Basically location sessions are any kind of portrait photography done outside my the studio. This is Okinawa, one of the most beautiful sub-tropical islands in the world, so it would be foolish to waste the opportunity and only shoot indoors.
Challenges of Outdoor Photography
Photographing outside the studio involves quite a few challenges. The obvious challenge with shooting outdoor locations is the weather. I can shoot in the pouring rain if you want, but I haven’t met a client yet who wanted to look like a drown rat.
Rescheduling is an unavoidable issue when shooting outdoor locations. As Twain was fond of saying, “People often complain about the weather, but no one ever does anything about it.” First there is the question of natural light vs strobes. A large majority of photographers proudly claim that they are purely natural Light photographers.
I have nothing against natural light; to be sure, some of my best portraits were done in natural light. The problem with being a pure natural light photographer is that you severely limit your options. There are only a few precious moments during the day when natural light is ideal. The rest of the time you end up with either silhouettes or white, blown out skies.
Flash to the Rescue
The solution is to shoot with flash. Today, strobes are typically battery operated and wireless controlled, which makes them easy to work with.
If we are shooting a sunset portrait (one of my favorite genres) the light quality changes with every passing moment. Being able to wirelessly control all the lights from my camera is a game changer. With strobes, the options are far greater than pure natural light. I adore options, so even when I intend to shoot natural light, I still bring my lighting gear, just in case.
Where to Shoot
The next issue is choosing a location. I have lived in Japan since 1987, the last 20 years of that have been on Okinawa. I have spent a lot of time exploring the island and have found a lot of fantastic photo locations. If you have a location in mind, let’s go. If you have a theme in mind, then perhaps I can recommend a site. To sum it up, location portraits are a challenge. It takes a lot of work and effort to get everything right, but when everything comes together, the results are unforgettable.
Send me an email to book a session.