of my own on how you can use your reflector to manipulate the natural light.

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UPDATE......My location shoot was cancelled due to one of the children being sick, poor little thing :(

I have asked my brother and his family (wife and three boys aged 12, 6 and 4) to stand in for me, so I have chosen a more local location. I have also done some research on family portraits and on location photography. I love the technique of backlighting the subjects, it creates a lovely soft and magical affect, I have included a few examples below:

Below is my shoot plan:

Brief Description of shoot:  A fun relaxed canid style photo shoot of the family interacting with each other having fun ie, boys in front playing with parents sat in background out of focus, dad holding youngest by ankle upside-down whilst others are playing around etc etc..

Location:    Sankey Valley Park, Haydock    https://maps.google.com/

Date & Time:  Wednesday evening, 7pm (golden hour)

Equipment needed:  Camera Canon 5d Mark ii with L series lens, reflector, blankets, space hopper, windmills, bubble machine

Cost of shoot, ie. film, make-up, props etc:  Just my time!

I went on a test shot this evening with my little girl Evie x the images are below:

Were going on a bear hunt......

I love the halo that has been created by using the sun to create some back light. Again the glow from the golden hour and the purposely caught lens flare creates a warmth to this image, a GOLDEN hue. The light in the foreground qith the dark tones in the background help to create depth in this image.

I purposely added a textured layer onto this image in photoshop to enhance the rustic/vintage feel. The lens flare adds to this too which I placed my camera purposely into an angle that would capture this. I think it it creates a feeling that the the blades of grass and bluebells are reaching up to the sun, trying to grab the last bit of daylight before the dusk set in

I caught my daughter looking at a flock of birds in the sky. Evies porcelain skin against the golden backdrop makes her look angelic x
I think a 5 in 1 reflector would have been useful place on the ground to the left on white to help remove the faint shadows under her chin. This was not possible on this shoot as I was just taking test shots and road down on my bike haha