Downtown Huntington WV MUSEnation Fashion Shoot With Saya

 When thinking of locations to photograph portraits, we often think of locations on a larger scale. We look for locations with the most dramatic scenery or the most overall impact, but we may be overlooking some great opportunities in seemingly less dramatic areas. Some of my favorite portraits were actually photographed in very small, difficult or mundane locations.  I sometimes choose these kinds of locations to get out of my comfort zone and challenge my creativity.

 These photos were created in spaces that at first seemed unappealing- a tiny median in a busy parking area, a small bed of grasses in a downtown area, and a smoke shop next to a restaurant. (Because I was photographing a 12 year old girl for this shoot, a smoke shop background was a particularly unappealing choice.)

 The first photo was created in the parking area with the tiny median. The bed of flowers was about 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 '. The model was lying on the sidewalk with just her upper body in the flowers and I had to stand on the asphalt to get the shot. The models' mother stood near the top of her head with my Godox AD400 strobe and parabolic softbox pointed straight at the top of her head to create a soft butterfly light. Camera settings: F2.8 1/250 ISO 100.