How to turn any bad location into a great shooting spot

More often than not, you’ll find yourself in a location that’s far from ideal for taking photos. But you should embrace the challenge and turn that challenging location into a great shooting spot. In his latest video, Taylor Jackson shares some inspiration and tips for doing this.

Taylor teamed up with Clarissa Diokno to take some shots at a pizza place. They changed three locations around that same place, each of them being more challenging than the other. The table was in the shade so it wasn’t that difficult, and here’s what they ended up with:

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A post shared by Clarissa • Singer-Songwriter (@clarissadiokno)

However, as they went to the parking lot, the situation changed. The light was bad (direct midday sun), there was no shade and no clear background. Sounds familiar? I know I’ve found myself in a situation like that many times, usually when traveling.

So, what can you do? If there are clouds up in the sky, you can wait for one to hide the sun and then take your photos. If you’re not that lucky, work with what you’ve got. Taylor suggests putting the sun behind the model if you can, and look for something in the background that’s also in shade (like a building you’ll see in the video). Taylor uses a Godox V1 to add light to the model’s face. However, if you don’t have an external flash with you, you can look for available reflectors, like nearby walls.

Make sure to take a look at the video to get a better idea of the techniques and see the places where Taylor took photos of Clarissa. Considering the lighting conditions and the location itself, I’d say he did a good job. I also suggest taking a look at these articles if you need additional inspiration for turning a bad location into a good one:

[BAD LOCATIONS | Episode 1 | Godox V1 Nikon Z5 | Taylor Jackson]