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Archive 2015 · Influencing on location options

  
 
Ghost
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Influencing on location options


OK I can't possibly influence wedding locations, but do get to provide thoughts on engagement shoot location. Part of me feels that this should be decided by the couple, however I find sometimes their choices aren't that great or it's a place full of tourists or other photo-sessions.
I admire folks like Tony Hoffer that are able to shoot at all sorts of location from some dumpy home to a library. I'm like "dang, I want to do that!" Or at least suggest such locations. How do I articulate to my clients to try out non-traditional locations?



Jun 11, 2015 at 01:31 PM
rondphoto
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Influencing on location options


Book more non-traditional clients.




I think a lot of it is about setting the expectation with your client. I tell folks all the time, "Look....at first glance this place may not seem like a great place to shoot, but please...trust me."

It all comes down to trust and communicating your vision with the client.

Sometimes it's about compromise. If they're stuck on a location, agree to shoot there but ask them to shoot at another place of your choice. At the end of the day, it's the work on your blog that is attracting or detracting potential clients. If you want people who like out of the box stuff, you're going to need to get more of that on your blog.



Jun 11, 2015 at 01:53 PM
Ziffl3
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Influencing on location options


Just had this conversation with a client today.

It is for a quinceanera. The Mom was thinking in one location ... but after offering several different ideas on locations and types of looks ... Mom was very open to other location and the daughter was enthusiastically shaking her head 'Yes".

...Now we need to finalize on a location.

I think it comes down what each shooter brings to the table.
Meaning how much do we want to guide our clients or let them present their ideas and we refine them.

I have another client ... discussing bridals .... was at first thinking at the location of the wedding (think big new-southern mansion).
After some conversation we have switched to down town and a completely different look.
Something she had not even thought of.

Cool for me because I really enjoy shooting downtown in the Big D.

-Mark




Jun 11, 2015 at 02:22 PM
Mark_L
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Influencing on location options


If you don’t offer them suggestions I don’t see how you can complain when theirs are not to your liking. These people are not photographers.


Jun 11, 2015 at 03:34 PM
Ghost
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Influencing on location options


Thanks for your replies!

I guess being the apologetically correct meek Canadian, I tend to let my client have a say in this sort of thing. I would normally approach it like "let's find the location where you are all comfortable and meaningful." Did I just torpedo myself? Yes I am beginning to think so.

My recent trip to my hair-stylist got me thinking more about "Trust me on this..." approach. (Minus the "Your hair style sux." part )
So for this year I like to influence more on the location set. Would like to know how to articulate it in such a way that the clients would be ok even if we're going to trek into a dark forest towards an abandoned dumpy shack.

thanks.



Jun 11, 2015 at 04:10 PM
rondphoto
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Influencing on location options


Allow me to repeat myself:

"Look....at first glance this place may not seem like a great place to shoot, but please...trust me."

BUT...if you're going to do it, you need to have confidence and actually give them photos that are going to wow them....or at least not suck.



Jun 11, 2015 at 04:38 PM
nolaguy
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Influencing on location options


I recall (probably teenage years) the first times I saw documentaries of film production sets with directors walking around with lenses hanging from their neck or doing the classic two-hand, thumb and index finger at right angles, arm's length framing - and initially not understanding what they were doing.

50mm is considered a replication of typical human vision but it's so not true. Our eyes take in a lot and it requires a lot of focus and discipline to imagine cropped shots on location - which is obviously what the aforementioned directors were doing.

Then there's the shallow depth of field matter.

It took me a long time to understand that between DOF, composition and cropping I could make sewage plant swill look like a cool waterside venue.

Even absent DOF "tricks" there are countless seemingly crappy locations that hold a few gems of possibilities. It's become something of a game for me - how can I make magic out of nothing... how can I blow the client's mind that in that venue the shots were so strong.




Jun 13, 2015 at 02:49 AM
skg photos
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Influencing on location options


Your clients are hiring a pro because they want your skill, experience, and input.
It does them a huge disservice to keep silent when they make poor choices because you didn't guide them.

I send out info about a month before the session with clothing tips and location suggestions, along with links to past sessions in similar locations. I mention that some prefer an urban vibe, while othes prefer more park/country type settings- it just depends on their taste.
And I let them know that if a location is special to them and they have a particular place in mind (within the same vicinity- I'm not driving four hours to their grandmas cottage for an e session unless well compensated, but will say that more nicely, like "anyplace within an hours drive can be considered an option"), to let me know so we can consider it.



Jun 13, 2015 at 07:45 AM
lilyphoto
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Influencing on location options


Much like skg photos, I start off by asking if they want more of a nature or city feel, or both. Thankfully Austin has both literally minutes away from each other. Then I offer location suggestions and links to previous blog posts if I've photographed there before.

We do have the issue where everyone wants to go to the same few places. If they are trying to decide between a location that I shoot at allllll the time and someplace new, I usually try to persuade them to the someplace new. :-)




Jun 13, 2015 at 08:48 AM
elkhornsun
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Influencing on location options


I try not to get too hung up on the location. Depending on the couple and the time of the year and the time of the day a location can produce very different results. Lots of the time I am shooting at a beach and even with lots of tourists it is possible to get shots that make it look like the couple are alone.

