here comes the sun: tips for choosing photoshoot locations

“Little darling, it’s been a long, cold, lonely winter.” 

January and February have never been my favorite months, but since I started blogging, I’ve become even less fond of them. These two months are always the most challenging for getting good photos. The days are shorter, which means less natural light, freezing cold temperatures, which makes it harder to take photos outside, and in general, the gray skies and melted snow just make everything look drab. Even though I usually prefer to take my photos outside, during the winter I don’t really have a choice but to photograph indoors. I know a lot of bloggers just take photos inside their apartment or house during the winter, but I prefer to match my outfits to my surroundings to really tell a complete story, so I usually scout out a very specific location for each outfit. Below are some tips that I use to find the perfect location. 
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keep a list:
I am constantly wandering around NYC, so whenever I walk by a location I like and think could work for photos, I add it to a list I have saved in my phone. This list includes all types of locations, from bars and restaurants, to a vintage sign or an interesting door. Whenever I get a new piece I want to shoot, I consult the list to see if any of the locations could be a good match. 

utilize yelp:
Sometimes when I’m putting together an outfit, I’ll immediately get an idea for a specific type of location, say for example, a candy store. If I don’t have a specific candy store in mind, I’ll then go to Yelp, and search through to see what locations are nearby, and what would be the most aesthetically pleasing or match my outfit the best. 

search instagram:
Yelp is great for getting an extensive list of a specific type of location, the only problem is, a lot of the photos usually end up being of food and are often not very high quality. If I feel the location I found on Yelp might work, I then search the location on Instagram, and see what photos come up there. There you can usually see more specific spots within that location that would be “instagramable”. You can also get a better sense of the lighting, how spacious the location is, etc. 

arrive early:
Before you head out to a location to shoot, see what their hours are, and arrive as early as possible. I shoot almost all of my photos by myself with a tripod, so arriving early usually means less people there looking at me like I’m crazy. The less people around, the more comfortable I am shooting, and the better the photos will turn out. Less people around also means less opportunity for a photobomb from someone in the background. If you have someone behind the camera, they can maneuver around people easier, but that’s not possible with a tripod. Theres been many times I’ve tried to shoot in a crowded location, say a street in NYC, and people just walk right through my shot, which is super frustrating. 

If you’d like to shop my sweater, you can find it here:
https://joanieclothing.com/product/catherine-hello-slogan-jumper/ 

Sweater: c/o Joanie Clothing
https://joanieclothing.com/
Collared Shirt: Forever 21; Skirt: Forever 21: Shoes: Bait Footwear; Beret: Target
Location: Lucky’s Famous Burgers (Lower East Side, NYC)