Taking outfit photos can be hard work just by themselves, but finding a good location? That's tough, especially if you feel like you live in the middle of nowhere, especially if you are looking to find a VARIETY of places to snap the perfect outfit shot which may feature that burgundy prom dress with slit.
Even if you do actually live in the middle of nowhere, or if you live in the middle of everything (crowded cities have their own challenges) there are many, many places where you can find a beautiful backdrop to your photos. Just hop on your bike, get in your car which could use products like Paint Supplies – Paint For Cars, pack your bag and take a walk to explore the hidden treasures located right near you.
1. Colored Walls
No matter where in the world you live, you can find an interesting colored wall somewhere nearby.
2. Garage Doors
For that industrial look, finding a garage door can really bring out an outfit photo, especially if it happens to match the outfit.
Modern Legacy
3. Secret Gardens
For city dwellers, access to a secret garden can be a bit of a luxury, but many hotels, city parks, or friends and family might have a garden you can use. If you're in need of plumbing services for your garden, look no further than Graham and Sons Plumbing – they're the experts you can trust. Just be sure your outfits don't get lost in the photos, with so many things going on, it can easily happen.
That's Chic
4. Graffiti
Particularly if your outfit is minimal, finding some good graffiti around will give your posts a visual boost. Murals also work, but I find that vandalism is generic enough not to take away from the focal point.
5. Marinas
For most of my life I've lived on a coast, but the few times I did live inland, there were lakes and rivers and the like. Marinas are visually striking, as are docks and anything water related for that matter.
Song of Style
6. Rooftops
To be honest, I don't know why all rooftops aren't transformed into gardens and patios, because everyone LOVES going up on a roof (if it's a flat roof). If you live in an apartment building or have access to an office building rooftop, this can be a prime location for a photo shoot as they are often quiet and don't have a lot of people nosing around.
7. Sidewalks
Now not everywhere has a sidewalk, and not everywhere do residential streets look interesting, but the sidewalk is a place you can take photos. It depends on how you take the photos. Notice the diagonal line and vanishing point? That's because the photo is taken at a lower angle. Be sure the horizon line (where the ground meets the sky) is no higher than your waist. Otherwise you just get a boring photo on the sidewalk.
Keiko Lynn8. Staircases
Staircases are great because even if you're sitting, you get a sense that this is just a fleeting moment. You can sit, stand, walk up, walk down, get a lot of different angles with a staircase. Plus the horizontal lines of the stairs adds a clean texture to the photo.
9. The Street
Since the advent of “street style” the streets have been a common place to take a photo. They're great because often times you get enough clear space to get good depth of field. My only pet peeve about photos taken in the street is when the horizon line rises above the waist, because then it becomes a photo that's like “Hey, check out this asphalt.” You want to get the asphalt minimized as much as possible, and to do this, just have your camera at a low angle shooting upward (it also gives you longer legs too).
9 to 5 Chic
10. Water Fountains
Water fountains are always fun, don't you just want to jump in? Sit down? Make a wish. Luckily, many cities, towns and parks have a water fountain, and if your area isn't in too much of a drought, they're running during the warm months.
Park & Cube
Bonus Locations!
Have you taken your photo in all of these locations already? What about these?
- Beaches
- Lakes
- Parking Lots
- Construction Sites
- Supermarkets
- Hotels
- Restaruants
- Libraries
- Amusement Parks / Carnivals
- Playgrounds
- Bus Stations
- Airports
- Nature Parks
- Stadiums
- Farms & Ranches
- Open Fields
- Art Museums
- Vineyards
- Pools
You see where I'm going with this… basically anywhere! Now get out and snap some pics!
Have a great weekend!
All great ideas, opened my eyes to my surroundings.
http://dressingwithdesire.blogspot.com/
Great tips! It is sometimes very difficult to find a proper location to take pics!
Thank you for your examples of photo locations;)
http://weevoyages.blogspot.no
Theres so much i dont know 🙂 thanks for your awsum post.
Yay! I love this! Definitely marking it for later. I really need to scope out a bunch of photo spots and make note of them. My problem is that I don’t think about where I’m going to take photos when I walk out the door so I just end up taking them outside my apartment. It doesn’t looks BAD, it’s just nice to switch it up sometimes!