Some of it is in being selective of the background and sometimes it means shooting from a very low or very high position. I get some of my best shots 30 minutes before sunset and at this time most of the people have headed home.



Jun 15, 2015 at 06:22 PM
Tony Hoffer
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Influencing on location options


I would actually advise that you don't suggest places. Part of the beauty of engagement sessions is doing them in a place that's meaningful to the couple. Rather than trying to push them certain directions, I would focus on trying to open up their minds to think differently. We never tell people where to go, but we tell them things to look for and things to avoid.


Jun 15, 2015 at 06:45 PM
joshua grasso
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Influencing on location options


Tony Hoffer wrote:
I would actually advise that you don't suggest places. Part of the beauty of engagement sessions is doing them in a place that's meaningful to the couple. Rather than trying to push them certain directions, I would focus on trying to open up their minds to think differently. We never tell people where to go, but we tell them things to look for and things to avoid.


I like this approach. Btw What kind of places do you like to avoid?



Jun 15, 2015 at 09:53 PM
glort
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Influencing on location options



I suggest and Guide couples with wedding photo locations far more than not.

I'd say more than 50% ASK me if I know any good places or where would I suggest we go. More times than not, I have worked in the area before and know the nearby locations or those on the way between the reception and the church.

I find the default for many people even in this day and age is still parks with loads of flowers in the gardens. I was always creatively numbed by that 20 odd years ago, nothing has changed.
Very frequently the suggestions I make are to go to some run down or out the way place that looks desolate or very "un-beautiful".
It's about what was mentioned and seeing the location as it will look in a pic and what you can do with whats there, not the over all look of the joint. As I say, for the main part, I'm only looking to shoot an area 12 Ft wide and whats behind it, to a degree. Outside of that, I'm not terribly worried.

Frequently I get looks when I say Lets go to the old docks or the deserted factory but I have done it enough now to have plenty of sample pics to show them something they never imagined and very few don't like it. I frequently get the parents having a freak out on the day as well thinking " What the F are we doing here?" Fire off a few frames, show them what I'M seeing in the camera and things quickly change. Then I get the repeated " I would have never thought you could make a place like this look so good".
Yep, that's what your paying for.

I think knowing a variety of locations and being able to suggest them to match the clients desires for what they are really looking to get out of their pictures is an important part of my Job. I have been saying for many years, "There's more to this game than just Pushing a button" and I regard knowing locations in your city/ area to be one of the wider points of knowledge I should have to provide the best service and professionalism to my clients and increase my value to them in what they are paying me.

Another thing that comes up a LOT I help people with is the planning of the day.
They might say the church is at 3 and we want to go here and do this, but they don't think of the timing. Ok, church is at 3, you'll be ready to go by 4 , 30 min drive on a sat afternoon to get that few KM, get everyone out and ready to shoot, sunset is at 5 and you need to be back at the reception by 5:30.
Doesn't add up, you better have a rethink of your timing.

You'd be amazed how many times the lightbulb comes on with that and the next thing I know I get a call or a message to say they have now moved the church forward to 1 so they have time ( and light) for what they want to do.

Dunno about not influencing the wedding pic locations, I frequently influence the whole damn day!
Significantly!

I think I would be pretty pi$$ed with anyone I hired If I got to the park in the dark and said "Oh, we didn't think of the time of year and how dark it would be and leave enough time" and they said they could have told me it would be too dark and we'd run late.
Yeah, you can tell the dentist how all those teeth came to be missing now as well!

With the wedding Pics, people can always go check out the locations for themselves before hand and most of mine do. I have never had anyone say they were dissapointed with the location but I do have a lot of cards and notes I have been sent over the years from people telling me what great spots I have suggested that they never even knew were there.


I think it's MY job to give my clients all the benefits of my experience and knowledge I can to make their day as successful as possible even if it does run well beyond just the immediate work of photography.



Jun 15, 2015 at 10:25 PM
Joel J Photogr
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Influencing on location options


I'd say about 80% of my couples put full trust in me to choose the location.

Obviously it isn't as simple as that. We talk, A LOT, to make sure we're all on the same page as to where we want the session to go, then I generally find the location to make it happen. Instead of a meaningful location to them, they more so bring meaningful ideas to the session itself to incorporate, wether it is from, He popped the question while fly fishing. We don't go to that exact location, but we do rock an awesome location by a lake and they bring a few rods to incorporate into the set.

In the end of things, I'd think its going to end up with how you want to be as a photographer, more so shooting what you want and booking the couples who love what you shoot type deal, Or, More on the flip side of it with giving them more leeway.



Jun 16, 2015 at 12:11 AM
Tony Hoffer
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Influencing on location options


joshua grasso wrote:
I like this approach. Btw What kind of places do you like to avoid?


Anywhere that everyone else goes



Jun 16, 2015 at 06:58 AM





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