Being a wedding photographer (or just a photographer in general) can be pretty tough! There are a lot of things that are outside of our control on a wedding day, and it is our job as professionals to make the best of any situation! One of the things that we often run into is shooting in less than ideal locations.
If you are calling yourself a professional photographer, you can make ANY location look beautiful! You just have to look for the light and flex your creative muscles with angles and poses to leave out the areas that don’t look so great around you!
For example, I find myself shooting in parking lots far more than I thought I would as a wedding photographer. However, looking at most of the photos, you wouldn’t be able to tell! In this bridesmaids photo below, we were in front of a bunch of cars, at the edge of a parking lot by this fence, and one lone tree. The tree did just enough shading to make this spot work. But, I looked for the light and focused on what made the area look really pretty! If I were to turn to my left or right all you’d see are big trucks and a hotel!
Same deal in this one below! We went to the very edge of the parking lot where there was some greenery because the light was so gorgeous! Behind the couple is a MAJOR interstate that runs through Maine and I had to take a lot of shots to get a photo without any cars or trucks passing through!
For Brandon + Clare’s wedding last year, it DOWNPOURED all day, and there was absolutely no way we were going to get outside to do any photos of the two of them. They got married in the gorgeous Irish Heritage Center, but because it was a dreary day, it was pretty dark inside for shooting photos! After shooting around in the church, I simply brought them to the open doors, and I stood on the steps outside and got some photos of the two of them that were evenly lit and still pretty gorgeous!
The point I’m trying to make is that you still have to do your job and do the very best you can regardless of if you’re shooting in an alley by a dumpster, if the light is SUPER harsh, or it’s pouring, or anything that isn’t considered “beautiful,” you still have to create those beautiful images for your couples. If you can’t confidently do that, go out and practice! Put yourself in uncomfortable and not ideal situations so that if on a wedding day you’re put in a tough spot, you can be confident in your skills as a professional photographer to create images you’re still proud of and that your couple will love!
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