Location Photography

I admit it. Even though I’ve been doing it for years now, location photography can be stressful. Sometimes you are going to an unfamiliar place with unknown or unpredictable lighting and weather conditions. You can have a very demanding client who is concerned that his money is being well spent. It can be intimidating.

The key is to be prepared and have really strong photography skills. That goes without saying. However, there are a few other less obvious tips that can also help. For instance, make sure you have the gear you need. But that doesn’t always involve having tons of lighting gear or a massive selection of lenses. Sometimes, all you need is a piece of duct tape to save a shoot.

I always carry a small duffle bag dedicated for storing miscellaneous stuff. These are things that can save a shoot but aren’t photo equipment. Here are some of the things I carry:

A white bed sheet.
A 6x6ft piece of black felt.
A roll of duct or gaffer’s tape.
Medium binder clips.
Large pring clamps.
Heavy duty fishing line.
A multitool.
25ft of nylon cord.

These are some of the things that I have found to be really helpful to carry. There may be other things you can think of, but these are my basics for McGyvering a bad situation.

A more obvious tip for shooting on location is to always pack you gear the exact same way. This includes all gear, not just camera gear. By being consistent, it makes it easier to find things. It’s much less stressful to know exactly where everything is than it is to have to rummage thru bags to find something. There’s also another benefit. If everything has a place, it’s less likely that you will accidentally leave gear behind.

Anyway, I hope this helps you work on location with a little more confidence. You can checkout more my website here.

Thanks for reading!

-Ken.