“No, we don’t need more sleep. It’s our souls that are tired, not our bodies. We need nature. We need magic. We need adventure. We need freedom. We need truth. We need stillness. We don’t need more sleep, we need to wake up and live.”
Brooke Hampton
When it comes to planning a photography session, the two biggest stressors for a client are what to wear and where to take the photographs. Sure, there are lots of little things that pop up, and they are usually easy to solve. But outfits and locations are the two topics that create the most stress. So let’s have a chat about locations and what you should consider when choosing one!
Each photographer has their own favorite locations and preferences for where and when they will shoot a session. So it’s important to chat with your photographer before you book your session and make sure your ideas are something they are able to create for you. As an example, I am a natural-light photographer, deeply inspired by nature, and do my best work shooting outdoors in locations that offer magical lighting and natural surroundings. If you are looking for an indoor studio session, I am likely not the best photographer choice for you!
You may have noticed I reference the prayer “Mitakuye Oyasin” (Lakota) a lot and the tagline of my business says, “Highlighting the connection between nature, animals & people.” When I photograph people, animals and landscapes, I am always striving to show their connection to each other. This is because I believe that all things are connected – we are all related….Mitakuye Oyasin! People, animals, birds, insects, trees and plants, and even rocks, rivers, mountains and valleys!
When you work with me, I will help you choose an outdoor location surrounded by the beauty of nature and I will encourage you to relax and allow yourself to feel the ground below you, the winds around you, and the energy of the earth flowing through you! When you allow yourself to let go of stress and connect with the magic that surrounds you as you hold your loved ones close, beautiful moments are created and captured in photographs!
Living along the coast provides me a variety of locations to photograph your session. While we don’t have the grand mountaintops nearby, we do have greenspace locations that offer lots of deep, colorful backdrops that create a feeling of secret places. Of course we have the beautiful coastline and its sunset candy-colored skies and wide open beaches to play on as well! Sometimes a family has land that has been in their family-line for many years and they prefer to shoot their session on that land to document that piece of their story. Sometimes my clients have access to an old barn or an old cabin and we are able to create beautiful moments with these buildings as a backdrop. I have even been asked to travel to a different state to photograph a family on their mountainside property that has been in their family for generations! Sometimes the location is just as much a part of the story as the people are!
When you work with me, we will discuss your ideas for locations and what you hope to create. I will always ask for your location ideas and I am always happy to help you pick a location when you aren’t local! Don’t let the location be your stumbling block! I will always share ideas and options and help you choose a spot that will work best for you. If it’s a new location for me, I will always scout it out ahead of time and find the best spots with the best lighting and the best backdrops.
So let go of the stress in choosing the perfect location and focus on connection and fun! I’m so excited to work with you and your family and tell the story of your love!
