I’m always on the lookout for a good location to shoot at… ALWAYS.  Some people think a good location is pretty and while a pretty location is awesome, it’s more about the light.

LIGHT will make or break an image.  Light is important, REALLY important.

Which is why I suggest really early sessions or late in the day sessions because you get that dreamy warm glow of the sun rising or setting- creamy and dreamy and soft and- okay, I’ll stop.  I just LOVE nice lighting.

But nice lighting doesn’t always happen.  Most of the time a family with two toddlers doesn’t want to start their session at 7pm and I totally understand.   I have two kids, I get it-it’s impossible!!  I want your babies happy for my session, not sleepy therefore light must be sacrificed and our locations have to work harder and not just be pretty.

So I look for locations with diffused light, extra shade, a variety of background options in a small area so we don’t have to walk so much, easy parking and the perfect location isn’t always the most popular park.

Because locations aren’t so easy to pick out, I location scout wherever I am and location scout on the way to places I’m headed.

The other day, Sawyer wanted to turn down an unfamiliar road because there were train tracks we could drive over.  He is totally obsessed with trains and driving over tracks and anything to do with trains really.   Both my kids were getting a little cranky after a full day of errands so I thought this mini-detour would at the least cheer my son up and buy me a little more errand time. After turning down the road, I spot a green area full of older trees and I’m thinking, “Sawyer, your rock, this detour might be a new shooting location!”  As I drive closer, I’m seeing spots of color hinting at flowers,  trees shading a large open area perfect for that diffused lighting I need for a photography session.   I’m so happy we turned just to drive over tracks and now I’m so sure of this new location we’ve found that I turn down another smaller road leading to this majestical place, the perfect shooting location!  The road ends and my dreams are dashed.

I drove right up to the entrance of a cemetery.  Really.

Today we will turn down a different road, maybe one without train tracks…

Wish me luck!