Find the best location

Hone your research skills and use the right tools to collect the information you need.

Finding an ideal location for photography is a far more complex process than many new photographers appreciate. Picking the right place to make images may seem like an obvious step, but there are more considerations involved than simply where to visit and from which direction to shoot your images. Every location is an extensive arrangement of potential frames, overlapping and interacting with one another – finding order in this cacophony of textures, light and colour requires experience, timing and a little experimentation. Deciding on the location itself is a choice that is determined by numerous factors.

On some occasions the decision to make images at a location is merely influenced by personal tastes and an ambition to capture a pre-visualised composition. Perhaps you have seen images made at a place by other photographers and wish to attempt your own interpretation. In other instances you may be seeking a specific subject, which is exclusively found at one or similar locations, such as a wildlife subject or plant or insect for macro photography. In all of these cases you are working with a fixed location choice – your decision-making is restricted by the demands of your subject and is less open for adaptation.

Where you hope to capture animals or plants, your timing will also have to be a consideration. Certain species are only present at particular times of the day or year, so when you go to visit the site will add an extra dimension to the planning and scouting trips you may make before your main shoot.

Conversely, if an image style is what you seek, rather than a specific composition or subject, then timing may be of greater importance than location itself, in which case your approach to scouting should be adapted to find image elements, such as water, forest, elevation etc. Working free of the restrictions of a fixed locale can provide more creative opportunities, but be mindful of a greater range of factors. Will you be able to use the common compositional techniques? Who does the land belong to? Is it accessible at the right times? Are there safety or conservation challenges?

Part of the process of location scouting is being able to identify when a site is unsuitable – choosing not to shoot somewhere is as important as deciding when a place is ideal.

Left: Beyond the obvious By researching a location using online resources before visiting you can seek out potential, unique images to try, saving time later during your shoot.

Above: New opportunities Even at well-known sites, extensive investigation prior to a shoot can reveal new elements to focus on that may not receive as much attention from photographers, creating novel images.