~Sarah of Sarah’s Real Life
I’ve been taking almost every one of my photos in the middle of the street or in front of buildings on my block…No pretty gardens in sight in my area in Brooklyn, NY… I need to switch it up but my problem is that when I do an outfit shoot, I do a few at a time so I need to be able to change outfits indoors which usually ends up…. with photos in the street in front of my house! lol I’m stuck in a rut….and now I’m struggling with coordinating times with the photographer and lacking a photographer now…
In my opinion, it’s not about the location, but most of all about the light and the beauty of the photo.
these have given me some great ideas! thanks 🙂 I’m not always going places or have the resources to go to different locations so I use my back yard, it’s getting boring though :/ definitely going to try the garage door now…from a different angle.
http://lazyobsession.blogspot.ie/2013/05/hot-summers-day.html
This is just amazing and all this photos look great, but I am really living in the middle of nowhere and there aren’t any places for taking good pictures. Colored Walls, streets, staircases, sidewalks… I’ve tried all of these and it’s never working.
There is always some garbage or something that is just not good enough. I think i’m going to try at parking lots, supermarkets and libraries. It sounds funny, i’ve never seen an outfit photo took at the supermarket. Definitely going to try it!
Thanks for the tips!
I agree with parking lots! or driveways, dirt roads…. That’s where I typically take mine.
Join style bloggers anonymous! www.stylebloggersanonymous.blogspot.com
These are all great locations. I wish I could find a Marina in DC but they are pretty much locked down from the public…
Elle
The roof is definitely my favorite place to take photos at, but unfortunately I don’t really have access to any building roofs and I live in a house.
I’ve also never taken photos on the street because I’m really shy and I don’t like when people watch me take outfit photos.
Water fountains, colored walls and garages are quite interesting places to take photos at. I should definitely check out and see where I can find them in my city.
xx
Filipa
I’ve actually started making a list of all the locations I’ve seen for my future photos. It makes it alot easier! Or go for a walk in your neighborhood, who knows what awesome backdrops you will find!
Brilliant idea for a post Jennine, photography is one of the things that I find is weaker in my blog and this is some great encouragement to go out and take some pictures! I think I’ll have to go and find some rooftops!
I’ve been rather lucky in the sense that there are lots of great places to take photos at (one of the very few advantages of running a style blog in Wyoming, rather than a city or somewhere with an actual population), and have managed most of these places. But these are great ideas. I’d also add (though admittedly not everyone has as easy of access) mountains, and national forests/grasslands/swaps…basically, whatever national places are nearby. Plus, for those who want to do several outfits in a day, these places usually have public restrooms.
Also, great tips on making sidewalk shots more dynamic!
This is what I needed, I wish they were more colored walls here, they are my favorites. But I will try a vineyard next, thanks for the tip!
I am not really the “comment” kind of person but I felt the need to thank you for all your great articles and topics!
I discovered your blog like two weeks ago and I feel like I can really learn something here. You re doing a great job! I enjoy reading every single article and take notes of your advice 😉 keep writing!
xxx
I am not really the “comment” kind of person but I felt the need to thank you for all your great articles and topics!
I discovered your blog like two weeks ago and I feel like I can really learn something here. You re doing a great job! I enjoy reading every single article and take notes of your advice 😉 keep writing!
xxx
Textured walls are great:
http://patterns4life.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/you-cant-be-me-im-rockstar.html
clifftops on holiday:
http://patterns4life.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/measuring-summers-day.html
the park:
http://patterns4life.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/park-life.html
fence:
http://patterns4life.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/cold-steel.html
and of course, the ubiquitous brick wall/garage door which I will spare you! I actually think you can take great photos ANYWHERE, you just need to have good lighting and a great photographer who can see the textures, capture the right angles and see the beauty in any surrounding.
Great ideas. Thanks for the post. I am going to try and incorporate some of these locations into my outfit posts.
Bec Boop
http://becboopfashionistaworld.blogspot.ie/
Great suggestions. I just got a new camera and I’m pretty excited about it.
www.cecilfashion.com
I took some photos in my back yard recently! its amazing how you can make a boring back yard look mysterious with a simple angle change and the use of the crop tool is a must!!
This post is so helpful. My issue comes with shyness, as I’m usually taking my own photos. I always wonder if it feels weird to go out in public areas and shoot your looks. I ran a few errands after reading this post and found myself seeing the world through a different view.
Where do all these ideas for posts come from? This is really great! I personally looove Shini’s photos. Her post of photos by the fountain was so visually pleasing. I suppose at the same time, people could observe and learn a lot from them!
I really can’t bring myself to say “Hey, can you take a picture of me?” even when it comes to my family. So when I find myself in really awesome spots and places, I often leave without photos of myself there (also includes family photos), haha.
