We all know the expression “location, location, location”
Now a lot of people think this means that the location is the most important part of a shot…. and although it CAN be, in most cases it’s all about your subject. Now I strongly believe that a shot in the studio can be great but a shot in a location can be more powerful, IF you let that location work with you in the shot.

Now a lot of people also think that a location should always be a cool location, something fancy, or something you normally never visit… and to be honest that is of course the coolest thing ever, and one of the reasons we often organize workshops in locations like an Aircraft museum, castles etc. but I also believe that you can make a shot almost anywhere. Actually one of the coolest remarks I ever got on a workshop from an attendee was “We were shooting in this amazing castle and Frank took us to the back to the most ugly building he could find… we looked at each other with the idea of “this is never gonna work, lets get back to the castle” but within minutes we saw that it was actually a good choice, the images were great”

Now these were not the exact words, but the essence is 100% correct.
I often try to shoot at least one of the images during these workshops in the most rundown, unattractive area of the location just to proof that you can shoot awesome images in ANY location.
A few days ago I taught a small group workshop and one of the questions of the group was actually “can we also shoot one or two sets outside”, now it was very windy and rained a bit, but we managed to get outside in a dry period and took some shots straight in front of our studio. Not the best of places but overall I think the images turned out pretty ok 🙂

So the next time you find yourself in a location where you go…..”mmmmm I don’t like this” just put on your photographers eyes and make something out of it. It will not be the most brilliant work you ever did… but trust me…. the client will love it.