Wow, those were some excellent tips, thank you! I whole-heartedly agree that more fashion bloggers should smile in their photos! Some of my favorite product shots in my shop are the random outtakes where I’m just starting to crack up–who wants to look at a scowl, anyway? 😉
Loved loved love this article! I’m so inspired to go out and take photos out in public now. I take my photos myself with a tripod and have always been a little nervous about doing that in a more public place. Looks like I’ll just have to get over that if I want some amazing photos lol.
just the inspiration i needed!
This post gave me countless ideas. Thank you s much for sharing! Will definitely try these locations out!
Thank you so much for this post! I always want to do outfit of the days, but don’t know where to go to take the pictures! This was very helpful!
Finding new places to take pictures is SO much fun for me. It’s led me to experience the streets and parks of my city in ways I never would have without style blogging. My favorite places to shoot (I’m in Miami) are the beach (although I rarely do it), parks, streets, colorful walls, virtually anywhere in Coral Gables (one of the oldest and most beauitful parts of Miami), sidewalks, city “entrances” or landmarks like columns (we have a lot of those in Coral Gables). I have yet to try docks and graffiti walls, both of which we also have a lot of, but it’s definitely on my list!
And boy are the looks I get from people funny! Who’s this girl with her tripod wearing neon pink heels on a Wednesday afternoon? Who does she thinks he is? What is it for? Some people appear to be judgmental, others appear interested, maybe even fascinated. And of course there’s always the onlookers, either because of curiosity or because they’re men who are not in the habit of being discreet about sizing you up and down. I always keep my safety in mind, taking pictures right next to my car and in pretty public places where I feel safe. Staying safe is critical in street shoots, and it’s a good idea to go with others if you can.
-Nathy
http://earnestyle.blogspot.com/
What happens when you’re a blogger, full time mom to 2 young children, career woman, and wife, who has no time to just pack up and go searching around town for a perfect outfit photo shoot location? Does this mean I will never receive many blog hits due to my lack of beautiful surroundings? Since when did the outfit/pose itself on a fashion blog quit being enough?
Lena
www.qualityrivets.blogspot.com
Great post!! You’ve inspired me to find some water fountains in SF. I do a ton of posts with colored walls, since there are lots in my neighborhood!
Xo,
Elise
http://www.w-t-fab.com/
My main concern is not so much finding the location but taking an outdoor location photo when you’re “one man band”-ing it. I’ve done editorial on location photography where I surrounded by a team of make-up artists, models and so one…so basically the same thing except a model in front of the lens instead of muggins here…but I can’t seem to get my head round a way to do this on my own.
Maybe I’m just being paranoid (or maybe it’s just the area I live in…) but setting an expensive camera on tripod and then hitting the timer sounds like a sure-fire way to get it nicked! Anybody got any ideas, personal experiences to share, words of advice, so on?
Hi Haley
This is a problem for me too… if you absolutely can’t get someone to help you take pictures while you’re on the go, i would suggest planning a shoot (and bringing a few outfits to do it in one go) to a safer location. Find a friend with a rooftop, or go to a QUIET park in a better neighbourhood where there is little to no foot traffic or risk of people stealing your camera. if you have to stick close to home a garage or brick wall can work as long as the lighting and composition is good.
While on the go photos might be difficult to set up it can work if you plan ahead and avoid a lot of people! If all else fails, team up with a friend who can guard your camera and shoot a few looks in one afternoon.
Good luck!
I know it might sound weird, but cemeteries can also be a good background. Now unless it’s halloween i wouldn’t include any tombstones, but I find that a lot of features like fountains, ponds, trees, monuments etc make great backgrounds for pictures. Toronto is lacking in street beauty but a couple of our cemeteries are full of interesting stonework. My tip is to make sure you have a good depth of field to blur out any tombstones or make sure to shoot at an angle where none will be visible.
Thanks so much for the lovely post! Always looking for new locations that aren’t too busy.
www.wunderbliss.blogspot.ca
Great inspiration for fashion photography, I love you choice of locations!
FabG
Thanks for all the great ideas! I am thinking of posting a style segment on my blog so I was looking for tips and inspiration, this was amazing!
thaliastefania.com
The post gave me several ideas for photos. Thank you for sharing.
Would love some beautiful pictures taken for my birthday I am living in queens New York my birthday is March 21 st
I want to post only unique content on my site, and this applies not only to articles, but also to photographs. For a long time I could not figure out where to get high-quality photos for my site. I took some photos myself, but I have no special skills and a professional camera. Your article helped me figure out my problem. Thank you for helping me make my site better!